Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Volume 9 Issue 3, March 2016

The formation of Earth’s continental crust is unclear. A review of the geochemical composition of crust formed above subduction zones across the globe suggests that subduction and relamination of buoyant magmatic rocks play an important role. The image shows the McMillan Spires in the North Cascades National Park of Washington State; they are composed of the Skagit Gneiss that crystallized at a depth of about 40 km, near the base of the continental crust, and has a composition similar to that of average continental crust.

Review Article p197

IMAGE: JOHN SCURLOCK

COVER DESIGN: TULSI VORALIA

Editorial

  • The Paris Agreement on climate change has shifted international focus to more stringent mitigation, and asked the scientific community to work out what that means on a tight timeline. The challenge is steep, but well worth a go.

    Editorial

    Advertisement

Top of page ⤴

Correspondence

Top of page ⤴

Commentary

  • The adoption of the Paris Agreement is a historic milestone for the global response to the threat of climate change. Scientists are now being challenged to investigate a 1.5 °C world — which will require an accelerated effort from the geoscience community.

    • Joeri Rogelj
    • Reto Knutti
    Commentary
Top of page ⤴

News & Views

  • The rise and fall of civilizations over the past two millennia was set against a backdrop of climate change. High-resolution climate records evince a link between societal change and a period of cooling in the sixth and seventh centuries.

    • John Haldon

    Collection:

    News & Views
  • Volcanic eruptions at ocean ridges produce large volumes of glass that is rapidly leached by seawater. Geochemical calculations suggest that this process helps to explain the deposition of carbonates at the end of extreme ice ages.

    • Ian J. Fairchild
    News & Views
  • Natural seafloor hydrocarbon seeps are responsible for roughly half of the oil released into the ocean. As these oils and gases rise to the surface, they transport nutrients upwards, benefiting phytoplankton in the upper sunlit layer.

    • Michael Behrenfeld
    News & Views
  • Economic-grade deposits of copper are hard to find. The aluminium content of magmatic rocks at the surface may provide an indicator of ore deposits buried deep below.

    • Jeremy Richards
    News & Views
Top of page ⤴

Review Article

Top of page ⤴

Letter

Top of page ⤴

Article

Top of page ⤴

Erratum

Top of page ⤴

Search

Quick links