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Subduction zone earthquakes can be followed by aseismic slip. Analysis of fault slip in northern Peru reveals transient aseismic slip that lasted for seven months and released more than 1,000% of the energy expelled by the quake that preceded it.
Sea level rose rapidly during Meltwater Pulse 1A, about 14,500 years ago. A reassessment of sea-level rise and isostatic adjustment suggests sea level rose roughly 8 to 15 m in total, with 0 to 10 m derived from the Antarctic ice sheets.
An absence in the ancient geological record of blueschist metamorphic rocks has been taken as evidence against early subduction. Thermodynamic calculations now suggest that blueschist rocks could not have formed on a younger, hotter Earth.
Aquatic ecosystems are important sources of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. Measurements of nitrous oxide concentrations from 321 rivers, lakes and ponds in Canada reveal that some boreal aquatic systems can act as net nitrous oxide sinks.
Plate tectonic motions can influence biological systems. Numerical modelling of the topographic evolution of New Zealand, combined with fish phylogenetic analyses suggest mountain growth directly influenced biological diversification.
During the last deglaciation, the Indian summer monsoon failed during periods of cooling in the North Atlantic. Sediment records suggest that the concomitant cooling of the surface of the Arabian Sea contributed to the monsoon weakening.
The physical state of atmospheric particulate matter affects its growth and reactivity, which can affect climate. Measurements of particle rebound reveal that particulate matter over the Amazon forest is usually liquid during wet and dry seasons.
Jupiter’s banded cloud layer contains enigmatic jets and vortices. Numerical simulations show that both features originate at depth in giant planet atmospheres, with vortices developing in areas of upwelling to shallow layers.
In active mountain belts, erosion is driven by bedrock landsliding. River water chemistry in New Zealand’s Southern Alps suggests that stochastic mass wasting processes also enhance chemical weathering in such environments.
The sediment load of China’s Yellow River has been declining. Analysis of 60 years of runoff and sediment load data attributes this decline to river engineering, with an increasing role of post-1990s land use changes on the Loess Plateau.
Extreme daily precipitation is thought to increase with warming at a rate of 6.5% per K. High-resolution simulations for the southern UK show this scaling for present conditions, but above 22 °C this scaling fails owing to changes in dynamics.
Subducting oceanic plates are often considered as cold, rigid slabs. Analysis of seismic anisotropy in the subducted Nazca Plate beneath Peru suggests that the plate has deformed internally during subduction.
Slip during subduction zone earthquakes is often assumed to occur on a single fault. Analysis of a 2011 Chilean earthquake shows that the event was composed of two quakes, with megathrust rupture triggering slip in the overriding plate.
Subduction carries water into the Earth where it can influence seismicity. Analysis of the structure of the Alaskan subduction zone suggests fluid delivery is influenced by faults in the oceanic plate that formed at the mid-ocean ridge.
Closure of the Earth’s energy budget relies on strong aerosol cooling since 1998, if the same feedbacks apply for anthropogenic and natural variability. An analysis of climate model simulations suggests that these feedbacks are instead distinct.
The Moon may have accreted from a disk of debris after a giant impact. Simulations suggest that part of the Moon derives from volatile-poor melt in the hot inner disk, with most of the volatile elements condensing later and accreting to Earth.
The last deglaciation was interrupted by the Antarctic Cold Reversal. Proxy records and climate modelling suggest that a redistribution of oceanic and atmospheric heat caused changes in temperature and hydrology across the Southern Hemisphere.
Lakes are a large source of CO2. An analysis of chemical and physical data from 5,118 boreal lakes reveals that a majority emit CO2 originating primarily from terrestrial sources rather than CO2 produced within the lakes.
Shallow mantle flow could be induced by the motions of overriding tectonic plates or by deeper mantle convection. Analysis of mantle flow patterns in the Pacific Northwest shows that flow aligns with the motions of the largest oceanic plates.
Oxygen minimum zones exert important controls over ocean biogeochemistry. Lagrangian modelling demonstrates that the mean positions of mesoscale eddies delimit the boundaries of the Peruvian oxygen minimum zone.