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Large earthquakes are often assumed to reset the seismic hazard of a region. Analysis of recent and historical seismicity in Ecuador suggests that this region may experience clusters of large earthquakes and extended periods of high seismic hazard.
Pressure during subduction is thought to reduce porosity and restrict water escape from the slab. Thermodynamic modelling shows that channel networks, which grow around local chemical heterogeneities, can help drain the subducting plate.
Phytoplankton productivity is high in the polar oceans. Lidar observations from 2006–2015 reveal that phytoplankton biomass was characterized by annual cycles influenced by sea-ice extent in the Antarctic and ecological processes in the Arctic.
The MESSENGER spacecraft has revealed geochemical diversity across Mercury’s surface. Magma crystallization experiments suggest a crustal mineralogy consistent with a transition towards shallower and cooler mantle melting conditions.
The controls on fast versus slow fault slip in subduction zones are unclear. Rock deformation experiments suggest that faults within the seismogenic region of a subduction zone may slip aseismically due to pressure solution creep.
Satellite observations have detected localized magnetic field changes at high latitudes. Simulations suggest these changes can be explained by a westward jet in the liquid core, which has been accelerating over the past 15 years.
Ocean acidification can affect growth and calcification rates of calcifying phytoplankton. Mesocosm experiments reveal that acidification can also cause declines in population size and inhibit bloom formation.
Thicker oceanic crust forms from a hot mantle. Observations of unusually thick oceanic crust that formed 170 million years ago in the Atlantic and Indian oceans suggest that the ancient supercontinent Pangaea helped insulate and warm the mantle.
Abrupt glacial climate changes were slowly communicated between hemispheres by oceanic heat transport. Ice core data point to more rapid atmospheric teleconnections linking the North Atlantic, tropics, and southern storm track.
Glaciers have been retreating almost globally over the past century. An analysis using signal-to-noise ratio as a metric of individual glacier change reveals that glacier retreat constitutes categorical evidence for regional climate change.
Rocks are altered by high pressure during subduction. Analysis of exhumed metamorphic rocks suggests that the peak pressures recorded within minerals mark a change in tectonic regime within a subduction zone, rather than burial depth.
Nitrogen losses have not been observed in the Bay of Bengal, unlike in other ocean oxygen minimum zones. Chemical and molecular analyses reveal that trace levels of oxygen inhibit nitrate formation, largely preventing microbial N2 production.
The Moon is thought to have initially had a magma ocean that gradually solidified. Crystallization experiments find that the resulting crustal thickness depends on water content and is consistent with significant water in the early Moon.
Bacteria have been assumed to dominate organic matter decomposition in marine sediments. In flow-through reactor experiments, algae were revealed to be primarily responsible for anaerobically metabolizing organic matter in permeable sediments.
The composition of the oceans on early Earth has been challenging to assess. Calcium isotope records from carbonate rocks formed 1.9 to 2.7 billion years ago rule out high alkalinity, and are consistent with moderate to high CO2 concentrations.
Shifts in the latitude of the tropical rainfall band are constrained by meridional energy fluxes. Calculations show that combining zonal and meridional energy fluxes can explain past regional rainfall variations like the African Humid Period.
Mantle flow can warp Earth’s surface. Reconstructions of surface deformation in Angola over the past 45,000 years reveal rapid uplift of about 2 mm per year, implying that mantle-induced uplift may occur in quick pulses.
The origin of carbon-rich magmas is unclear. Boron isotopic analysis of carbonatite magmas that formed over the past 2.6 billion years reveals a link to carbon recycled during tectonic plate subduction.
Oceanic lithosphere is recycled into the mantle at subduction zones. Analysis of fragments of lower oceanic lithosphere brought to the surface by petit-spot volcanoes suggests this lithosphere may be enriched by melts prior to subduction.
Winter cooling over Eurasia has been suggested to be linked to Arctic sea-ice loss. Climate model simulations reveal no evidence for such a link and instead suggest that a persistent atmospheric circulation pattern is responsible.