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The Benguela current cooled over the past 12 million years. Numerical modelling suggests that uplift of parts of Africa during this time enhanced coastal low level winds and promoted greater upwelling of cool subsurface waters.
Precursor events to earthquakes are rarely reproduced. Measurement of groundwater chemistry in Iceland between 2008 and 2013 reveals distinct changes prior to two consecutive >M5 earthquakes.
Past continental dryness trends are difficult to assess. A comprehensive analysis of hundreds of combinations of data sets suggests that only 24.6% of the global land area have been exposed to robust dryness changes since 1948.
Earthquakes on oceanic transform faults are often preceded by foreshock swarms. A theoretical model suggests that circulating hydrothermal fluids, which compress as the fault rocks expand and deform, cause this precursor seismic activity.
Despite widespread evidence for extension, there have been few signs of contraction on the icy surface of Jupiter’s Europa. Evidence for a subduction-like convergent boundary suggests that Europa may have active plate tectonics.
A series of unusual, greenhouse-gas-induced warming events occurred in the Eocene. An isotope reconstruction of these hyperthermals indicates multiple events of a constant size and frequency, consistent with orbital forcing of the carbon cycle.
Melting of the Antarctic ice sheet and ice shelves reduces the salinity of the coastal seas. Satellite and model data suggest that the freshwater discharge has also caused coastal Antarctic sea level to rise by about 2 mm yr−1 more than the regional mean.
Wrinkle structures in ancient sedimentary environments are enigmatic. Wave-tank experiments suggest that wrinkle structures are shaped by microbial mat fragments that are moved by waves over sandy-bed surfaces, and thus are morphological biosignatures.
Stratospheric water vapour is a powerful greenhouse gas. Merging individual satellite data sets with a chemistry–climate model reveals that water vapour levels in the lower and mid-stratosphere have been decreasing since 1988.
Methane emissions from the sea floor affect ocean chemistry and can reach the atmosphere. Observations from the northern US Atlantic margin reveal about 570 gas plumes at water depths between 50 and 1,700 m.
The Cretaceous/Palaeogene mass extinction caused ecosystem upheaval. Fish abundance data from the Tethys Sea and the Pacific Ocean indicate heterogeneity in the extinction and recovery, with greater resilience in the Pacific.
How the atmosphere, hydrosphere and surface materials interacted on early Mars is poorly understood. Oxygen isotopic composition of zircon grains in a martian meteorite reveals a prolonged history of exchange between martian regolith and atmosphere.
Plants may enhance sedimentation and help deltas to keep up with rising sea levels. Numerical simulations show that intermediate vegetation height and density are optimal, whereas too much vegetation inhibits sediment deposition in deltaic marshes.
Narrow river gorges are often short-lived features. Images of a bedrock gorge in Taiwan, which was carved after 1999, reveal rapid widening where the upstream floodplain meets the gorge, an erosional front that propagates downstream as the gorge is erased.
Global mean surface warming has been slow over the past 15 years. An analysis of climate simulations suggests that the low warming rate can be explained by an unusual phase of El Niño/Southern Oscillation and solar and aerosol variability.
Variations in solar activity have been linked to centennial to decadal-scale interglacial climate fluctuations. A 10Be-based reconstruction of solar activity from the Last Glacial Maximum indicates a similar Sun–climate link operated during glacial conditions.
Large earthquakes can trigger seismicity in remote regions. Analysis of seismic data from Antarctica reveals ice quakes coincident with passing seismic waves from the 2010 Chile earthquake, suggesting that the ice sheet is sensitive to such triggers.
The levels of aerosols in the atmosphere affect cloud reflectivity and the Earth’s radiative balance. A comprehensive analysis of satellite observations shows that thermodynamics and precipitation govern cloud responses to aerosols.
Atmospheric aerosols can exert an important influence on Earth’s climate. Combustion chamber experiments reveal that the absorption properties of brown carbon aerosols from biomass burning are linked to their black carbon content.
Increased oxygen availability in the Cambrian oceans supported the evolution of animals that mixed the seafloor sediments. Numerical modelling suggests the development of a feedback loop between bioturbation, phosphorus burial and oxygen levels.