Featured
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Effect of tectonic processes on biosphere–geosphere feedbacks across a convergent margin
The subsurface biosphere across a convergent margin may reflect tectonic processes and reduce carbon transfer to the mantle, according to bacterial and geochemical correlations from hot springs across the Costa Rican margin.
- Katherine M. Fullerton
- , Matthew O. Schrenk
- & Karen G. Lloyd
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Global carbon dioxide efflux from rivers enhanced by high nocturnal emissions
Failing to account for emission differences between day and night will lead to an underestimate of global CO2 emissions from rivers by up to 0.55 PgC yr–1, according to analyses of high-frequency CO2 measurements.
- Lluís Gómez-Gener
- , Gerard Rocher-Ros
- & Ryan A. Sponseller
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Article
| Open AccessCo-variation of silicate, carbonate and sulfide weathering drives CO2 release with erosion
Unlike sulfide and carbonate, silicate weathering does not increase with physical erosion, which could result in a net release of carbon dioxide associated with uplift, according to stream-water chemistry of southern Taiwan.
- Aaron Bufe
- , Niels Hovius
- & Jui-Ming Chang
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Half of global methane emissions come from highly variable aquatic ecosystem sources
Methane emissions from aquatic systems contribute approximately half of global methane emissions, according to meta-analysis of natural, impacted and human-made aquatic ecosystems and indicating potential mitigation strategies to reduce emissions.
- Judith A. Rosentreter
- , Alberto V. Borges
- & Bradley D. Eyre
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Article |
Bedrock weathering contributes to subsurface reactive nitrogen and nitrous oxide emissions
Weathering of deep bedrock releases reactive nitrogen into the subsurface, which contributes to the flux of nitrous oxide to the atmosphere, according to a field study that combines soil, rock and groundwater data within a river catchment.
- Jiamin Wan
- , Tetsu K. Tokunaga
- & Kenneth H. Williams
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News & Views |
Shunt or shuttle
Nutrient availability influences the susceptibility of marine primary producers to viral infection. For diatoms in iron-limited waters, reduced infection rates impact marine biogeochemical cycles by enhancing the flux of material to depth.
- Alex J. Poulton
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Impaired viral infection and reduced mortality of diatoms in iron-limited oceanic regions
Diatoms are less susceptible to viral infection in iron-limited oceans, according to metatranscriptomic analyses of diatoms and viruses in nutrient-replete and limited regions.
- Chana F. Kranzler
- , Mark A. Brzezinski
- & Kimberlee Thamatrakoln
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The future lifespan of Earth’s oxygenated atmosphere
Earth’s oxygen-rich atmosphere will probably persist for only one billion more years before it sharply deoxygenates to low-level oxygen similar to those of the Archaean, according to a combined biogeochemistry and climate model.
- Kazumi Ozaki
- & Christopher T. Reinhard
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Abrupt changes in the global carbon cycle during the last glacial period
Southern Hemisphere processes largely set Antarctic climate during the last glacial, though events in the Northern Hemisphere strongly impacted short, centennial-scale changes, according to an analysis of high-resolution carbon dioxide and temperature records from an Antarctic ice core.
- Thomas K. Bauska
- , Shaun A. Marcott
- & Edward J. Brook
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Glacial deep ocean deoxygenation driven by biologically mediated air–sea disequilibrium
Lower than modern dissolved oxygen levels in the deep ocean during the Last Glacial Maximum were the result of greater disequilibrium between the atmosphere and ocean, according to proxy record-constrained Earth system modelling.
- Ellen Cliff
- , Samar Khatiwala
- & Andreas Schmittner
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Article |
Extensive wetland development in mid-latitude North America during the Bølling–Allerød
Widespread, temporary wetlands in the American Midwest were likely a major cause of methane emission peaks during the last deglaciation, according to an analysis of regional pollen records combined with hydrological modelling.
- Eunji Byun
- , Hiromitsu Sato
- & Sarah A. Finkelstein
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Deforestation-induced warming over tropical mountain regions regulated by elevation
Deforestation causes elevation-dependent warming over tropical mountain regions, according to high-resolution climate simulations.
- Zhenzhong Zeng
- , Dashan Wang
- & Eric F. Wood
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Editorial |
When permafrost thaws
Thawing permafrost mobilizes concerning amounts of carbon into the wider environment. Piecing together carbon sources and sinks in this complex system is important to understanding its overall climate impact.
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The role of environmental factors in the long-term evolution of the marine biological pump
Ocean temperature and atmospheric oxygen concentration are key factors in the long-term efficiency of the marine biological carbon pump, according to a mechanistic model of carbon transfer from surface waters to the deep ocean interior.
- Mojtaba Fakhraee
- , Noah J. Planavsky
- & Christopher T. Reinhard
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Carbon and nitrogen cycling in Yedoma permafrost controlled by microbial functional limitations
Carbon dioxide emissions from permafrost thaw are substantially enhanced by relieving microbial functional limitations, according to incubation experiments on Yedoma permafrost.
- Sylvain Monteux
- , Frida Keuper
- & Ellen Dorrepaal
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Synergistic effects of four climate change drivers on terrestrial carbon cycling
Increases in atmospheric CO2 can be dampened but also accelerated by the net impact on terrestrial carbon cycling of combined changes in temperature, rainfall, CO2 and nitrogen, according to an eight-year grassland experiment in the United States.
- Peter B. Reich
- , Sarah E. Hobbie
- & Kally Worm
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Coupled anaerobic methane oxidation and reductive arsenic mobilization in wetland soils
The coupling of anaerobic oxidation of methane and arsenate reduction is an important pathway of releasing arsenic from soils, according to incubation experiments of arsenate-contaminated wetland soils.
- Ling-Dong Shi
- , Ting Guo
- & He-Ping Zhao
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Article |
Biological nitrogen fixation detected under Antarctic sea ice
Observational evidence of cyanobacterial activity in the Antarctic Ocean suggests that nitrogen fixation could be a ubiquitous process in the global ocean.
- Takuhei Shiozaki
- , Amane Fujiwara
- & Naomi Harada
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Permian–Triassic mass extinction pulses driven by major marine carbon cycle perturbations
The end-Permian mass extinction was linked with ocean acidification due to carbon degassing associated with Siberian Trap emplacement, according to boron isotopes from fossil shells and reconstruction of the carbon cycle.
- Hana Jurikova
- , Marcus Gutjahr
- & Anton Eisenhauer
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Persistently well-ventilated intermediate-depth ocean through the last deglaciation
Intermediate-depth waters in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans were well equilibrated with the atmosphere through the last deglaciation, according to radiocarbon data from deep-sea corals.
- Tianyu Chen
- , Laura F. Robinson
- & Karen S. Harpp
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Editorial |
Up in smoke
Where there is smoke, there are radiative feedbacks. With wildfires becoming a growing problem in the Anthropocene, we need to better understand the influence of fire on the climate system.
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Marine organic carbon burial increased forest fire frequency during Oceanic Anoxic Event 2
A global carbon cycle perturbation during Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 was probably due to elevated oxygen levels leading to a transient increase in wildfire activity, according to a record of plant biomarkers tracking fire frequency in western North America.
- F. Garrett Boudinot
- & Julio Sepúlveda
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Molecular trade-offs in soil organic carbon composition at continental scale
Environmental factors influence the molecular composition of carbon in soils across continental gradients, according to analyses of North American mineral soils.
- Steven J. Hall
- , Chenglong Ye
- & William C. Hockaday
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Coupled Southern Ocean cooling and Antarctic ice sheet expansion during the middle Miocene
Antarctic ice volume expansion in the middle Miocene coincides with Southern Ocean cooling, according to biomarker and clumped isotope temperature records from south of Tasmania.
- Thomas J. Leutert
- , Alexandra Auderset
- & A. Nele Meckler
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A nutrient control on marine anoxia during the end-Permian mass extinction
Phosphorus remobilized from seafloor sediments due to a reduced influx of iron-oxide from land led to widespread anoxia during the end-Permian mass extinction, according to palaeoredox and phosphorus speciation proxy records from Svalbard.
- Martin Schobben
- , William J. Foster
- & Simon W. Poulton
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Perspective |
A shift in sulfur-cycle manipulation from atmospheric emissions to agricultural additions
Deliberate application of sulfur onto croplands as fertilizer and pesticide probably causes environmental damage similar to historical acid rain events, according to a literature review and four case studies from the United States.
- Eve-Lyn S. Hinckley
- , John T. Crawford
- & Charles T. Driscoll
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Editorial |
Soil carbon unearthed
Soils store vast quantities of carbon and have the potential to help mitigate or exacerbate climate change. We need to better understand the interplay of chemical, physical and biological processes that govern soil carbon cycling and stability.
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Perspective |
Persistence of soil organic carbon caused by functional complexity
Dynamic interactions between chemical and biological controls govern the stability of soil organic carbon and drive complex, emergent patterns in soil carbon persistence.
- Johannes Lehmann
- , Colleen M. Hansel
- & Ingrid Kögel-Knabner
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Review Article |
Materials and pathways of the organic carbon cycle through time
A review of the organic carbon cycle explores the interactions between the Earth’s surface and deeper reservoirs, the expanding inorganic controls on the organic carbon cycle, and how these links have strengthened through geological time.
- Matthieu E. Galvez
- , Woodward W. Fischer
- & Timothy I. Eglinton
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A seawater-sulfate origin for early Earth’s volcanic sulfur
Formation of mass-independent isotope fractionation of sulfur signatures recorded in Archaean sedimentary rocks could have occurred in an oxygen-rich atmosphere, according to thermodynamic and kinetic calculations and analysis of Earth’s early sulfur cycle.
- Hiroshi Ohmoto
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Last glacial atmospheric CO2 decline due to widespread Pacific deep-water expansion
Carbon-rich Pacific deep water extended into the South Atlantic some 38,000 to 28,000 years ago, potentially contributing to a reduction in atmospheric carbon dioxide and the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum, according to deep-water carbonate chemistry reconstructions.
- J. Yu
- , L. Menviel
- & J. F. McManus
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Carbon loss from northern circumpolar permafrost soils amplified by rhizosphere priming
Plant roots in thawing permafrost soils act to enhance microbial decomposition and the loss of soil organic carbon, according to an analysis of observational data and a rhizosphere priming model.
- Frida Keuper
- , Birgit Wild
- & Ellen Dorrepaal
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News & Views |
Earth’s soil harbours ancient carbon
Organic carbon in the top metre of Earth’s soils is far older than previously thought, averaging 4,800 years old. These radiocarbon-derived age estimates require us to recalibrate our expectations of ecosystem gains and losses of carbon.
- Sharon A. Billings
- & Lígia F. T. de Souza
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Matters Arising |
Multiple drivers of Miocene C4 ecosystem expansions
- Enno Schefuß
- & Lydie M. Dupont
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The age distribution of global soil carbon inferred from radiocarbon measurements
Soils may accumulate less carbon and with a slower turnover than Earth system models predict, according to analysis of the age distribution of global soil carbon, which finds that the mean age of soil carbon is older than that in simulated in models.
- Zheng Shi
- , Steven D. Allison
- & James T. Randerson
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Widespread subsidence and carbon emissions across Southeast Asian peatlands
Subsidence and carbon emissions in tropical peatlands are primarily linked to drainage history, not land-use type, according to large-scale high-resolution remote sensing in Southeast Asia.
- Alison M. Hoyt
- , Estelle Chaussard
- & Charles F. Harvey
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Perspective |
Impacts of hydrothermal plume processes on oceanic metal cycles and transport
Characterization of hydrothermal plumes in terms of redox, rather than distance from the vent, illuminates the dominant transport processes and fate of metals, focusing on iron and manganese.
- Amy Gartman
- & Alyssa J. Findlay
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Chesapeake Bay acidification buffered by spatially decoupled carbonate mineral cycling
Calcium carbonate formed in seagrass beds that is transported and dissolved in deeper waters offshore helps buffer coastal acidification in the Chesapeake Bay, according to geochemical modelling of a transect of carbonate chemistry measurements.
- Jianzhong Su
- , Wei-Jun Cai
- & W. Michael Kemp
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Significant methane ebullition from alpine permafrost rivers on the East Qinghai–Tibet Plateau
High-elevation rivers in permafrost of the East Qinghai–Tibet Plateau are hotspots of methane emissions, according to measurements of methane fluxes in the region.
- Liwei Zhang
- , Xinghui Xia
- & Peter A. Raymond
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Abundant nitrite-oxidizing metalloenzymes in the mesopelagic zone of the tropical Pacific Ocean
Continued deoxygenation of the oceans will probably lead to enhanced demand for iron, as implied by the abundance of an iron-rich enzyme in the mesopelagic waters of the Pacific.
- Mak A. Saito
- , Matthew R. McIlvin
- & John B. Waterbury
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The river–groundwater interface as a hotspot for arsenic release
The interface between riverbed and aquifer is a biogeochemical reaction hotspot for arsenic release from river sediments, according to numerical simulations of groundwater flow and biogeochemical reaction processes.
- Ilka Wallis
- , Henning Prommer
- & Rolf Kipfer
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Palaeoproterozoic oxygenated oceans following the Lomagundi–Jatuli Event
The oceans probably remained well-oxygenated for millions of years after the Palaeoproterozoic Lomagundi–Jatuli Event, according to high concentrations and isotope signatures of redox-sensitive metals in the 2-billion-year-old Zaonega Formation, Russia.
- Kaarel Mänd
- , Stefan V. Lalonde
- & Kurt O. Konhauser
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Phosphorus-limited conditions in the early Neoproterozoic ocean maintained low levels of atmospheric oxygen
Early Neoproterozoic marine productivity fell due to nutrient drawdown following a switch from an iron-rich to a sulfide-rich ocean, according to records of phosphorus geochemistry measured from sedimentary sections in North China.
- Romain Guilbaud
- , Simon W. Poulton
- & Timothy M. Lenton
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Limited Archaean continental emergence reflected in an early Archaean 18O-enriched ocean
The water cycle was in two different steady states, before and after continental emergence, as recorded in the decreasing oxygen isotope values of seawater since the Archaean, according to an inverse geochemical model of the oceanic crustal record.
- Benjamin W. Johnson
- & Boswell A. Wing
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Global patterns of terrestrial nitrogen and phosphorus limitation
Spatial patterns in the phosphorus and nitrogen limitation in natural terrestrial ecosystems are reported from analysis of a global database of the resorption efficiency of nutrients by leaves.
- Enzai Du
- , César Terrer
- & Robert B. Jackson
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Thiolated arsenic species observed in rice paddy pore waters
Thioarsenates are found in the pore waters of rice paddy fields, comparable in concentration to methylated oxyarsenates, according to field, mesocosm and soil incubation studies.
- Jiajia Wang
- , Carolin F. Kerl
- & Britta Planer-Friedrich
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Carbon release through abrupt permafrost thaw
Analyses of inventory models under two climate change projection scenarios suggest that carbon emissions from abrupt thaw of permafrost through ground collapse, erosion and landslides could contribute significantly to the overall permafrost carbon balance.
- Merritt R. Turetsky
- , Benjamin W. Abbott
- & A. David McGuire
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Rapid transfer of oxygen to the deep ocean mediated by bubbles
Bubble-mediated flux of oxygen into the Labrador Sea surface ocean contributes to air–sea gas exchange, suggest observations from moored profiling and Argo float data. Climate models that omit the process may underestimate oxygen in the deep ocean.
- D. Atamanchuk
- , J. Koelling
- & D. W. R. Wallace
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Global picophytoplankton niche partitioning predicts overall positive response to ocean warming
Picophytoplankton are partitioned into niches, globally, and their abundance may increase as ocean temperatures rise, suggest analyses of a global abundance dataset with a neural-network-based niche model.
- Pedro Flombaum
- , Wei-Lei Wang
- & Adam C. Martiny