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Long-lasting eruptions of some subduction zone volcanoes may be regulated by their magma sources in the mantle. This suggests that direct connections between the mantle and surface are possible through a relatively thick crust.
Small-scale compositional alteration of the mantle wedge by fluids may regulate eruptive activity of individual arc volcanoes, according to an analysis of the isotopic composition of ashes erupted by Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador from 1999 to 2016.
Analysis of lunar soils sampled by the Chang’e-5 mission suggests that impact glass beads may host a substantial inventory of solar wind-derived water on the Moon’s surface.
Meltwater discharge to the mid-Holocene North Atlantic disrupted decadal climate variability, suggesting future melting on Greenland may hinder climate predictability in the region, according to an annually laminated lake-sediment record and transient model simulations.
Intraplate volcanoes erupt lower volumes of more diverse magma and have increasingly complex magmatic architectures as the heat flux from the driving mantle plume wanes, according to an analysis of a continental hotspot chain in eastern Australia.
Numerical simulations show that convection in the mantle shapes the long-term structure of Earth’s magnetic field. The mantle influences the magnetic field by imposing a pattern of cooling that controls the dynamics of fluid flow at the top of the outer core.
The lunar basalts sampled by the Chang’e-5 mission originated from melting of a clinopyroxene-rich mantle source enhanced in radioactive elements, potentially explaining this late lunar volcanism, according to sample analysis and crystallization modelling.
The pattern of heat flow across the core–mantle boundary results in longitudinal differences in geomagnetic field behaviour, according to geodynamo modelling.
Climate simulations suggest that the contribution of methane to climate warming and wetting due to absorption of long-wave radiation is partially counteracted by short-wave absorption.
Night-time chemistry has an important contribution to air pollution over China and India. Understanding the chemical evolution of pollution in the atmosphere at night is needed for effective solutions to improve air quality.
Following on from insights gleaned from iron meteorites, Claire Nichols explains why tetrataenite, with its unique magnetic properties, could be key for future renewable energy technologies.
Measurements suggest that emissions from biomass burning drive the rapid growth of particles from nanoscale into sizes relevant for haze formation during the night in Delhi.
Iron input into the ocean is a key control on mineral–organic preservation, and therefore the accumulation of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere, according to a theoretical model and supported by proxy records for iron phases and cycling.
Satellite observations show that 24.1% of tropical moist forests are degraded. In addition to the warming effects of the release of carbon from biomass, satellite data suggest that degradation could also increase the land surface temperatures of the affected regions. This biophysical feedback could hinder forest restoration initiatives.
A remotely-operated underwater vehicle was used to map the ice, ocean, and seafloor conditions near the point where the floating Ross Ice Shelf meets the seafloor, also known as the grounding line. The study identified refreezing crevasses and geomorphological signatures of past grounding line retreat.
Observations from a remotely operated underwater vehicle reveal crevasse refreezing and the fine-scale variability in ice and ocean structure at the Kamb Ice Stream grounding line in West Antarctica.
The source of highly oxidized arc magmas may rely on the infiltration of sediment-derived fluids that contain oxidized aqueous species—notably sulfate—into deserpentinization fluids, according to thermodynamic modelling.
Rapid warmings of >10 °C occurred repeatedly during the last glacial period in central North America, probably coinciding with Dansgaard–Oeschger warming events, according to an annually resolved speleothem oxygen isotope record and palaeoclimate simulations.