Planetary science articles from across Nature Portfolio

Ecosystems reliant on groundwater are vulnerable to water depletion and climate change, but often their locations are unknown. A map of groundwater-dependent ecosystems across global drylands provides essential information to advance the protection of these biologically diverse ecosystems and the rural societies that depend on them.

The jury has been out on whether global warming will increase the erosion of riverbanks in the Arctic — with consequences for human infrastructure and the environment. A detailed analysis of an Alaskan river suggests that it will.

Modelling of the evolution of the Kosi drainage basin near Chomolungma suggests that a river capture event occurred approximately 89 ka ago. Isostatic rebound due to this capture event could contribute 10–50% of the total rock uplift rate in the Chomolungma region and might partly explain Chomolungma’s renewed uplift rate and anomalous elevation.

Microburst are observed in Earth’s outer and inner radiation belts, and in the slot region at typically keV energies. Here, the authors show direct observations of lightning-induced electron precipitation at MeV energies.

The combination of non-destructive nanotomography with micromagnetic simulations enables the characterization of the chemical composition and magnetic stability of remanence-bearing ferromagnetic minerals, including magnetite and maghemite.

JWST observations of outflows from four young stars reveal in each case a molecular wind with a central cavity surrounding a fast jet. These results point to disk winds driving accretion, with implications for planet formation and evolution.

Rebeca Gonçalves explains how plant food could be grown on the red planet.

The Europa Clipper spacecraft will use its various instruments to probe whether the icy ocean world is habitable.

Ecosystems reliant on groundwater are vulnerable to water depletion and climate change, but often their locations are unknown. A map of groundwater-dependent ecosystems across global drylands provides essential information to advance the protection of these biologically diverse ecosystems and the rural societies that depend on them.

The jury has been out on whether global warming will increase the erosion of riverbanks in the Arctic — with consequences for human infrastructure and the environment. A detailed analysis of an Alaskan river suggests that it will.

ESA’s Hera mission will study a rock called Dimorphos, which was blasted by NASA, to work out how successful that approach was in deflecting its course.