Articles in 2010

Magma from the mantle meets the ocean at seafloor spreading centres. At young rifts, basalt sills may heat overlying sediments and induce natural carbon release; basalt flows elsewhere may offer secure reservoirs for sequestration of anthropogenic carbon.

Continental rifting creates narrow ocean basins, where coastal ocean upwelling and enhanced silicate weathering remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Evidence from seismic data, sonar backscatter and seafloor images, and geochemical water analyses suggest that in young sedimented rifts, active magmatism occurs in a broader region than appreciated and releases carbon from the sediments.

Soils comprise the largest terrestrial carbon store on the planet. Soil respiration measurements suggest that the more biogeochemically recalcitrant the soil organic matter, the greater the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration.

Deep convection in the tropics is observed generally above a threshold for sea surface temperatures of about 26–28 °C. An analysis of satellite observations of tropical rainfall shows that the threshold has varied in the past 30 years in parallel with tropical mean sea surface temperatures.

Archaea are prevalent in the deep sea, and comprise a major fraction of the biomass in marine sediments. ¹³C-labelling experiments on the sea floor suggest that benthic archaea use sedimentary organic compounds to construct their membranes.

Skilful predictions of hurricane frequency have been limited to lead times of one season, and evidence for external forcing has been indirect. Simulations with nine variants of one global climate model show an influence of external forcing on hurricane frequency, and predictability on multi-year timescales.

Extant or relict martian volcanic hydrothermal systems have been sought in the pursuit of evidence for habitable environments. Detection from orbit of hydrated silica deposits on the flanks of a volcanic cone in the martian Syrtis Major caldera complex suggests the possible preservation of a recent habitable microenvironment.

Little is known about the source and residence time of sand in the Earth’s largest deserts. Burial ages obtained from cosmogenic nuclides in association with provenance data from geochronology indicate that the sand in the Namib Sand Sea has remained there for at least one million years.

The sulphur cycle plays fundamental roles in the chemistry and climate of Venus. Photochemical modelling suggests that the photolysis of sulphuric acid is a source of observed sulphur oxides in the Venusian mesosphere.

Evidence for the sedimentary carbonate rocks proposed to be prevalent on Mars has generally been lacking. Carbonate-bearing rocks found in the Leighton Crater may be associated with the formation of methane detected in the martian atmosphere.

Geoscience has played a key role in the recovery of Haiti since the earthquake, but warnings were not heeded in the political sphere. Along with better houses, an adaptive disaster-management infrastructure that incorporates science needs to be built.

Geophysical analyses of the 2010 Haiti earthquake suggest that there is still potential for seismic activity in the region. Building a more resilient country is the only option.

Matthew J. Hornbach and colleagues navigated shallow debris-filled waters in an attempt to understand the factors that contributed to tsunami generation during the Haiti earthquake.

The Haiti earthquake ruptured one or more buried faults, generated tsunamis and caused extensive structural damage in Port-au-Prince. Investigations in the epicentral region quantify seismic hazards but offer no clear views of Haiti's seismic future.

On average, terrestrial near-surface winds have slowed down in recent decades. This change will affect both wind energy and hydrology.