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Large quantities of methane lie trapped beneath the floor of the Arctic Ocean. Measurements in the southern Laptev Sea around the Lena River delta suggest that bubbles and storms facilitate the flux of some of this submarine methane to the atmosphere.
Runoff estimates from the Greenland ice sheet carry uncertainty because the fate of surface melt in permanently snow-covered regions is unconstrained. In situ and airborne observations reveal large-scale liquid water storage in buried layers of aged and compacted snow.
The metal content of magmas erupted at subduction zone arcs is thought to be derived from the mantle. A correlation between crustal thickness and copper content in arc magmas worldwide, however, reveals an important role for the crust in the upper plate.
The Archaean Earth was much hotter than today. Numerical modelling shows that the base of thickened crust that formed at the time would have been so dense that it dripped back into the mantle.
Liquid water may lurk beneath the frozen surfaces of Jupiter's moon Europa and other icy worlds. Extending ocean science beyond Earth, planetary oceanographers are linking Europa's ocean dynamics to its enigmatic surface geology.
Significant quantities of the ozone and aerosol precursor isoprene are released into the atmosphere in densely forested regions of the world. Experimental observations suggest that the oxidation of isoprene in these pristine environments adds to the self-cleansing capacity of the atmosphere.
Following almost three decades of some certainty over how the Moon was formed, new geochemical measurements have thrown the planetary science community back into doubt. We are either modelling the wrong process, or modelling the process wrong.
Antarctic temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels generally co-varied at the end of glacial periods. Detailed analysis of an Antarctic ice core suggests a decoupling during the deglaciation 130,000 years ago, possibly linked to a strengthening of ocean circulation.
The surface of Mars is dominated by basalt that has undergone little magmatic evolution. However, minerals now identified in some ancient terrains suggest that extensive magma processing and intrusive volcanism were not uncommon on the red planet.
Volcanoes have been active under the West Antarctic Ice Sheet for millions of years, and there is evidence for recent activity. Now swarms of tiny earthquakes detected in 2010 and 2011 hint at current magma movement in the crust beneath the ice.
Global temperature rise since industrialization has not been uniform. A statistical analysis suggests that past changes in the rate of warming can be directly attributed to human influences, from economic downturns to the regulations of the Montreal Protocol.
Episodes of excessive magmatism have repeatedly formed large volcanic provinces on Earth. Seismic data from the Shatsky Rise in the northwestern Pacific Ocean reveal that such oceanic plateaux can be built from individual, giant volcanoes.
Understanding the processes that govern the complex spatial structure of rainfall is crucial. Idealized numerical simulations reveal the strong influence that ocean heat transport exerts on this structure.
About 5,500 years ago, there was a shift from savannah to desert vegetation in the Sahara. Conceptual modelling suggests that the transition was controlled by a climate–vegetation feedback that was also influenced by plant diversity.
The neurotoxin methylmercury can accumulate in marine food webs, contaminating seafood. An analysis of the isotopic composition of fish in the North Pacific suggests that much of the mercury that enters the marine food web originates from low-oxygen subsurface waters.
During the Last Glacial Maximum, ice sheets in Eurasia terminated at the edge of the Laptev Sea. Seismic data now suggest that a separate ice sheet was repeatedly centred further east, in the East Siberian Sea, during previous glacial periods.
Intrusions of magma into the crust help accommodate the divergence between tectonic plates. A magnetotelluric survey of the crust and mantle beneath Afar, Ethiopia, has identified enough magma to accommodate plate separation there for about 50,000 years.
Phosphorus is an important element for biogeochemical development. According to a set of experiments, martian phosphate minerals dissolve more quickly than terrestrial ones, possibly providing nutrients in aqueous environments for early martian life.
