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Magma movement is thought to trigger volcanic tremor. However, analysis of seismic data suggests that tremor prior to the Bárðarbunga eruption in Iceland instead marked the crust cracking open, whereas subsequent magma flow was seismically silent.
Grass species vary in their regulation of water use. Remote-sensing data reveal that productivity is more sensitive to atmospheric moisture than precipitation deficits, especially in grasslands where plants loosely regulate water use.
Large fluxes of nitrous oxide occur when frozen soils thaw. Field measurements and mathematical models suggest that freeze–thaw events are responsible for 17 to 28% of nitrous oxide emitted from agricultural soils globally.
Dust-borne nutrients can enhance productivity in the surface ocean. Two years of sediment trap data reveal that dust enhances carbon export to depth by increasing surface nitrogen fixation, productivity and carbon sinking rates in the North Atlantic.
The dominant source for water in Earth’s mantle is unclear. Geochemical analyses of rock samples from mid-ocean ridges and ocean islands globally suggest the water is largely derived from seawater-altered crust introduced during subduction.
Seismic data are inconsistent with a compositionally homogenous lower mantle. Simulations show that viscosity variation with depth in Earth’s early mantle may have prevented efficient mixing and allowed ancient mantle domains to persist.
Mixing with non-black carbon can enhance the radiative effect of black-carbon aerosols. Lab and field measurements of aerosol properties reveal that the mass ratio of black to non-black carbon determines the amount of enhancement.
Atmospheric rivers have been associated with extreme rainfall events. A global detection algorithm, applied to reanalysis data, suggests that they contribute substantially to extremes in wind as well as precipitation along coasts globally.
Planetary materials reveal variation in iron isotope composition across planetary bodies. Experiments suggest that this variation can be explained by varying degrees of fractionation during core formation, depending on temperature.
The largest known hydrothermal plume moves dissolved iron halfway across the Pacific. In situ measurements show that dissolved and particulate iron transport is facilitated by reversible exchange of dissolved iron onto organic compounds.
The crystal structure of iron under the extreme pressures and temperatures of Earth’s core is debated. Numerical simulations suggest that the body-centred cubic structure of iron is stable under inner-core conditions.
Zinc and silicon distributions co-vary in much of the global oceans. Observations and numerical modelling suggest that this co-variation can arise in the absence of mechanistic links between the uptake of zinc and silicate.
Reconstructions of Holocene summer temperatures differ between models and vegetation-based proxies. A quantitative reconstruction for the Mediterranean region based on fossil midge assemblages suggests warm summers, in line with climate models.
Most of Mars’s initial water has been lost through atmospheric escape, but seasonal imbalances of measured hydrogen loss compared to oxygen are enigmatic. Photochemical models suggest that seasonal water vapour at high altitudes enhances hydrogen loss rates.
Fixed nitrogen is lost from oxygen minimum zones. Experimental data from an anoxic lake show that the presence of Fe(II) limits this loss, suggesting that ancient anoxic and iron-rich oceans may not have been nitrogen limited.
During the latest Eocene, declining atmospheric CO2 levels led to the inception of the Antarctic ice sheet. Simulations suggest that the deepening of the Drake Passage caused climate changes that enhanced continental weathering and CO2 drawdown.
The brittle–ductile transition is thought to control crustal permeability. Laboratory experiments and model simulations show that permeability is also stress dependent and ductile granitic rocks may have enough permeability to host geothermal resources.
The climatic response to the 1257 Samalas eruption is unclear. Analyses of proxy data and medieval archives suggest that the eruption triggered some of the coldest summers of the past millennium, but only in some Northern Hemisphere regions.
Carbonated silicate melts are expected to exist in the mantle, but have been elusive in nature. Geochemical analyses of rocks from the South China Sea identify such melts formed in the mantle and erupted at the surface through thin lithosphere.
Drought affects deep groundwater through changes in natural recharge with a multi-year time lag. Rapid changes in US groundwater storage in response to climate variability reflect the human response to drought through groundwater pumping.