Featured
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Amplified positive effects on air quality, health, and renewable energy under China’s carbon neutral target
The interaction between aerosol and meteorology amplifies the positive effects on air quality, health and renewable energy under China’s carbon neutrality target for 2060, according to an integrated modelling analysis.
- Yue Qin
- , Mi Zhou
- & Tong Zhu
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Research Briefing |
Tectonics regulate CO2 release more strongly than chemical weathering in central Italy
In a part of the Apennines, where the Earth’s crust is thin and heat flow is high, production of CO2 from deep below the mountains dominates over near-surface weathering processes that consume this greenhouse gas. Ultimately, the magnitude of deep CO2 release tips the balance towards a landscape that is a net carbon emitter.
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Article
| Open Access
Global patterns in river water storage dependent on residence time
A global gauge-corrected monthly river flow and storage dataset suggests that residence time is a key driver of water storage and variability and indicates substantial freshwater discharge to the ocean from the Maritime Continent.
- Elyssa L. Collins
- , Cédric H. David
- & Georgina M. Sanchez
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Research Briefing |
Evidence of strong aerosol cooling implies great efficacy of marine cloud brightening
Aerosol–cloud interactions are the largest uncertainty in radiative forcing. We combined machine learning and long-term satellite observations to quantify aerosol fingerprints on tropical marine clouds, using degassing volcanic events in Hawaii as natural experiences, and found that cloud cover increased relatively by 50% in humid and stable atmosphere, leading to strong cooling radiative forcing.
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Article
| Open Access
Deep CO2 release and the carbon budget of the central Apennines modulated by geodynamics
The regional geodynamic gradient controls metamorphic carbon release during mountain building and regulates the inorganic carbon budget, according to carbon estimates in two river catchments of Italy’s central Apennines.
- Erica Erlanger
- , Aaron Bufe
- & Niels Hovius
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Article |
Weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation abyssal limb in the North Atlantic
Mooring observations and hydrographic data suggest the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation abyssal limb has weakened over the past two decades in the North Atlantic, most likely due to reduced Antarctic Bottom Water formation rates.
- Tiago Carrilho Biló
- , Renellys C. Perez
- & Torsten Kanzow
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Article |
Greater climate sensitivity implied by anvil cloud thinning
Changes in anvil clouds with warming do not produce a negative feedback on climate sensitivity as previously thought, according to an ensemble of cloud-resolving models.
- Adam B. Sokol
- , Casey J. Wall
- & Dennis L. Hartmann
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Editorial |
The ultra-lowdown on mantle heterogeneity
Compositional and structural variations within Earth’s lower mantle are a complex puzzle to which seismic data hold clues.
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All Minerals Considered |
Out of sight burbankite
Burbankite is a rare sodium carbonate mineral that is easily dissolved away in its host igneous rocks. Its formation and dissolution can help concentrate rare earth elements that are vital for a low-carbon future, as Sam Broom-Fendley explains.
- Sam Broom-Fendley
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Comment |
Seismic methodologies key to unlocking Earth’s lowermost mantle
Advances in seismological observational and modelling techniques are needed to constrain complex lowermost mantle structures and understand their influence on the global dynamics and evolution of Earth’s interior.
- Lauren Waszek
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Q&A |
Ultralow velocity zones in the deep Earth
Nature Geoscience spoke with Samantha Hansen, a geophysicist at the University of Alabama and Sebastian Rost, a global seismologist at the University of Leeds about the ultralow velocity zones in the lowermost mantle.
- Alireza Bahadori
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Article
| Open Access
Rapid Laurentide Ice Sheet growth preceding the Last Glacial Maximum due to summer snowfall
The size and shape of the North American ice sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum was set by atmospheric moisture transport feedbacks during summer, not by the geometry of the earlier intermediate-sized ice sheet, according to a coupled climate–ice sheet model.
- Lu Niu
- , Gregor Knorr
- & Gerrit Lohmann
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Research Briefing |
Evolution of Earth’s oxygenation and temperature depends on surface carbonate accumulation
There are no good models for the chemical evolution of the Earth’s surface over the planet’s lifetime, because models typically overlook the progressive build-up of carbonate rocks in the crust. A new model that includes this accumulation enables the reconstruction of major oxygen and temperature trends throughout Earth’s history.
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Article
| Open Access
Substantial cooling effect from aerosol-induced increase in tropical marine cloud cover
Satellite observations from volcanic eruptions suggest that aerosols induce substantial cooling due to the reflectivity of increased tropical marine cloud cover, implying a high climate sensitivity.
- Ying Chen
- , Jim Haywood
- & Ulrike Lohmann
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Article
| Open Access
Crustal carbonate build-up as a driver for Earth’s oxygenation
The accumulation and subsequent recycling of carbonate in the crust may have helped to drive the oxygenation of the early Earth, according to an ocean and atmosphere box model incorporating the inorganic carbon cycle.
- Lewis J. Alcott
- , Craig Walton
- & Benjamin J. W. Mills
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Review Article |
Anthropogenic impacts on mud and organic carbon cycling
Human activities have altered the production, transport and fate of mud and associated organic carbon, with important implications for global carbon cycling.
- Thomas S. Bianchi
- , Lawrence M. Mayer
- & Pierre Regnier
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Brief Communication |
Production of Neoproterozoic banded iron formations in a partially ice-covered ocean
Neoproterozoic banded iron formations formed in partially glaciated oceans where iron-rich and oxygenated water masses met, according to ocean modelling.
- Kaushal Gianchandani
- , Itay Halevy
- & Eli Tziperman
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News & Views |
Don’t judge the Moon’s interior by its cover
The Moon’s primordial solidification is believed to have produced a layer of dense ilmenite cumulates beneath the crust. Remnants of this layer have now been detected under the lunar nearside.
- Peter B. James
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News & Views |
Pervasive fluorinated chemicals
Pollution by per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) is widespread in global water resources and likely to be underestimated, according to global analysis of available PFAS data.
- Mark Strynar
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Article |
Vestiges of a lunar ilmenite layer following mantle overturn revealed by gravity data
The Moon’s gravity field preserves a record of the overturn of the early lunar mantle and sinking of dense ilmenite-bearing cumulates, according to a comparison of Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory gravity data and geodynamic models.
- Weigang Liang
- , Adrien Broquet
- & Alexander J. Evans
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Article
| Open Access
Underestimated burden of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in global surface waters and groundwaters
A global data analysis suggests that a large fraction of surface waters and groundwaters globally have concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that exceed international advisories or national regulations.
- Diana Ackerman Grunfeld
- , Daniel Gilbert
- & Denis M. O’Carroll
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Article
| Open Access
Weak anvil cloud area feedback suggested by physical and observational constraints
Tight physical and observational constraints suggest the anvil cloud area feedback is weak, but the anvil cloud albedo feedback remains highly uncertain.
- Brett McKim
- , Sandrine Bony
- & Jean-Louis Dufresne
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News & Views |
Underestimated volcanic hazard of Santorini
Volcanism after large, caldera-forming eruptions is thought to be muted. Exploration of the partially submerged caldera of Santorini reveals that large explosive eruptions have occurred since the caldera formed.
- Ben Kennedy
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Article
| Open Access
Diurnal warming rectification in the tropical Pacific linked to sea surface temperature front
Daytime surface ocean warming has large-scale patterns associated with the sea surface temperature front, leading to an afternoon slackening of the front and impacts on surface wind variability.
- Meghan F. Cronin
- , Dongxiao Zhang
- & Nathan Anderson
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Article
| Open Access
Hazardous explosive eruptions of a recharging multi-cyclic island arc caldera
Evidence for a past large explosive eruption within the Santorini caldera suggests that early stages of silicic caldera cycles can be more hazardous than previously assumed, according to analyses of intra-caldera deposits from the Kameni Volcano.
- Jonas Preine
- , Jens Karstens
- & Dimitrios Papanikolaou
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Editorial |
Connecting geology to ecology
Understanding the ecosystem response to global environmental change requires consideration of geological processes, highlighting the interconnected nature of our Earth system.
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All Minerals Considered |
Phosphorus’s cosmic courier
Schreibersite is found in meteorites and thought to dwell in planetary cores. Tingting Gu explains how it may also have supported life on the early Earth.
- Tingting Gu
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Research Briefing |
Early Jurassic large igneous province carbon emissions are constrained by sedimentary mercury
The carbon emissions of large igneous province magmatism are commonly associated with severe environmental crises. We developed a technique that used sedimentary mercury records to estimate these carbon fluxes through time and found that they are smaller and/or slower than assumed, which suggests that the influence of carbon-cycle feedback processes is underestimated in current models.
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Article
| Open Access
Remnants of shifting early Cenozoic Pacific lower mantle flow imaged beneath the Philippine Sea Plate
A record of lower mantle flow from 50 million years ago is preserved in the Pacific region and provides evidence for past lower mantle deformation, according to seismic anisotropy tomography.
- Jianke Fan
- , Dapeng Zhao
- & Dongdong Dong
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Article
| Open Access
Late Pleistocene emergence of an anthropogenic fire regime in Australia’s tropical savannahs
A shift towards more-frequent, less-intense fires in Australia began about 11,000 years ago due to management by Indigenous societies, according to charcoal and stable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon records extending back 150,000 years.
- Michael I. Bird
- , Michael Brand
- & Corey J. A. Bradshaw
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Article |
Wind-steered Eastern Pathway of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation
About half of the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation flows east of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a pathway steered by wind and not bottom topography, according to hydrographic data, reanalysis and model simulations.
- Zhengyu Liu
- , Sifan Gu
- & Chengfei He
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News & Views |
Light on dark waters
Canal networks in Southeast Asian peatlands are zones of rapid, light-driven biogeochemical cycling. The canals increase carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and decrease organic carbon export to the ocean.
- Christopher Evans
- & Pierre Taillardat
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Article |
Canal networks regulate aquatic losses of carbon from degraded tropical peatlands
Canal networks are a hotspot for the loss of carbon from tropical peatlands following disturbance, according to measurements of oxidation rates for dissolved organic carbon to carbon dioxide in drainage canals in Southeast Asia.
- Jennifer C. Bowen
- , Putri J. Wahyudio
- & Alison M. Hoyt
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Article |
Cenozoic eastward growth of the Tibetan Plateau controlled by tearing of the Indian slab
The Cenozoic eastward growth of the Tibetan Plateau can be explained by slab tear and the resulting mantle flow beneath the eastern region, according to analysis of seismic tomography, tectonic and magmatic records of the Indian mantle lithosphere.
- Zengqian Hou
- , Lijun Liu
- & Qingtian Lü
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Article |
Observational evidence for Criegee intermediate oligomerization reactions relevant to aerosol formation in the troposphere
Measurements of Criegee intermediate oligomerization signatures in the Amazon rainforest indicate that the role of Criegee intermediate chemistry in the composition of Earth’s troposphere has been underestimated.
- R. L. Caravan
- , T. J. Bannan
- & C. J. Percival
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Detections of ultralow velocity zones in high-velocity lowermost mantle linked to subducted slabs
Global detections of ultralow velocity zones in high-velocity lowermost mantle regions are associated with thermochemical anomalies linked to subducted slabs, according to analysis of SKKKP B-caustic diffractions with anomalous seismic structures in the mantle and outer core.
- Yulong Su
- , Sidao Ni
- & Daoyuan Sun
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Article
| Open Access
Global emergent responses of stream microbial metabolism to glacier shrinkage
Glacier shrinkage intensifies phosphorus limitation but alleviates carbon limitation in glacier-fed streams, according to analyses of resource stoichiometry and microbial metabolism in glacier-fed streams from mountain regions.
- Tyler J. Kohler
- , Massimo Bourquin
- & Tom J. Battin
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Research Briefing |
Ultralow velocity zone and deep mantle flow beneath the Himalayas are linked to a subducted slab
Through the detection of postcursors of shear waves diffracted at the core–mantle boundary, a zone of ultralow seismic velocities has been identified at the base of the mantle beneath the Himalayas. The presence of this zone is probably linked to a subducted slab remnant that is driving mantle flow in the region.
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Research Briefing |
Linking biosphere with lithosphere by assessing how earthquakes affect forest growth
Earthquakes not only affect tree growth directly by causing physical injury to individual trees but also indirectly by inducing changes in forest habitats. We established linkage between tree-ring series and seismic disturbances and found that prominent and lasting seismic legacies in drier areas may be due to an increased infiltration of precipitation through earthquake-induced soil cracks.
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Article |
Ultralow velocity zone and deep mantle flow beneath the Himalayas linked to subducted slab
The presence of an ultralow velocity zone and seismic anisotropy in the lowermost mantle beneath the Himalayas is linked to subducted slab remnants and southwest mantle flow, according to analyses of seismic waves and mantle anisotropy measurements.
- Jonathan Wolf
- , Maureen D. Long
- & Daniel A. Frost
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Article
| Open Access
Early Jurassic large igneous province carbon emissions constrained by sedimentary mercury
Sedimentary mercury measurements suggest carbon emissions from Early Jurassic large igneous province activity were lower than estimates from carbon-cycle models, implying feedbacks that are unaccounted for.
- Isabel M. Fendley
- , Joost Frieling
- & Hugh C. Jenkyns
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Article
| Open Access
Rockfall from an increasingly unstable mountain slope driven by climate warming
Climate warming has driven increased rockfall from an unstable mountain slope in the Swiss Alps, according to a record of rockfall activity spanning the past century based on tree damage.
- Markus Stoffel
- , Daniel G. Trappmann
- & Christophe Corona
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Article
| Open Access
Emergent temperature sensitivity of soil organic carbon driven by mineral associations
Temperature sensitivity of bulk soil carbon stocks is controlled by the compositional distribution between mineral-associated and particulate carbon, according to analyses of global soil carbon pools.
- Katerina Georgiou
- , Charles D. Koven
- & Robert B. Jackson
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Article |
Shifts of forest resilience after seismic disturbances in tectonically active regions
Earthquakes can cause decadal-scale shifts in forest growth resilience by increasing the infiltration of precipitation through earthquake-induced soil cracks, according to global analyses of tree-ring width and historic earthquake data.
- Shan Gao
- , Eryuan Liang
- & J. Julio Camarero
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Recent pronounced warming on the Mongolian Plateau boosted by internal climate variability
Relatively strong warming over the Mongolian Plateau in recent decades can be explained, in part, by synchronous internal climate oscillations, according to climate model experiments.
- Qingyu Cai
- , Wen Chen
- & Xiaoqing Lan
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Article
| Open Access
Drought response of the boreal forest carbon sink is driven by understorey–tree composition
Carbon sink in young boreal forests is more vulnerable to drought than in mature forests due to the greater contribution and drought sensitivity of understorey relative to trees, according to carbon flux assessments of managed boreal forests in northern Sweden during the 2018 European summer drought.
- Eduardo Martínez-García
- , Mats B. Nilsson
- & Matthias Peichl
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Editorial |
Melting ice core archives
Urgent efforts are needed to collect and preserve ice cores from mountain glaciers before these archives are lost.
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All Minerals Considered |
Amphibole interlocking into jade
Nephrite jade is a semi-precious gemstone composed of tiny crystals and needles of amphibole. Here, Matthew Tarling and Steven Smith describe how its origins lead to inner toughness and beauty.
- Matthew S. Tarling
- & Steven A. F. Smith
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Article
| Open Access
Regional variations in relative sea-level changes influenced by nonlinear vertical land motion
A probabilistic reconstruction of vertical land motion reveals regional variations in relative sea-level changes and large uncertainties in sea-level projections due to nonlinear effects.
- Julius Oelsmann
- , Marta Marcos
- & Florian Seitz
Jet activity on Enceladus linked to tidally driven strike-slip motion along tiger stripes