Featured
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Letter |
Subduction dynamics and the origin of Andean orogeny and the Bolivian orocline
- F. A. Capitanio
- , C. Faccenna
- & D. R. Stegman
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Research Highlights |
Earthquake risk has not risen
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News & Views |
Europa awakening
Brines percolating in the icy crust of Jupiter's moon Europa may be responsible for the satellite's enigmatic chaotic terrains. A new model predicts that one such terrain is currently forming over shallow subsurface water. See Letter p.502
- Laszlo P. Keszthelyi
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News & Views |
Earth's longest fossil rift-valley system
The origins of the Gamburtsev mountain range, which is hidden beneath Antarctic ice, are a long-standing mystery. Detailed geophysical data from the area form the basis of a comprehensive model that solves the mystery. See Letter p.388
- John Veevers
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News & Views |
Ancient lunar dynamo
The differential rotation between the Moon's core and mantle may have powered the ancient lunar dynamo, either continuously over several hundred million years or intermittently after large impacts. See Letters p.212 & p.215
- Dominique Jault
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Research Highlights |
When sand dunes collide
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Letter |
The role of dyking and fault control in the rapid onset of eruption at Chaitén volcano, Chile
- Charles Wicks
- , Juan Carlos de la Llera
- & Jacob Lowenstern
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Letter |
Aerobic bacterial pyrite oxidation and acid rock drainage during the Great Oxidation Event
- Kurt O. Konhauser
- , Stefan V. Lalonde
- & Andrey Bekker
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News & Views |
Sea change for the rise of oxygen
A model proposes that falling sea levels shifted the make-up of volcanic gases on the early Earth, triggering a chain of events that may have allowed photosynthesis in the ocean to oxygenate the atmosphere. See Letter p.229
- Timothy W. Lyons
- & Christopher T. Reinhard
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Research Highlights |
A long history of Icelandic ash
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News & Views |
Lethal volcanism
Data from the Siberian Traps volcanic region suggest that its magma source includes a significant component of recycled oceanic crust. This finding helps to explain why basalt eruptions are so environmentally devastating. See Letter p.312
- Paul B. Wignall
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News & Views |
Earth's patchy late veneer
A 'late veneer' of meteoritic material, added after Earth's core had formed, may be the source of our noble metals. Its absence from some parts of Earth's mantle will now force a rethink about this late accretion. See Letter p.195
- Thorsten Kleine
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Letter |
The tungsten isotopic composition of the Earth’s mantle before the terminal bombardment
- Matthias Willbold
- , Tim Elliott
- & Stephen Moorbath
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News & Views |
Nitrogen from the deep
Ecosystems acquire nitrogen from the atmosphere, but this source can't account for the large nitrogen capital of some systems. The finding that bedrock can also act as a nitrogen source may help solve the riddle. See Letter p.78
- Edward A. G. Schuur
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Letter |
Increased forest ecosystem carbon and nitrogen storage from nitrogen rich bedrock
- Scott L. Morford
- , Benjamin Z. Houlton
- & Randy A. Dahlgren
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News Feature |
Earthquakes from the ocean: Danger zones
Some of the most powerful earthquakes emanate from remote ocean-floor faults. Geophysicists are now laying networks of sensors to keep tabs on these hidden killers.
- Naomi Lubick
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Research Highlights |
The north–south connection
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Letter |
Chronological evidence that the Moon is either young or did not have a global magma ocean
- Lars E. Borg
- , James N. Connelly
- & Richard W. Carlson
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Books & Arts |
History: How Earth shaped up
Andrew Robinson enjoys an account of the first expedition to the equator to calibrate latitude.
- Andrew Robinson
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News & Views |
Making mountains out of a moon
The Moon's cratered surface preserves the record of impacts that occurred during the late stages of its accretion. New simulations show that a collision with a companion moon may have formed the lunar farside highlands. See Letter p.69
- Maria T. Zuber
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News & Views |
The lessons of Tohoku-Oki
An exceptional data set documents surface deformation before, during and after the earthquake that struck northeastern Japan in March 2011. But models for assessing seismic and tsunami hazard remain inadequate. See Letter p.373
- Jean-Philippe Avouac
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Research Highlights |
Permafrost thaws, wetlands shrink
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Research Highlights |
Glacier modelling can reduce risks
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Letter |
Irregular tropical glacier retreat over the Holocene epoch driven by progressive warming
- Vincent Jomelli
- , Myriam Khodri
- & Mathias Vuille
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Research Highlights |
Glacial biography of Greenland
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Editorial |
The human epoch
Official recognition for the Anthropocene would focus minds on the challenges to come.
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News & Views |
A deep foundry
Melting and solidification of iron alloys in Earth's core may explain structural complexity in the solid inner core, and alter the way we think about the dynamics of the deep interior. See Letter p.361
- Bruce Buffett
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Books & Arts |
Books in brief
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Books & Arts |
Art: Taking the long view of nature
A monograph highlights how artist Tania Kovats views geological and evolutionary time, notes Colin Martin.
- Colin Martin
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Feature |
Geosciences: Earth works
There's good news for aspiring geoscientists. Job opportunities at all career stages are on the rise.
- Sid Perkins
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News |
Human influence comes of age
Geologists debate epoch to mark effects of Homo sapiens.
- Nicola Jones
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Letter |
Inferring nonlinear mantle rheology from the shape of the Hawaiian swell
- N. Asaadi
- , N. M. Ribe
- & F. Sobouti
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Research Highlights |
Aerosols pose climate dangers
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News & Views |
Lithosphere today ...
Seismic images of the Colorado plateau region reveal a mantle 'drip' forming under the Grand Canyon area. This hidden process may be responsible for the puzzling uplift of the plateau. See Letter p.461
- George Zandt
- & Peter Reiners
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Letter |
Sharply increased mass loss from glaciers and ice caps in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago
- Alex S. Gardner
- , Geir Moholdt
- & Claude Labine
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Brief Communications Arising |
Isotope fractionation in silicate melts by thermal diffusion
- Frank M. Richter
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Comment |
Journey to the mantle of the Earth
On the 50th anniversary of the first attempt to drill into Earth's mantle, Damon Teagle and Benoît Ildefonse say that what was once science fiction is now possible.
- Damon Teagle
- & Benoît Ildefonse
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Research Highlights |
Faster ice melt, higher sea levels
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News & Views |
Continental jelly
An approach integrating different data sets has been used to map out seismic-velocity ratios in the crust of western North America. High inferred quartz content correlates with tectonic deformation zones. See Letter p.353
- Roland Bürgmann
- & Pascal Audet
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Research Highlights |
Glacier grows from below
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News & Views |
A Chilean surprise
Initiation of the great 2010 Chile earthquake occurred within the rupture zone of the 1835 event experienced by Charles Darwin. However, the peak fault slip was to the north of the epicentre — not where it was expected to occur.
- Thorne Lay
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News & Views |
Old droughts in New Mexico
A long climate record reveals abrupt hydrological variations during past interglacials in southwestern North America. These data set a natural benchmark for detecting human effects on regional climates. See Letter p.518
- John Williams
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News & Views |
When life got big
Deposits in China dating to about 600 million years ago contain carbon compressions of algae and other organisms. The fossils provide a new window into the early evolution of complex multicellular life. See Letter p.390
- Guy M. Narbonne
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