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Models and proxy data diverge on the global temperature evolution of the Holocene, perhaps due to representation of the seasons. Isotopic analyses of stalagmites from the Ural Mountains suggest that winter climate dominated in the Eurasian interior. The image shows an active drip hanging from a soda-straw stalactite in Kinderlinskaya Cave, Russia, moments before it fell upon the stalagmite below.
Asking people to trust scientists is not enough in times of doubt. Scientists must trust the people too: to make decisions for themselves, once they know the best available evidence.
The terrestrial water cycle is often assessed annually at catchment scale. But water stored in catchments is poorly mixed, and at timescales often well beyond the calculation of annual water balance.
The composition of Earth's oldest crust is uncertain. Comparison of the most ancient mineral grains with more recent analogues suggests that formation of the earliest crust was heavily influenced by re-melting of igneous basement rocks.
The long-term cooling of Earth's mantle is recorded in the declining temperature and volume of its volcanic outpourings over time. However, analyses of 89-million-year-old lavas from Costa Rica suggest that extremely hot mantle still lurks below.
Collisions of dust particles with a planet’s atmosphere lead to the accumulation of metallic atoms at high altitudes. MAVEN spacecraft observations reveal a persistent—but temporally variable—metal layer of Mg+ ions in the Martian atmosphere.
The El Niño of 2015–2016 was unusual and exceptionally strong. Satellite observations and modelling suggest that convective lofting and sublimation of ice particles during this event contributed to moistening of the lower stratosphere.
Understanding biosphere–atmosphere feedback loops can improve forecasts of climate and vegetation resilience. Analyses of satellite observations reveal that feedbacks are strong in regions that determine the net terrestrial carbon balance.
Anoxic carbon decomposition is thought to depend on the energetics of electron acceptors. Mass spectrometry measurements of floodplain sediments reveal that the energetics of organic compounds can also determine whether they are decomposed.
Climate change is expected to release carbon stored in permafrost soils. Sampling of sites across the Tibetan Plateau in the early 2000s and early 2010s reveals increased carbon stocks in shallow soils, which may offset losses from deeper soils.
Groundwater that predates the Holocene is commonly assumed to be unaffected by modern contamination. A global analysis of fossil groundwater suggests that modern contaminants are present in deep wells that tap fossil aquifers.
Models and proxy data diverge on the global temperature evolution of the Holocene, perhaps due to representation of the seasons. Isotopic analyses of stalagmites from the Ural Mountains suggest that winter climate dominated in the Eurasian interior.
Quartz minerals in Earth’s crust are thought to melt at high temperatures. Laboratory friction experiments, however, show that metastable melting of quartz on a fault surface can occur at lower temperatures, and could lead to large earthquakes.
Shallow volcanic earthquakes can aid eruption forecasts. Analysis of seismicity beneath the Klyuchevskoy volcano group in Russia reveals much deeper magma-induced earthquakes that may serve as an early eruption indicator.
Super-eruptions require high magma supply rates. Numerical simulations show that even for volcanoes with low supply rates, the warming influence of magma on the crust prevents solidification, allowing super-eruption volumes of magma to accumulate.
Earth’s mantle has cooled since the Archaean. Geochemical identification of anomalously hot lavas formed above the Galapagos Plume 89 million years ago, however, implies that a hot mantle reservoir may have persisted for billions of years.
The formation process for the oldest mineral grains on Earth has remained elusive. A comparison of trace element concentrations of these ancient zircons with known material suggests melting of igneous crust as their source.