Volume 14 Issue 2, February 2021

Carbon monoxide distribution in the Martian atmosphere

The CO mixing ratio in Mars’s atmosphere increases towards the poles because of downward transport of CO from the upper atmosphere, according to an analysis of data from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. This image shows an area in Melas Chasma (Valles Marineris, Mars) taken by the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System on-board the European Space Agency’s Trace Gas Orbiter mission. The colour composite has been manipulated to emphasize the spectral diversity of landforms and sediments on the surface.

See Olsen et al.

Image: Nicolas Thomas for ESA/Roscosmos/CaSSIS. Cover Design: Alex Wing.

Editorial

Editorial | 04 February 2021

Mountains of change

The world’s glaciers are shrinking, with knock-on impacts for local communities. We need a better grasp of the hazards they leave behind.

Correspondence

Correspondence | 04 February 2021

Addressing racism through ownership
- Kuheli Dutt

News & Views

News & Views | 25 January 2021

Clearing smog’s particulate problem

Chloride-rich particulate matter has been identified as a major contributor to air-quality deterioration in cities across India. Identification and reduction of chloride emissions could therefore improve visibility and human health across the region.
- Gufran Beig

Articles

Article | 01 February 2021

Implantation of Martian atmospheric ions within the regolith of Phobos

Martian atmospheric atoms are implanted in and alter regolith grains on the nearside surface of Phobos, according to an analysis of observations of ion escape from Mars’s atmosphere.
- Q. Nénon
- , A. R. Poppe
- & J. P. McFadden
Article | 18 January 2021

The vertical structure of CO in the Martian atmosphere from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter

The CO mixing ratio in Mars’s atmosphere increases towards the poles because of downward transport of CO from the upper atmosphere, according to an analysis of data from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter.
- K. S. Olsen
- , F. Lefèvre
- & A. Shakun
Article | 11 January 2021

Disproportionate control on aerosol burden by light rain

Light rain plays a disproportionate role in aerosol wet removal, according to improved simulations on rain intensity and frequency in global climate models.
- Yong Wang
- , Wenwen Xia
- & Guang J. Zhang
Article | 25 January 2021

Enhanced aerosol particle growth sustained by high continental chlorine emission in India

Half of the reduced visibility due to haze formation in cities in India is attributed to local emission of gas-phase hydrochloric acid from waste-burning and industry, according to measurements of particulate matter and thermodynamic modelling.
- Sachin S. Gunthe
- , Pengfei Liu
- & Hugh Coe
Article | 04 February 2021

Increased outburst flood hazard from Lake Palcacocha due to human-induced glacier retreat

Human-induced warming is responsible for the retreat of Palcaraju glacier and the associated increase in glacial lake outburst flood hazard, according to an analysis of observations and numerical models.
- R. F. Stuart-Smith
- , G. H. Roe
- & M. R. Allen
Article | 04 February 2021

Abrupt changes in the global carbon cycle during the last glacial period

Southern Hemisphere processes largely set Antarctic climate during the last glacial, though events in the Northern Hemisphere strongly impacted short, centennial-scale changes, according to an analysis of high-resolution carbon dioxide and temperature records from an Antarctic ice core.
- Thomas K. Bauska
- , Shaun A. Marcott
- & Edward J. Brook
Article | 28 January 2021

Drivers of river reactivation in North Africa during the last glacial cycle

The presence of large rivers in North Africa critical for Quaternary human migrations were controlled by a combination of orbital forcing and Mediterranean storminess, according to terrestrial proxy records from a marine core off Libya integrated with paleoclimate modelling.
- Cécile L. Blanchet
- , Anne H. Osborne
- & Martin Frank
Article | 18 January 2021

Postseismic geodetic signature of cold forearc mantle in subduction zones

Deformation after large subduction earthquakes reflects the thermal contrast between the mantle wedge and its nose, according to numerical simulations and a synthesis of postseismic uplift data from subduction zones.
- Haipeng Luo
- & Kelin Wang

Amendments & Corrections

Author Correction | 22 December 2020

Author Correction: Instantaneous rock transformations in the deep crust driven by reactive fluid flow
- A. Beinlich
- , T. John
- & Y. Y. Podladchikov
Author Correction | 24 December 2020

Author Correction: Record of modern-style plate tectonics in the Palaeoproterozoic Trans-Hudson orogen
- O. M. Weller
- & M. R. St-Onge