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The dynamics of polar marine ecosystems are poorly understood. A laser-based space-borne sensor captures annual cycles of phytoplankton biomass in seasonally ice-free polar waters, and provides clues on how growth drives these cycles.
Abrupt climate changes in the glacial North Atlantic altered the position of wind systems in the Northern Hemisphere and tropics. Ice-core data show that this disruption also reached the southern westerlies.
180 million years ago Earth's continents were amalgamated into one supercontinent called Pangaea. Analysis of oceanic crust formed since that time suggests that the cooling rate of Earth was enhanced in the wake of Pangaea's dispersal.
Organic carbon decomposition in anoxic marine sediments was thought to be dominated by bacteria, but experimental data and microbial culture studies now show that microalgae buried in coastal sands may also play an important role in carbon turnover.
The latitude of the tropical rainbelt is constrained by the energy balance between hemispheres. An expansion of this theory that includes longitudinal variations of atmospheric heating can predict regional changes in tropical precipitation.
Large quantities of organic carbon are stored in the ocean, but its biogeochemical behaviour is elusive. Size–age–composition relations now quantify the production of tiny organic molecules as a major pathway for carbon sequestration.
Tectonic plate interiors are often regarded as relatively inactive. Yet, reconstructions of marine terrace uplift in Angola suggest that underlying mantle flow can rapidly warp Earth's surface far from obviously active plate boundaries.
Mantle enrichment processes were thought to be limited to parts of oceanic plates influenced by plumes and to continental interiors. Analyses of mantle fragments of the Pacific Plate suggest that such enrichment processes may operate everywhere.
The slow instrumental-record warming is consistent with lower-end climate sensitivity. Simulations and observations now show that changing sea surface temperature patterns could have affected cloudiness and thereby dampened the warming.
Large glacial–interglacial fluctuations occurred during the late Palaeozoic. Geochemical and fossil data show these cycles were marked by coincident shifts in the carbon cycle and terrestrial biosphere.
The composition of Earth's crust depends on the style of plate tectonics and of the melting regimes in the mantle. Analyses of the oldest identified rocks suggest that these styles and the resulting crust have changed over Earth's history.
There is potential evidence for a stratified layer at the top of the Earth's core, but its origin is not well understood. Laboratory experiments suggest that the stratified layer could be a sunken remnant of the giant impact that formed the Moon.
Increasing groundwater extraction supports hundreds of millions of people across the Indo-Gangetic Basin. Data suggests that despite the increase in withdrawals, groundwater depletion is localized and the most widespread threat is contamination.
The sources contributing to the deglacial rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations are unclear. Climate model simulations suggest thawing permafrost soils were the initial source, highlighting the vulnerability of modern permafrost carbon stores.
Climate change is causing widespread permafrost thaw in the Arctic. Measurements at 33 Arctic lakes show that old carbon from thawing permafrost is being emitted as methane, though emission rates have not changed during the past 60 years.
The Himalaya grow as India and Eurasia collide. Analyses of deformation during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake suggest that slip on small-scale splay faults, as well as motion during the interseismic period, help to create Earth's highest mountains.
TEX86-based records of sea surface temperature from the Early Eocene suggest polar warmth that is not seen in climate models. A reassessment of the TEX86 proxy adjusts these temperatures, lending confidence to simulations of greenhouse climates.
Summer temperatures in Europe varied markedly over the past millennium. Climate models and palaeoclimate records indicate that changes in cloud cover related to storm tracks contributed to the variations — and may continue to do so in the future.
