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| Open AccessA persistently low level of atmospheric oxygen in Earth’s middle age
Constraining the rise in atmospheric oxygen through the early Earth is important to understand the evolution of complex life. Here, the authors find that a major rise in atmospheric oxygen level occurred after the Great Oxidation Event, followed by pO2 within 1% of present atmospheric level through most of the Proterozoic Eon (2.4 to 0.65 Ga).
- Xiao-Ming Liu
- , Linda C. Kah
- & Robert M. Hazen
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Article
| Open AccessWidespread reworking of Hadean-to-Eoarchean continents during Earth’s thermal peak
The nature and evolution of Earth’s crust during the Hadean and Eoarchean is largely unknown due to the lack of preserved material from this period. Here, the authors document a period of crustal rejuvenation between 3.2 and 3.0 Ga, coincident with peak mantle potential temperatures that imply greater degrees of mantle melting and injection of hot mafic-ultramafic magmas into older Hadean-to-Eoarchean felsic crust at this time.
- C. L. Kirkland
- , M. I. H. Hartnady
- & J. A. Hollis
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Article
| Open AccessMillennial scale persistence of organic carbon bound to iron in Arctic marine sediments
Burial of organic material in marine sediments can sequester massive amounts of carbon, but the dynamics of this carbon sink are poorly understood. Here the authors investigate the so-called rusty carbon sink in Arctic shelf sediments, finding that organic carbon-iron associations are stable for 1000 s of years.
- Johan C. Faust
- , Allyson Tessin
- & Christian März
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Article
| Open AccessNickel isotopic evidence for late-stage accretion of Mercury-like differentiated planetary embryos
Based on Nickel isotope analysis of meteorites and terrestrial rocks, the authors suggest that the Bulk Silicate Earth has a sub-chondritic Nickel isotope composition. This signature is thought to result from the impact and accretion of a Mercury-like impactor which originated from the innermost Solar System.
- Shui-Jiong Wang
- , Wenzhong Wang
- & Weihan Li
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Article
| Open AccessStructures and reactivity of peroxy radicals and dimeric products revealed by online tandem mass spectrometry
Organic peroxy radicals play a pivotal role in producing highly oxygenated organic molecules but the formation mechanisms remain elusive. Here, the authors show in-situ characterization of peroxy radicals and dimer structures in the gas-phase, using online tandem mass spectrometry analyses.
- Sophie Tomaz
- , Dongyu Wang
- & Matthieu Riva
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Article
| Open AccessPervasive distribution of polyester fibres in the Arctic Ocean is driven by Atlantic inputs
Microplastics have spread across the globe and reached even the most remote locations, but an understanding of their origins remains largely elusive. Here the authors quantify and characterise microplastics across the North Pole, finding that synthetic fibers like polyester are dominant and likely sourced from the Atlantic Ocean.
- Peter S. Ross
- , Stephen Chastain
- & Bill Williams
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Article
| Open AccessReconciling bubble nucleation in explosive eruptions with geospeedometers
The authors simulate bubble nucleation in silica-rich magma with conditions appropriate for Plinian eruptions. They demonstrate that the gap between decompression rate estimates from bubble number density and independent geospeedometers can be largely closed if nucleation is heterogenous facilitated by magnetite crystals and decompression rate is calculated as time-averaged values.
- Sahand Hajimirza
- , Helge M. Gonnermann
- & James E. Gardner
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Article
| Open AccessBiomass burning aerosols in most climate models are too absorbing
Wildfires produce aerosols known to impact the climate, but the wider-reaching effects of this biomass burning are poorly constrained in models. Here the authors use a suite of observations from 12 campaigns around the globe to determine that the values used by most climate models overestimate the contribution of biomass burning aerosols.
- Hunter Brown
- , Xiaohong Liu
- & Duli Chand
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Article
| Open AccessIntegrating single-cobalt-site and electric field of boron nitride in dechlorination electrocatalysts by bioinspired design
Bridging the biocatalytic repertoire and the effective environmental remediation remains a great challenge. Here, inspired by the dehalogenases, the authors designed a single atom Co catalyst on carbon doped boron nitride that exhibits high stability and selectivity in dechlorination.
- Yuan Min
- , Xiao Zhou
- & Yuen Wu
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Article
| Open AccessImportant contributions of non-fossil fuel nitrogen oxides emissions
This study investigates in the importance of non-fossil fuel NOx emissions in the surface-earth-nitrogen cycle. The study shows how changes of regional human activities directly influence δ15N signatures of deposited NOx to terrestrial environments and that emissions have largely been underestimated.
- Wei Song
- , Xue-Yan Liu
- & Cong-Qiang Liu
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Article
| Open AccessHuman-driven greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions cause distinct regional impacts on extreme fire weather
Human emissions are thought to have caused an increase in wildfire risk, but how different emission sources contribute is less well known. Here, the authors show that the increase due to greenhouse gas emissions was balanced by aerosol-driven cooling, an effect that is projected to disappear during the 21st century.
- Danielle Touma
- , Samantha Stevenson
- & Sloan Coats
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Article
| Open AccessHighly explosive basaltic eruptions driven by CO2 exsolution
Mechanisms that drive highly explosive eruptions of low-viscosity magmas, such as at Sunset Crater volcano, remain uncertain. Here, the authors present evidence for an exsolved CO2 phase ~15 km beneath Sunset Crater that was the critical driver of rapid magma ascent leading to the explosive eruption.
- Chelsea M. Allison
- , Kurt Roggensack
- & Amanda B. Clarke
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Article
| Open AccessGroundwater discharge impacts marine isotope budgets of Li, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba
Groundwater discharge is a mechanism that transports chemicals from inland systems to the ocean, but it has been considered of secondary influence compared to rivers. Here the authors assess the global significance of groundwater discharge, finding that it has a unique and important contribution to ocean chemistry and Earth-system models.
- Kimberley K. Mayfield
- , Anton Eisenhauer
- & Adina Paytan
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Article
| Open AccessAround one third of current Arctic Ocean primary production sustained by rivers and coastal erosion
The Arctic Ocean is influenced by carbon and nutrients from rivers and erosion, but how this affects phytoplankton productivity is not understood. Here, the authors use a spatio-temporally resolved biogeochemical model to estimate that the input of carbon and nutrients fuels 28–51% of annual Arctic Ocean productivity.
- Jens Terhaar
- , Ronny Lauerwald
- & Laurent Bopp
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Article
| Open AccessCross-scale interaction of host tree size and climatic water deficit governs bark beetle-induced tree mortality
The 2012–2016 drought and western pine beetle outbreaks caused unprecedented mortality of ponderosa pine in the Sierra Nevada, California. Here, the authors analyse drone-based data from almost half a million trees and find an interaction between host size and climatic water deficit, with higher mortality for large trees in dry, warm conditions but not in cooler or wetter conditions.
- Michael J. Koontz
- , Andrew M. Latimer
- & Malcolm P. North
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Article
| Open AccessExposure to natural hazard events unassociated with policy change for improved disaster risk reduction
Whether disasters spur policy change remains contested. Here, the authors utilize a dataset of 10,976 natural hazard events and multiple disaster risk reduction (DRR) policy indicators across 85 countries over eight years to show that frequency and severity factors are unassociated with improved DRR policy.
- Daniel Nohrstedt
- , Maurizio Mazzoleni
- & Giuliano Di Baldassarre
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Article
| Open AccessThermocatalytic hydrogen peroxide generation and environmental disinfection by Bi2Te3 nanoplates
Temperature difference induced H2O2 generation by thermoelectric materials is an attractive strategy for environmental remediation purposes. Here the authors demonstrate Bi2Te3 nanoplates based antibacterial filter as an effective candidate for indoor disinfection applications.
- Yu-Jiung Lin
- , Imran Khan
- & Zong-Hong Lin
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Article
| Open AccessAsynchronicity of endemic and emerging mosquito-borne disease outbreaks in the Dominican Republic
Dengue is endemic in the Dominican Republic, and causes regular outbreaks, whereas Zika and chikungunya are emerging infections in the area. Here, the authors show that outbreaks of the emerging infections could not be predicted by seasonal dengue dynamics.
- Mary E. Petrone
- , Rebecca Earnest
- & Leandro Tapia
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Article
| Open AccessNorthern preference for terrestrial electromagnetic energy input from space weather
Seasonally averaged energy input into the ionosphere from geospace is generally considered to be symmetric. Here, the authors show preference for electromagnetic energy input at 450 km altitude into the northern hemisphere, on both the dayside and the nightside, when averaged over season.
- I. P. Pakhotin
- , I. R. Mann
- & D. J. Knudsen
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Article
| Open AccessExposure to pesticides in utero impacts the fetal immune system and response to vaccination in infancy
Control of mosquito populations using pesticides is important for malaria elimination, but effects of pesticides on humans aren’t well understood. Here, Prahl et al. show in a cohort of pregnant Ugandan women and their infants that household spraying with bendiocarb affects the fetal immune system and response to vaccination in infancy.
- Mary Prahl
- , Pamela Odorizzi
- & Margaret E. Feeney
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Article
| Open AccessClimate warming from managed grasslands cancels the cooling effect of carbon sinks in sparsely grazed and natural grasslands
Grasslands, and the livestock that live there, are dynamic sources and sinks of greenhouse gases, but what controls these fluxes remains poorly characterized. Here the authors show that on the global level, grasslands are climate neutral owing to the cancelling effects of managed vs. natural systems.
- Jinfeng Chang
- , Philippe Ciais
- & Dan Zhu
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Article
| Open AccessThe origin of the Moon’s Earth-like tungsten isotopic composition from dynamical and geochemical modeling
Tungsten isotopes between the Earth and Moon are compared in this new study. The authors find that traditional models of Moon formation are very unlikely to reproduce the Moon's Earth-like isotopic composition.
- Rebecca A. Fischer
- , Nicholas G. Zube
- & Francis Nimmo
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Article
| Open AccessAnomalous collapses of Nares Strait ice arches leads to enhanced export of Arctic sea ice
Ice arches that form along Nares Strait, which separates Greenland and Ellesmere Island, act to reduce the export of thick multi-year ice out of the Arctic. Here, we show that there has been a recent trend towards shorter duration arch formation that has resulted in enhanced transport of ice along the strait.
- G. W. K. Moore
- , S. E. L. Howell
- & K. McNeil
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Article
| Open AccessA new hypothesis for the origin of Amazonian Dark Earths
Amazonian Dark Earth is soil that has had mysteriously high fertility since ancient times, despite the fact that surrounding soils have very low nutrients. Here the authors’ use of isotope reconstructions indicate that these soils predate human settlement and could have alluvial and burning origins.
- Lucas C. R. Silva
- , Rodrigo Studart Corrêa
- & Roberto Ventura Santos
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Article
| Open AccessGroup 2i Isochrysidales produce characteristic alkenones reflecting sea ice distribution
Some algae produce compounds called alkenones that can reconstruct sea surface temperature through geological time, but in high latitudes unknown species complicate use of this proxy. Here the authors find a lineage of sea ice algae that produces alkenones and can be used as a paleo-sensor for sea ice abundance.
- Karen Jiaxi Wang
- , Yongsong Huang
- & Patricia Cabedo-Sanz
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Article
| Open AccessA framework to predict the price of energy for the end-users with applications to monetary and energy policies
Global energy transformation requires quantifying the "price of energy" and studying its evolution. Here the authors present a predictive framework that calculates the average US price of energy, estimating future energy demands for up to four years with excellent accuracy, designing and optimizing energy and monetary policies.
- Stefanos G. Baratsas
- , Alexander M. Niziolek
- & Efstratios N. Pistikopoulos
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessVariables in the effect of land use on soil extrapore enzymatic activity and carbon stabilization
- Melanie M. Glenn
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessReply to: “Variables in the effect of land use on soil extrapore enzymatic activity and carbon stabilization” by Glenn (2020)
- A. N. Kravchenko
- , A. K. Guber
- & Y. Kuzyakov
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Article
| Open AccessLunar impact crater identification and age estimation with Chang’E data by deep and transfer learning
Using Chang’E data, the authors here identify more than 109,000 previously unrecognized lunar craters and date almost 19,000 craters based on transfer learning with deep neural networks. A new lunar crater database is derived and distributed to the planetary community.
- Chen Yang
- , Haishi Zhao
- & Ziyuan Ouyang
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Article
| Open AccessOrganism body size structures the soil microbial and nematode community assembly at a continental and global scale
It is unclear whether body size affects community assembly mechanisms of soil biota. Here, the authors analyse soil microbial and nematode communities sampled along a 4000-km transect in China and global soil microbiome data to show that bacterial assembly is governed by high dispersal, whereas larger taxa are more influenced by deterministic processes.
- Lu Luan
- , Yuji Jiang
- & Bo Sun
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Article
| Open AccessGreater Greenland Ice Sheet contribution to global sea level rise in CMIP6
The potential contribution of Greenland Ice Sheet to sea level rise in the future is known to be substantial. Here, the authors undertake new modelling showing that the Greenland Ice Sheet sea level rise contribution is 7.9 cm more using the CMIP6 SSP585 scenario compared to CMIP5 using multiple RCP8.5 simulations.
- Stefan Hofer
- , Charlotte Lang
- & Xavier Fettweis
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Article
| Open AccessCalculation of external climate costs for food highlights inadequate pricing of animal products
Agricultural greenhouse gas emissions not only amplify the global climate crisis, but cause damage currently unaccounted for by food prices. Here the authors show the calculation of prices with internalized climate costs for food categories and production systems, revealing strong market distortions.
- Maximilian Pieper
- , Amelie Michalke
- & Tobias Gaugler
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Article
| Open AccessOvercoming gender inequality for climate resilient development
Gender inequality increases vulnerability to climate change impacts and reduces societies’ adaptive capacity. Here the authors show how gender inequality may evolve in the future in five scenarios of socioeconomic development and highlight the importance of incorporating gender inequality in climate change research and policy.
- Marina Andrijevic
- , Jesus Crespo Cuaresma
- & Carl-Friedrich Schleussner
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Article
| Open AccessUsing metacommunity ecology to understand environmental metabolomes
Despite growing interest in environmental metabolomics, we lack conceptual frameworks for considering how metabolites vary across space and time in ecological systems. Here, the authors apply (species) community assembly concepts to metabolomics data, offering a way forward in understanding the assembly of metabolite assemblages.
- Robert E. Danczak
- , Rosalie K. Chu
- & James C. Stegen
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Article
| Open AccessQuantifying and addressing the prevalence and bias of study designs in the environmental and social sciences
Randomised controlled experiments are the gold standard for scientific inference, but environmental and social scientists often rely on different study designs. Here the authors analyse the use of six common study designs in the fields of biodiversity conservation and social intervention, and quantify the biases in their estimates.
- Alec P. Christie
- , David Abecasis
- & William J. Sutherland
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Article
| Open AccessA social engineering model for poverty alleviation
Current inequality and market consumption modelling appears to be subjective. Here the authors combined all three axes of poverty modelling - Engel-Krishnakumar’s microeconomics, Aoki-Chattopadhyay’s mathematical precept and found that multivariate construction is a key component of economic data analysis, implying all modes of income and expenditure need to be considered to arrive at a proper weighted prediction of poverty.
- Amit K. Chattopadhyay
- , T. Krishna Kumar
- & Iain Rice
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Article
| Open AccessIron mineral dissolution releases iron and associated organic carbon during permafrost thaw
Iron minerals trap carbon in permafrost, preventing microbial degradation and release to the atmosphere as CO2, but the stability of this carbon as permafrost thaws is unclear. Here the authors use nanoscale analyses to show that thaw conditions stimulate Fe-reducing bacteria that trigger carbon release.
- Monique S. Patzner
- , Carsten W. Mueller
- & Casey Bryce
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Article
| Open AccessConsistent effects of pesticides on community structure and ecosystem function in freshwater systems
The effects of pesticides on individual species could propagate into additional community-wide and ecosystem-level effects. Here the authors use a mesocosm experiment to test how a diverse array of herbicides and insecticides disrupt aquatic community structure and ecosystem function.
- Samantha L. Rumschlag
- , Michael B. Mahon
- & Jason R. Rohr
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Article
| Open AccessStrong hydroclimatic controls on vulnerability to subsurface nitrate contamination across Europe
Excess fertilizer use causes subsurface contamination. Here, the authors conduct an assessment of water quality vulnerability across Europe, finding that 75% of agricultural regions are susceptible to nitrate contamination for least one-third of the year, two times more than using standard estimation procedure.
- R. Kumar
- , F. Heße
- & S. Attinger
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Comment
| Open AccessBuilding resilient Arctic science amid the COVID-19 pandemic
Arctic research faces unprecedented disruptions due to COVID-19. This ‘pause’ gives an opportunity to reflect on the current state and the future of Arctic science and move towards a more resilient, thus equitable, coordinated, safe and locally-embedded Arctic research enterprise. Arctic science has been greatly affected by COVID-19. This comment looks forward to how Arctic science could be conducted in the future.
- Andrey N. Petrov
- , Larry D. Hinzman
- & Alona Yefimenko
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Review Article
| Open AccessPlant-based and cell-based approaches to meat production
Large-scale meat production can have negative impacts on public health, the environment and animal welfare. In this Review, the authors consider plant-based and cell-based approaches to meat production and the challenges they face.
- Natalie R. Rubio
- , Ning Xiang
- & David L. Kaplan
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Article
| Open AccessDynamic symbioses reveal pathways to coral survival through prolonged heatwaves
Climate change and local anthropogenic stressors threaten the persistence of coral reefs. Here the authors track coral bleaching over the course of a heatwave and find that some colonies recovered from bleaching while high temperatures persisted, but only at sites lacking in other strong anthropogenic stressors.
- Danielle C. Claar
- , Samuel Starko
- & Julia K. Baum
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Article
| Open AccessExtraterrestrial hexamethylenetetramine in meteorites—a precursor of prebiotic chemistry in the inner solar system
This manuscript tackles the origin of organic molecules in carbonaceous meteorites. Identifying hexamethylenetetramine in three carbonaceous meteorites, the authors propose formation from ammonia and formaldehyde by photochemical and thermal reactions in the interstellar medium, followed by the incorporation into planetary systems.
- Yasuhiro Oba
- , Yoshinori Takano
- & Shogo Tachibana
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Article
| Open AccessSynergistic interactions among growing stressors increase risk to an Arctic ecosystem
Multiple co-occurring stressors may affect food webs in ways that are not predictable by studying individual stressors. Here the authors apply a network interaction model to a marine food web in the Arctic, finding that nonlinear interactions between stressors can more than double the risk of population collapse compared to simpler simulations.
- K. R. Arrigo
- , Gert L. van Dijken
- & R. M. Bailey
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Article
| Open AccessDomestication via the commensal pathway in a fish-invertebrate mutualism
It has been hypothesized that domestication can occur through the ‘commensal pathway’ in which the domesticate takes advantage of a niche created as a byproduct by the domesticator. Here, Brooker et al. provide evidence for a commensal domestication process between longfin damselfish and mysid shrimps.
- Rohan M. Brooker
- , Jordan M. Casey
- & William E. Feeney
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Article
| Open AccessPervasive subduction zone devolatilization recycles CO2 into the forearc
The fate of subducted CO2 remains debated, with estimates mainly from numerical predictions varying from wholesale decarbonation of the shallow subducting slab to massive deep subduction of CO2. Here, the authors present field-based data and show that ~40% to ~65% of the CO2 in subducting crust is released via metamorphic decarbonation reactions at forearc depths.
- E. M. Stewart
- & Jay J. Ague
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Article
| Open AccessWeak tides during Cryogenian glaciations
How and why the ‘Snowball Earth’ occurred during the Cryogenian period is debated. Here, the authors show that the cryogenian ocean hosted diminished tidal amplitudes and associated energy dissipation rates, reaching 10-50% of today’s rates thus perhaps contributing to prolonged glaciations.
- J. A. Mattias Green
- , Hannah S. Davies
- & Christopher Scotese
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Article
| Open AccessJanus electrocatalytic flow-through membrane enables highly selective singlet oxygen production
Electrocatalytic processes are promising for automated and scalable synthesis of singlet oxygen, but they are energy- and chemical-intensive. Here the authors present a Janus electrocatalytic membrane that selectively produces singlet oxygen with low energy consumption and free of chemical precursors.
- Yumeng Zhao
- , Meng Sun
- & Menachem Elimelech
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Article
| Open AccessGlacial heterogeneity in Southern Ocean carbon storage abated by fast South Indian deglacial carbon release
A Southern Ocean influences on the carbon cycle is considered a key component of deglacial changes. Here, the authors show spatial differences in glacial Southern Ocean carbon storage that dissipated rapidly 14.6 kyr ago, revealing a South Indian Ocean contribution to rapid deglacial atmospheric CO2 increases.
- Julia Gottschalk
- , Elisabeth Michel
- & Samuel L. Jaccard