Featured
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Article
| Open AccessVegetation enhances curvature-driven dynamics in meandering rivers
Riparian vegetation densities critically mediate the morphodynamics of meandering rivers: plants slow the rate at which channels move laterally and reinforce the key, first-order control that curvature exerts on meander planform evolution.
- Alvise Finotello
- , Alessandro Ielpi
- & Andrea D’Alpaos
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Article
| Open AccessFar-travelled 3700 km lateral magma propagation just below the surface of Venus
In this study, the authors trace lateral magma movement in a ~ 3700 km long fracture on Venus. This Great Dyke of Atla Regio is the longest so-far traced on Venus (and in the solar system) and belongs to a giant radiating dyke swarm of the Ozza Mons volcano of the Atla Regio plume.
- H. El Bilali
- & R. E. Ernst
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Article
| Open AccessModern anthropogenic drought in Central Brazil unprecedented during last 700 years
Speleothems from the Savanna region in Brazil documents the occurrence of an unprecedented long-term drought driven by anthropogenic forcing. Staring in the 1970´s the current drought is the most severe that has struck the region in the past 700 years.
- Nicolas Misailidis Stríkis
- , Plácido Fabrício Silva Melo Buarque
- & Valdir Felipe Novello
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Article
| Open AccessOnset of double subduction controls plate motion reorganisation
In face-to-face double subduction, the development of subduction in the younger system restrains subduction in the older system and results in plate motion reorganisation, according to geodynamic modelling.
- Kuidi Zhang
- , Jie Liao
- & Taras Gerya
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Article
| Open AccessHigh-spatial resolution functional chemistry of nitrogen compounds in the observed UK meteorite fall Winchcombe
Important biomolecules from the birth of our Solar System such as amino acids and polyaromatic hydrocarbons were analysed in the UK meteorite fall Winchcombe by synchrotron and electron microscopy techniques with unique high energy resolution.
- Christian Vollmer
- , Demie Kepaptsoglou
- & Quentin M. Ramasse
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Article
| Open AccessRecent intensified erosion and massive sediment deposition in Tibetan Plateau rivers
Climate change intensifies erosion and sediment transport in rivers of the Tibetan Plateau. Satellite data unveil unprecedented patterns of sediment deposition in rivers. Pronounced spatiotemporal heterogeneities within and across basins are found.
- Jinlong Li
- , Genxu Wang
- & Dongfeng Li
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Article
| Open AccessMagnetosheath jets at Jupiter and across the solar system
Jets have been found in Earth’s magnetosheath for two decades and, more recently, also in Mars. Yet, their universal existence in planetary magnetosheath remains an open question. Here, authors report the presence of anti-sunward and sunward jets at Jupiter and compare them to Earth and Mars.
- Yufei Zhou
- , Savvas Raptis
- & Lan Ma
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessSea-level rise may not uniformly accelerate cliff erosion rates
- M. E. Dickson
- , H. Matsumoto
- & A. P. Young
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal distribution and dynamics of muddy coasts
14% of the world’s coastlines are muddy and the majority of them are eroding at rates exceeding 1 m per year over the last three decades, according to an automated classification method that identifies global coastlines.
- Romy Hulskamp
- , Arjen Luijendijk
- & Stefan Aarninkhof
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Article
| Open AccessThe second Venus flyby of BepiColombo mission reveals stable atmosphere over decades
On its way to Mercury, BepiColombo spacecraft made two flybys of Venus. Here, the authors show spectrally resolved measurements of Venus’ atmosphere during BepiColombo’s second flyby and reveal that Venusian atmosphere has been stable since 1980s.
- Jörn Helbert
- , Rainer Haus
- & Harald Hiesinger
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Article
| Open AccessSpectroscopy of a mesospheric ghost reveals iron emissions
Mesospheric ghosts are rare, faint, greenish transient luminous events. Here, the authors show metallic emissions revealed by the spectrum of a mesospheric ghost.
- María Passas-Varo
- , Oscar Van der Velde
- & Joan Montanyà
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Article
| Open AccessDouble superionicity in icy compounds at planetary interior conditions
At high pressures, water and ammonia are known to exhibit superionic states. Here it is shown that many planetary ices (H-C-N-O compounds) exhibit a superionic state, and in some cases, a doubly superionic state, in which multiple elements diffuse simultaneously.
- Kyla de Villa
- , Felipe González-Cataldo
- & Burkhard Militzer
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Article
| Open AccessComprehensive mapping of lunar surface chemistry by adding Chang'e-5 samples with deep learning
In this study, the authors map the lunar surface chemistry. They achieve this through a combination of deep learning and actual samples from the Chinese Chang’e-5 mission.
- Chen Yang
- , Xinmei Zhang
- & Ziyuan Ouyang
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Comment
| Open AccessA new era in solar system astronomy with JWST
The exploration of our solar system is being radically changed since the beginning of operations of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in mid 2022. JWST’s extraordinary sensitivity and instrumentation allow for sensitive searches for the building blocks of life and to test for habitability, also enabling new discoveries on small bodies to giant planets across our solar system and beyond.
- G. L. Villanueva
- & S. N. Milam
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Article
| Open AccessEvidence of an upper ionospheric electric field perturbation correlated with a gamma ray burst
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are known to have impact on Earth’s lower ionosphere, but GRB impacts on the upper ionosphere was not observed before. Here, the authors show strong electric field variation at 500 km in the ionosphere caused by GRB221009A.
- Mirko Piersanti
- , Pietro Ubertini
- & Paolo Zuccon
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| Open AccessDirect detection of atomic oxygen on the dayside and nightside of Venus
Atomic oxygen is important for the photochemistry and energy balance of Venus’s atmosphere, but it was not directly observed on the dayside of Venus. Here, the authors show direct detection of atomic oxygen on the both dayside and nightside of Venus by measuring its ground-state transition at 4.74 THz.
- Heinz-Wilhelm Hübers
- , Heiko Richter
- & Helmut Wiesemeyer
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Article
| Open AccessVegetation controls on channel network complexity in coastal wetlands
Channel networks are key to coastal wetland functioning. Here, the authors show how vegetation enhances network branching, and hypothesize that this may enhance the storm surge buffering capacity of wetlands and their resilience under sea-level rise.
- Roeland C. van de Vijsel
- , Jim van Belzen
- & Johan van de Koppel
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Article
| Open AccessLong-term sea level rise modeling of a basin-tidal inlet system reveals sediment sinks
Barrier islands and backbarrier saltmarshes are particularly threatened by sea level rise. Here, the authors show how reduction in intertidal areas create negative feedback, shifting transport of coarse sediment through the inlet from net export to net import.
- Kevin C. Hanegan
- , Duncan M. FitzGerald
- & Zoe J. Hughes
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Article
| Open AccessThreefold coordinated germanium in a GeO2 melt
The structure of GeO2 melt has been debated for decades due to several unexplained bands present in the GeO2 melt Raman spectra. Here authors present a promising way to analyse melt structures from Raman spectra and they demonstrate threefold coordinated germanium is formed in the GeO2 melt.
- Songming Wan
- , Shujie Zhang
- & Jinglin You
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Article
| Open AccessDetection of magnetospheric ion drift patterns at Mars
Mars lacks a global intrinsic magnetic field. Here, the authors show wedge-like dispersion structures of Hydrogen ions exhibiting butterfly-shaped distributions, which was previously found only in intrinsic magnetospheres.
- Chi Zhang
- , Hans Nilsson
- & Stas Barabash
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Article
| Open AccessSoluble organic matter Molecular atlas of Ryugu reveals cold hydrothermalism on C-type asteroid parent body
The molecular atlas of soluble organic compounds from Ryugu shows unprecedented molecular complexity and diversity resulting from alteration on a low temperature, water rich parent body.
- Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin
- , Norbert Hertkorn
- & Yasuhiro Oba
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Article
| Open AccessThe global and regional air quality impacts of dietary change
Food production, especially of animal products, is a major source of air pollutants. Here, the authors quantify the impacts dietary changes towards more plant-based diets could have for air quality, labour productivity, and human health.
- Marco Springmann
- , Rita Van Dingenen
- & Adrian Leip
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Article
| Open AccessDrifting discrete Jovian radio bursts reveal acceleration processes related to Ganymede and the main aurora
Jovian short bursts (S-bursts) are induced by the Io-Jupiter interaction. Here, the authors show a drifting radio burst detection method and report S-bursts related to Ganymede-Jupiter interaction and to Jovian aurora.
- Emilie Mauduit
- , Philippe Zarka
- & Sébastien L. G. Hess
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| Open AccessChemical evolution of primordial salts and organic sulfur molecules in the asteroid 162173 Ryugu
The asteroid Ryugu samples are by far the freshest extraterrestrial carbonaceous material. The authors report soluble ions and organic sulfur molecules linked with primordial brine and prebiotic organic evolution of the primitive asteroid.
- Toshihiro Yoshimura
- , Yoshinori Takano
- & Yuki Kimura
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Article
| Open AccessDeciphering local and regional hydroclimate resolves contradicting evidence on the Asian monsoon evolution
Distinguishing local hydrological, cave internal, and regional monsoon signals in speleothem records resolves disagreements among proxy reconstructions and illuminates the Holocene evolution of summer and winter monsoon in Southeast Asia.
- Annabel Wolf
- , Vasile Ersek
- & Anh Duc Trinh
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Article
| Open AccessIgneous meteorites suggest Aluminium-26 heterogeneity in the early Solar Nebula
The homogeneity of Aluminium-26 (Al-26) isotope distribution in the accreting solar nebula is debated. Here, the authors show that the age determination of meteorite Erg Chech 002, compared with other igneous meteorites, indicates that Al-26 was heterogeneously distributed in the early Solar System.
- Evgenii Krestianinov
- , Yuri Amelin
- & Tommaso Di Rocco
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Article
| Open AccessRapid transition from primary to secondary crust building on the Moon explained by mantle overturn
Overturn of late stage lunar magma ocean cumulates triggers a rapid & short-lived episode of lower mantle melting that explains the key volume, geochronological, & spatial characteristics of the earliest secondary crust on the Moon (Mg-suite).
- Tabb C. Prissel
- , Nan Zhang
- & Haoyuan Li
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Article
| Open AccessExcitonic insulator to superconductor phase transition in ultra-compressed helium
Solid helium is predicted to become a metal at extraordinarily high pressures of 25 TPa. Here, the authors predict that helium becomes an excitonic insulator just below the metallization pressure, and a superconductor just above the metallization pressure.
- Cong Liu
- , Ion Errea
- & Claudio Cazorla
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Article
| Open AccessDirect evidence of substorm-related impulsive injections of electrons at Mercury
BepiColombo mission had its first Mercury flyby on 1 October 2021. Here, the authors show plasma measurements taken during this flyby, which reveals that electron injections and subsequent energy-dependent drift is a universal mechanism generating aurorae in the planetary magnetospheres.
- Sae Aizawa
- , Yuki Harada
- & Go Murakami
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Article
| Open AccessSulfate triple-oxygen-isotope evidence confirming oceanic oxygenation 570 million years ago
Seawater sulfate in three different paleocontinents all became conspicuously depleted in 17O mass anomalously around 570 million years ago, confirming a global oceanic oxygenation event directly linked to the involvement of paleo-atmospheric O2.
- Haiyang Wang
- , Yongbo Peng
- & Huiming Bao
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Article
| Open AccessVolcanic evolution of an ultraslow-spreading ridge
A new age map of the rift valley at an ultraslow-spreading ridge reveals that 50% of the lava flows are <25,000 years old. The study documents a continuous volcanic surface renewal with eruptions occurring throughout the width of the rift valley.
- H. H. Stubseid
- , A. Bjerga
- & R. B. Pedersen
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Article
| Open AccessUnraveling the optical shape of snow
Micrometre scale simulation of the trajectory of sunlight as it reaches the snowpack shows what snow looks like from the photon’s perspective, providing a more universal representation of snow in optical models.
- Alvaro Robledano
- , Ghislain Picard
- & Quentin Libois
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Article
| Open AccessStratospheric water vapor affecting atmospheric circulation
This study investigates the role of water in the lower-most stratosphere, affecting dynamics of the stratosphere and troposphere, and shows that common water vapor transport schemes can cause biases, present in nearly all modern climate models.
- Edward Charlesworth
- , Felix Plöger
- & Martin Riese
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Article
| Open AccessRecurrent photic zone euxinia limited ocean oxygenation and animal evolution during the Ediacaran
Using Hg isotopes, the authors find that repeated invasion of toxic, H2S-rich water into the marine photic zone of the Ediacaran ocean may have inhibited the rise of oxygen and delayed the expansion of early animals.
- Wang Zheng
- , Anwen Zhou
- & Jiubin Chen
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Article
| Open AccessSurges in volcanic activity on the Moon about two billion years ago
This work estimates the eruption volume of the young Chang’e-5 lunar samples using diffusion chronology and thermodynamic simulations, and finds that there was an increase in volcanic eruption flux about 2.0 billion years ago.
- Heng-Ci Tian
- , Chi Zhang
- & Fuyuan Wu
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Article
| Open AccessUncovering the chiral bias of meteoritic isovaline through asymmetric photochemistry
Excess of l-amino acids in meteorites suggests an extraterrestrial origin of biomolecular homochirality, which may stem from chiral light-matter interactions. Here the authors support this hypothesis with asymmetric photolysis experiments on racemic isovaline films, showing that circularly polarized starlight can produce l-enantiomeric excesses that can be amplified during parent bodies’ alteration.
- Jana Bocková
- , Nykola C. Jones
- & Cornelia Meinert
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Comment
| Open AccessRyugu asteroid sample return provides a natural laboratory for primordial chemical evolution
The samples returned from near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu provide a pristine record of the 4.6 billion years since the birth of the Solar System. The Hayabusa2 initial analysis team has integrated a range of analytical techniques to investigate Ryugu’s organic chemistry. Here, we highlight their latest findings, the potential questions which may be answered, and provide an overview of new prospects in the decade to come.
- Yasuhiro Oba
- , Yoshinori Takano
- & Hiroshi Naraoka
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Comment
| Open AccessImpact observations of asteroid Dimorphos via Light Italian CubeSat for imaging of asteroids (LICIACube)
On September 26th 2022, LICIACube monitored Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission impact on asteroid Dimorphos, which is the smaller component of a binary asteroid system. These close observations revealed the impact ejecta features of the first planetary defence test with a kinetic impactor.
- Elisabetta Dotto
- & Angelo Zinzi
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Article
| Open AccessLightning at Jupiter pulsates with a similar rhythm as in-cloud lightning at Earth
Potential similarities between Jovian and Earth lightning are helpful to understand involved properties. Here, the authors show that the Jovian lightning initiation processes are similar to those of intracloud lightning at Earth.
- Ivana Kolmašová
- , Ondřej Santolík
- & Radek Lán
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Article
| Open AccessEvidence for structural control of mare volcanism in lunar compressional tectonic settings
On the Moon, evidence has been found for the preexisting fault reactivation origin (tectonic inversion) of contractional wrinkle ridges in mare basins and the consequent structural control of volcanic eruptions in compressional tectonic settings.
- Feng Zhang
- , Alberto Pizzi
- & Yongliao Zou
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Article
| Open AccessCrystal orientation fabric anisotropy causes directional hardening of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream
This study uses radio-echo sounding measurements, ice-core data and models to map the spatial variation in ice-crystal orientation in the northeast Greenland Ice Stream and shows how it potentially affects the ice-flow dynamics in this region.
- Tamara Annina Gerber
- , David A. Lilien
- & Olaf Eisen
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Article
| Open AccessPhosphate availability and implications for life on ocean worlds
Is phosphorous a limiting factor for life on ocean worlds (e.g. Europa and Enceladus)? Calculated dissolved phosphate concentrations from a wide range of possible water-rock reactions suggest cell populations larger than those observed in Earth’s deep oceans could be supported.
- Noah G. Randolph-Flagg
- , Tucker Ely
- & Tori M. Hoehler
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Article
| Open AccessInadequacy of fluvial energetics for describing gravity current autosuspension
This study shows that the total energy loss of gravity currents has a non-linear dependence on the work required to keep sediment in suspension, highlighting the importance of large-scale mixing for the particulate transport of gravity currents.
- Sojiro Fukuda
- , Marijke G. W. de Vet
- & Robert M. Dorrell
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Article
| Open AccessMetal-rich stars are less suitable for the evolution of life on their planets
Low stellar ultraviolet (UV) radiation leads to low ozone abundances, therefore, less planetary UV protection. Here, the authors show that planets in the habitable zones of metal-poor stars, despite their higher UV radiation than metal-rich stars, are the best targets for search for life.
- Anna V. Shapiro
- , Christoph Brühl
- & Jos Lelieveld
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal scale analysis on the extent of river channel belts
Here the authors present a global scale classification of river channel belt extents as a resource for improved ecosystem accounting and river behavior analysis. Moreover, the methods show advances in pattern recognition to define new global landform products.
- Björn Nyberg
- , Gijs Henstra
- & Juha Ahokas
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Comment
| Open AccessHabitability and sub glacial liquid water on planets of M-dwarf stars
A long-standing issue in astrobiology is whether planets orbiting the most abundant type of stars, M-dwarfs, can support liquid water and eventually life. A new study shows that subglacial melting may provide an answer, significantly extending the habitability region, in particular around M-dwarf stars, which are also the most promising for biosignature detection with the present and near-future technology.
- Amri Wandel
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Comment
| Open AccessVolcanic Island lightning prebiotic chemistry and the origin of life in the early Hadean eon
The early Hadean eon (>4Ga) may have had a periodically ice-covered global ocean and limited subaerial landmass, and this could have resulted in infrequent lightning occurrence. This infrequency of lightning may have limited the synthesis of prebiotic compounds necessary for life’s origins. Here I present a hypothesis that lightning associated with volcanic island eruptions created focal points for the generation of prebiotic ingredients and ultimately the origin of life.
- Jeffrey L. Bada
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Article
| Open AccessIncreased warm water intrusions could cause mass loss in East Antarctica during the next 200 years
The East Antarctic Ice Sheet is currently surrounded by relatively cool water but changes in ocean dynamics may lead to warmer ocean water on the shelf in the future. This has the potential to dramatically increase its future sea level contribution.
- James R. Jordan
- , B. W. J. Miles
- & C. R. Stokes
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Article
| Open AccessWidespread detection of chlorine oxyacids in the Arctic atmosphere
Observations are reported of HClO3 and HClO4 in the atmosphere and their widespread occurrence over the pan-Arctic during spring, providing further insights into atmospheric chlorine cycling in the polar environment.
- Yee Jun Tham
- , Nina Sarnela
- & Alfonso Saiz-Lopez
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