Environmental chemistry articles within Nature

Featured

  • Letter |

    Here, the atmosphere of the extrasolar planet GJ 436b is studied during its 'secondary eclipse'. The findings reveal the presence of some H2O and traces of CO2. The best-fit compositional models contain a high CO abundance and a substantial methane deficiency relative to thermochemical equilibrium models for the predicted hydrogen-dominated atmosphere. Disequilibrium processes such as vertical mixing and polymerization of methane may be required to explain this small methane-to-CO ratio.

    • Kevin B. Stevenson
    • , Joseph Harrington
    •  & Nate B. Lust

  • Letter |

    It has been thought that ocean temperatures during the early Palaeoarchaean era (around 3.5 billion years ago) were 55–85 °C. But a recent study indicated that the temperatures might be no higher than 40 °C. Here, studies are reported of the oxygen isotope compositions of phosphates in sediments from the 3.2–3.5-billion-year-old Barberton Greenstone Belt in South Africa. The findings indicate a well-developed phosphorus cycle and evolved biological activity in an Archaean ocean with temperatures of 26–35 °C.

    • Ruth E. Blake
    • , Sae Jung Chang
    •  & Aivo Lepland

  • News & Views |

    Most emissions of nitrous oxide from semi-arid, temperate grasslands usually occur during the spring thaw. The effects that grazing has on plant litter and snow cover dramatically reduce these seasonal emissions.

    • Stephen J. Del Grosso

  • News & Views |

    The asteroid belt is classically considered the domain of rocky bodies, being too close to the Sun for ice to survive. Or so we thought — not only is ice present, but at least one asteroid is covered in it.

    • Henry H. Hsieh

  • Letter |

    The presence of gaseous chlorine atom precursors within the troposphere was thought only to occur in marine areas but now nitryl chloride has been found at a distance of 1,400 km from the nearest coastline. A model study shows that the amount of nitryl chloride production in the continental USA alone is similar to previous global estimates for marine regions. A significant fraction of tropospheric chlorine atoms may arise directly from anthropogenic pollutants.

    • Joel A. Thornton
    • , James P. Kercher
    •  & Steven S. Brown

  • News & Views |

    Unexpected chlorine chemistry in the lowest part of the atmosphere can affect the cycling of nitrogen oxides and the production of ozone, and reduce the lifetime of the greenhouse gas methane.

    • Roland von Glasow

  • News |

    Samples collected during Apollo missions suggest a wet interior, raising questions about lunar origins.

    • Eric Hand

  • News & Views |

    Redox reactions in widely spatially separated layers of marine sediments are coupled to each other. This suggests that bacteria mediate the flow of electrons between the layers — an idea that would previously have been dismissed.

    • Kenneth H. Nealson

  • News |

    Nanowires growing from bacteria might link up distant chemical reactions in sediments.

    • Katharine Sanderson

  • News Feature |

    Protesters saying "no to CO2" are just one roadblock facing carbon sequestration — a strategy that could help prevent dangerous climate change. Richard Van Noorden investigates.

    • Richard Van Noorden

  • News Feature |

    The surprising discovery of methane in Mars's atmosphere could be a sign of life there. Researchers are now working out how to find its source, reports Katharine Sanderson.

    • Katharine Sanderson

  • News & Views |

    Springtime ozone levels in the lower atmosphere over western North America are rising. The source of this pollution may be Asia, a finding that reaffirms the need for international air-quality control.

    • Kathy Law

  • Books & Arts |

    Floods and fires aside, the tricky science of prediction is explained in a book that treads a careful line between analysis and anecdotes of awful events, says Andrew Robinson.

    • Andrew Robinson

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