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News & Views |
Earth’s volatile-element jigsaw
Earth’s formation by the accretion of volatile-rich carbonaceous chondrite-like materials, without a need for exotic building blocks or secondary volatile loss, is supported by recognition of a plateau pattern for highly volatile elements.
- Zaicong Wang
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Article |
Decline of giant impacts on Mars by 4.48 billion years ago and an early opportunity for habitability
The oldest known minerals from Mars have no strong shock features, indicating early cessation of giant impacts there, according to microanalysis of zircon and baddeleyite grains in meteorites.
- D. E. Moser
- , G. A. Arcuri
- & C. Davis
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Article |
High-altitude water ice cloud formation on Mars controlled by interplanetary dust particles
Particles from interplanetary dust ablating in Mars’ atmosphere control high-altitude water ice cloud formation, according to numerical simulations of the Martian atmosphere.
- V. L Hartwick
- , O. B. Toon
- & N. G. Heavens
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Article |
Mesosiderite formation on asteroid 4 Vesta by a hit-and-run collision
Mesosiderite meteorites may originate from a hit-and-run impact on the parent asteroid of eucrite meteorites (probably Vesta), as mesosiderite zircon U–Pb ages are found to coincide with those for eucrites.
- Makiko K. Haba
- , Jörn-Frederik Wotzlaw
- & Maria Schönbächler
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Article |
Slurry extrusion on Ceres from a convective mud-bearing mantle
Ahuna Mons dome on Ceres formed by extrusion of a mixture of brine and solids sourced from a muddy mantle plume, according to numerical modelling of slurry rheology and a gravity anomaly found by the Dawn mission.
- Ottaviano Ruesch
- , Antonio Genova
- & Maria T. Zuber
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Article |
Earth’s volatile element depletion pattern inherited from a carbonaceous chondrite-like source
Earth’s volatile element composition can be explained without exotic building blocks or late volatile loss, according to matching patterns of volatile element depletion for Earth and carbonaceous chondrites, as revealed by chondrite analyses.
- Ninja Braukmüller
- , Frank Wombacher
- & Carsten Münker
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Article |
Hydrogeological constraints on the formation of Palaeoproterozoic banded iron formations
Banded iron formations could not have formed by postdepositional oxidation, according to four million hydrogeological box model iterations that failed to reproduce secondary oxidation on reasonable timescales.
- Leslie J. Robbins
- , Sean P. Funk
- & Kurt O. Konhauser
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Article |
Pluto’s ocean is capped and insulated by gas hydrates
Pluto’s subsurface ocean and thickness variation in its ice shell may be maintained by a layer of methane clathrates forming an insulating cap to the ocean, according to calculations of thermal evolution and viscous relaxation.
- Shunichi Kamata
- , Francis Nimmo
- & Atsushi Tani
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Article |
Ammonium availability in the Late Archaean nitrogen cycle
Biologically available nitrogen in the form of ammonium was abundant in the Late Archaean ocean, according to nitrogen isotope and proxy analyses on 2.7 billion year old shales from Zimbabwe.
- J. Yang
- , C. K. Junium
- & A. L. Zerkle
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Article |
Shallow seismic activity and young thrust faults on the Moon
Shallow moonquakes detected at four Apollo landing sites between 1969 and 1977 occurred during maximum stress and in close proximity to young faults, suggesting that the Moon is tectonically active, according to reanalyses of the seismic data and tidal force modelling.
- Thomas R. Watters
- , Renee C. Weber
- & Catherine L. Johnson
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News & Views |
Why the Moon is so like the Earth
The Moon’s isotopic composition is uncannily similar to Earth’s. This may be the signature of a magma ocean on Earth at the time of the Moon-forming giant impact, according to numerical simulations.
- H. Jay Melosh
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Article |
Terrestrial magma ocean origin of the Moon
Moon formation by a giant impact ejecting material from a magma ocean on Earth reconciles geochemical and dynamical constraints on its formation, according to numerical simulations.
- Natsuki Hosono
- , Shun-ichiro Karato
- & Takayuki R. Saitoh
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News & Views |
To sink or swim in Titan’s lakes
Flotation of aerosols as a film on the hydrocarbon lakes of Saturn’s moon Titan may explain the lakes’ stillness, and could influence the atmospheric hydrocarbon cycle.
- Isabelle Couturier-Tamburelli
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Article |
The floatability of aerosols and wave damping on Titan’s seas
Organic aerosols that sediment from Titan’s atmosphere may float, form a film and damp waves on Titan’s seas, according to computations. This damping effect could explain the observed smoothness of Titan’s seas.
- Daniel Cordier
- & Nathalie Carrasco
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Article |
Lunar soil hydration constrained by exospheric water liberated by meteoroid impacts
Water is uniformly present at low concentrations in the Moon’s subsoil and is emitted by meteoroid impacts, according to analysis of water releases detected by NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer.
- M. Benna
- , D. M. Hurley
- & R. C. Elphic
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Article |
A unified model of ripples and dunes in water and planetary environments
Terrestrial and planetary subaqueous and aeolian ripples and dunes can be compared in a unified framework, according to simulations with a hydrodynamic and sediment transport model.
- Orencio Duran Vinent
- , Bruno Andreotti
- & Christian Winter
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Article |
Independent confirmation of a methane spike on Mars and a source region east of Gale Crater
A methane spike 15.5 ± 2.5 parts per billion by volume was detected in the Martian atmosphere above Gale Crater on 16 June 2013 by Mars Express, independently confirming the debated in situ observation by the Curiosity rover a day earlier.
- Marco Giuranna
- , Sébastien Viscardy
- & Marilena Amoroso
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Editorial |
All planets great and small
Near-Earth asteroid Bennu is one of a range of bodies in the Solar System to have been reached by space missions in the past months. Crowd-sourcing technologies can help with the exploration of its surface.
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Article |
A deep groundwater origin for recurring slope lineae on Mars
Observations and heat-flow modelling suggest that briny groundwater surfacing from fractures forms recurring slope lineae on Mars.
- Abotalib Z. Abotalib
- & Essam Heggy
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Article |
Craters, boulders and regolith of (101955) Bennu indicative of an old and dynamic surface
Near-Earth rubble-pile asteroid Bennu has an unexpectedly old surface, with numerous candidate impact craters and morphologically diverse boulders, according to early observations by the OSIRIS-REx mission.
- K. J. Walsh
- , E. R. Jawin
- & B. Marty
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Article |
Shape of (101955) Bennu indicative of a rubble pile with internal stiffness
Near-Earth asteroid Bennu has a top-like shape with longitudinal ridges, macroporosity, prominent boulders and surface mass wasting, suggesting that it is a stiff rubble pile, according to early observations by the OSIRIS-REx mission.
- O. S. Barnouin
- , M. G. Daly
- & B. Marty
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Article |
Surface refreshing of Martian moon Phobos by orbital eccentricity-driven grain motion
The distribution of two distinct geologic units on Mars’s moon Phobos – red and blue units – can be explained by surface grain motion triggered by orbital variations in slope steepness, according to dynamical analyses and numerical simulations.
- Ronald-Louis Ballouz
- , Nicola Baresi
- & Masaki Fujimoto
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Article |
Methane seasonal cycle at Gale Crater on Mars consistent with regolith adsorption and diffusion
The seasonal cycle in the methane mixing ratio observed at Gale Crater on Mars can be explained by adsorption onto and diffusion through the regolith, suggests a one-dimensional numerical model with geological constraints.
- John E. Moores
- , Raina V. Gough
- & Christopher R. Webster
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Article |
Bilobate comet morphology and internal structure controlled by shear deformation
The shape and internal structure of bilobate comet 67P is controlled by shear deformation inducing mechanically driven erosion along shear fracture networks, according to a 3D analysis of images from the Rosetta mission.
- C. Matonti
- , N. Attree
- & J.-B. Vincent
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Editorial |
Use machines to tame big data
Machine learning allows geoscientists to embrace data at scales greater than ever before. We are excited to see what this innovative tool can teach us.
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Article |
Nutrient release to oceans from buoyancy-driven upwelling at Greenland tidewater glaciers
Glacial meltwater from the Greenland Ice Sheet causes buoyancy-driven upwelling of nutrient-rich, subtropical waters from depth to the continental shelf. This nutrient transport may exceed the direct ice sheet inputs, according to geochemical analyses of transect samples from Sermilik Fjord.
- Mattias R. Cape
- , Fiammetta Straneo
- & Matthew A. Charette
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News & Views |
Climate swings in extinction
Extreme temperature swings and deteriorating environments are perhaps what killed most life in the end-Permian extinction, suggest climate model simulations. Siberian Traps volcanism probably triggered the events.
- Ying Cui
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Article |
O2 solubility in Martian near-surface environments and implications for aerobic life
Despite little O2 in the Martian atmosphere, concentrations of dissolved O2 in near-surface brines on Mars may be sufficient to support aerobic life, according to solubility calculations.
- Vlada Stamenković
- , Lewis M. Ward
- & Woodward W. Fischer
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Article |
True polar wander of Ceres due to heterogeneous crustal density
The dwarf planet Ceres may have reoriented in the past due to a heterogeneously dense crust, a scenario consistent with gravity and topographic data and the distribution of crustal fractures.
- P. Tricarico
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Article |
Formation of metre-scale bladed roughness on Europa’s surface by ablation of ice
Sublimation rates of water ice in equatorial regions of Jupiter’s moon Europa are sufficient to sculpt bladed terrain that would pose a hazard to a potential lander mission.
- Daniel E. J. Hobley
- , Jeffrey M. Moore
- & Orkan M. Umurhan
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Observational evidence for active dust storms on Titan at equinox
Saturn’s moon Titan may have an active dust cycle in equatorial regions driven by storm winds, Cassini observations consistent with dust suspension in Titan’s atmosphere suggest.
- S. Rodriguez
- , S. Le Mouélic
- & P. D. Nicholson
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Article |
A highly resolved record of relative sea level in the western Mediterranean Sea during the last interglacial period
A sea-level record from Mallorca shows no evidence of large, millennial-scale oscillations during the last interglacial.
- Victor J. Polyak
- , Bogdan P. Onac
- & Angel Ginés
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Article |
An impact melt origin for Earth’s oldest known evolved rocks
Earth’s oldest known felsic rocks formed by partial melting at low pressures and high temperatures caused by impact melting of mafic Hadean crust, according to phase equilibria and trace element modelling.
- Tim E. Johnson
- , Nicholas J. Gardiner
- & Hugh Smithies
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Article |
Magnetite authigenesis and the warming of early Mars
Experiments suggest that magnetite precipitation on early Mars was accompanied by the release of H2 that may have helped to warm the planet and stabilize liquid water at the Martian surface.
- Nicholas J. Tosca
- , Imad A. M. Ahmed
- & Joel A. Hurowitz
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Article |
Atmospheric mountain wave generation on Venus and its influence on the solid planet’s rotation rate
Atmospheric simulations of Venus show that gravity waves generated in the afternoon over mountains can influence the planet’s rotation rate and explain a planetary-scale perturbation of the Venusian atmosphere observed by the Akatsuki spacecraft.
- T. Navarro
- , G. Schubert
- & S. Lebonnois
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Article |
Oxidized conditions in iron meteorite parent bodies
Some iron meteorite parent bodies may have formed beyond Mars under oxidizing conditions, according to analyses of chromium isotopes.
- P. Bonnand
- & A. N. Halliday
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Review Article |
A post-Cassini view of Titan’s methane-based hydrologic cycle
The Cassini mission revealed the complex workings of Titan’s methane-based hydrologic cycle over a range of timescales, providing a potential window into the future of Earth and its water cycle.
- Alexander G. Hayes
- , Ralph D. Lorenz
- & Jonathan I. Lunine
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Article |
Earth's oldest stable crust in the Pilbara Craton formed by cyclic gravitational overturns
The oldest stable crust on Earth may have formed during pulsed growth cycles, according to geochemical analyses of rocks preserved in the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia.
- Daniel Wiemer
- , Christoph E. Schrank
- & Charlotte M. Allen
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Article |
Efficient cooling of rocky planets by intrusive magmatism
Rocky planets dominated by intrusive magmatism can cool more efficiently than those dominated by extrusive volcanism, according to numerical simulations of mantle convection.
- Diogo L. Lourenço
- , Antoine B. Rozel
- & Paul J. Tackley
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Editorial |
Mars at war
Whether the climate of early Mars was warm and wet or cold and dry remains unclear, but the debate is overheated. With a growing toolbox and increasing data to tackle the open questions, progress is possible if there is openness to bridging the divide.
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Perspective |
The geological and climatological case for a warmer and wetter early Mars
A warm and semi-arid climate may be most consistent with geological evidence for flowing water on the surface of early Mars, despite the challenges of warming Mars under a faint young Sun.
- Ramses M. Ramirez
- & Robert A. Craddock
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Article |
Lower-mantle plume beneath the Yellowstone hotspot revealed by core waves
The Yellowstone hotspot could be fed by a thin, thermal mantle plume that extends from the core–mantle boundary to the surface position of the hotspot, according to analyses of seismic data.
- Peter L. Nelson
- & Stephen P. Grand
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Cyclonic circulation of Saturn’s atmosphere due to tilted convection
Saturn’s cyclonic atmospheric circulation may be explained by the dynamics of small-scale convection, suggest laboratory analogue experiments.
- Y. D. Afanasyev
- & Y. Zhang
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