Advance online publication
The latest research papers, published online ahead of print. These online versions are definitive and may be cited using the digital object identifier (DOI).
About advance online publicationCommentaries
Topography reveals seismic hazard
Eric Kirby, Kelin Whipple & Nathan Harkins
Published online: 20 July 2008; | doi:10.1038/ngeo265
The devastating earthquake in the Chinese province of Sichuan struck an area that was not expected to suffer seismic activity of such magnitude. Yet topographic analyses of the region indicate active deformation, suggesting a way of refining maps of earthquake risk elsewhere.
Full Text - Topography reveals seismic hazard | PDF (440 KB) - Topography reveals seismic hazard
Myanmar's deadly daffodil
Peter J. Webster
Published online: 20 July 2008; | doi:10.1038/ngeo257
Tropical cyclone Nargis wrought havoc in southern Myanmar, with an estimated death toll well above 100,000. Potential future disasters could be alleviated with currently available forecasting skill and effective disaster mitigation plans.
Full Text - Myanmar's deadly daffodil | PDF (281 KB) - Myanmar's deadly daffodil
Letters
Increase in hourly precipitation extremes beyond expectations from temperature changes
Geert Lenderink & Erik van Meijgaard
Published online: 20 July 2008; | doi:10.1038/ngeo262
Changes in precipitation extremes under greenhouse warming are commonly assumed to be constrained by the Clausius–Clapeyron relationship, implying an increase in extreme precipitation of 7% per degree of climate warming. An analysis of 99 years of observations along with simulations with a regional climate model show that short-duration precipitation extremes can instead increase in severity twice as fast, by 14% per degree of warming.
First Paragraph - | Full Text - Increase in hourly precipitation extremes beyond expectations from temperature changes | PDF (534 KB) - Increase in hourly precipitation extremes beyond expectations from temperature changes | Supplementary information
Phanerozoic trends in skeletal mineralogy driven by mass extinctions
Wolfgang Kiessling, Martin Aberhan & Loïc Villier
Published online: 11 July 2008; | doi:10.1038/ngeo251
Changes in ocean chemistry that favoured the precipitation of aragonite or calcite are thought to have influenced the skeletal mineralogy of marine calcifyers. An investigation of the original skeletal mineralogy of large numbers of marine taxa suggests that the selective recovery of marine organisms from mass extinctions has a much greater influence on the overall percentage of aragonitic organisms than the Mg/Ca ratio of the oceans.
First Paragraph - | Full Text - Phanerozoic trends in skeletal mineralogy driven by mass extinctions | PDF (266 KB) - Phanerozoic trends in skeletal mineralogy driven by mass extinctions | Supplementary information
Monsoons as eddy-mediated regime transitions of the tropical overturning circulation
Simona Bordoni & Tapio Schneider
Published online: 06 July 2008; | doi:10.1038/ngeo248
Monsoons are often viewed as planetary-scale sea-breeze circulations, caused by contrasts in the thermal properties between oceans and land surfaces. Numerical simulations suggest that instead feedbacks between large-scale extratropical eddies and the tropical atmospheric overturning circulation are essential for the development of monsoons.
First Paragraph - | Full Text - Monsoons as eddy-mediated regime transitions of the tropical overturning circulation | PDF (448 KB) - Monsoons as eddy-mediated regime transitions of the tropical overturning circulation
Evidence for a landslide origin of New Zealand's Waiho Loop moraine
D. Santamaria Tovar, J. Shulmeister & T. R. Davies
Published online: 29 June 2008; | doi:10.1038/ngeo249
The Waiho Loop Moraine has been interpreted as evidence for Younger Dryas cooling in southern New Zealand, but recent dating and climatological studies have questioned this idea. A detailed analysis of the sedimentology of the moraine suggests it was formed after a large landslide onto the Franz Josef glacier triggered a glacial surge, independent of climate forcing.
First Paragraph - | Full Text - Evidence for a landslide origin of New Zealand's Waiho Loop moraine | PDF (1,498 KB) - Evidence for a landslide origin of New Zealand's Waiho Loop moraine | Supplementary information
Articles
Mechanisms for retention of bioavailable nitrogen in volcanic rainforest soils
Dries Huygens, Pascal Boeckx, Pamela Templer, Leandro Paulino, Oswald Van Cleemput, Carlos Oyarzún, Christoph Müller & Roberto Godoy
Published online: 11 July 2008; | doi:10.1038/ngeo252
Pristine temperate rainforests are known to produce large amounts of bioavailable nitrogen, with only minimal loss. Tracing 15N in volcanic soils of a temperate evergreen rainforest in southern Chile helps to further unravel the retention mechanisms for bioavailable nitrogen in these ecosystems.
Abstract - | Full Text - Mechanisms for retention of bioavailable nitrogen in volcanic rainforest soils | PDF (283 KB) - Mechanisms for retention of bioavailable nitrogen in volcanic rainforest soils | Supplementary information
Predicting groundwater arsenic contamination in Southeast Asia from surface parameters
Lenny Winkel, Michael Berg, Manouchehr Amini, Stephan J. Hug & C. Annette Johnson
Published online: 11 July 2008; | doi:10.1038/ngeo254
Arsenic contamination of groundwater resources threatens the health of millions of people worldwide, particularly in the densely populated river deltas of Southeast Asia. Maps of areas at risk of groundwater arsenic concentrations have been produced by combining geological and surface-soil parameters in a logistic regression model. They show that Holocene deltaic and organic-rich surface sediments are key indicators for arsenic risk areas and indicate elevated risks in Sumatra and Myanmar where no groundwater studies exist.
Abstract - | Full Text - Predicting groundwater arsenic contamination in Southeast Asia from surface parameters | PDF (1,160 KB) - Predicting groundwater arsenic contamination in Southeast Asia from surface parameters | Supplementary information
Self-subduction of the Pangaean global plate
Gabriel Gutiérrez-Alonso, Javier Fernández-Suárez, Arlo B. Weil, J. Brendan Murphy, R. Damian Nance, Fernando Corfú & Stephen T. Johnston
Published online: 06 July 2008; | doi:10.1038/ngeo250
The Earth's continents amalgamated into the supercontinent Pangaea 320 million years ago. After the supercontinent formed, structural deformation continued, which eventually resulted in the subduction of the ocean margin of Pangaea beneath the continental edge at the other end of the same plate.
Abstract - | Full Text - Self-subduction of the Pangaean global plate | PDF (338 KB) - Self-subduction of the Pangaean global plate
Until print versions of AOP papers are published, they should be cited in the style "Author(s) Nature Geoscience advance online publication, day month year (doi:10.1038/ngeoXXXXX)". Once the print version (identical to the AOP) is published, it should be cited as follows: "Author(s) Nature Geoscience volume, page (year); advance online publication, (doi:10.1038/ngeoXXXXX)".
Top of page