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Ocean circulation and dynamics can alter atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Numerical modelling suggests that shifts in surface buoyancy loss and the location of upwelling can sequester CO2 in the Southern Ocean during glacial periods.
Transient streaks that appear seasonally on Martian slopes are consistent with brine flows, but evidence of water or salts has been lacking. Analysis of spectral data reveals hydrated salts associated with the streaks, confirming a briny origin.
The fate of old, recalcitrant dissolved organic carbon in oceans is unclear. Field samples show that loss during circulation in hydrothermal vents can account for the 40-million-year lifetime of recalcitrant dissolved organic carbon in oceans.
Mobile organisms first appeared in the fossil record prior to the Precambrian–Cambrian transition. Sediment textures indicate that the degree of sediment mixing by animal activity remained low for 120 million years following the transition.
More than 2 million hectares of Cambodian land have been leased to investors since 2000. Combined satellite and local records show that deforestation on leased land is 29% to 105% higher than in comparable unleased areas.
Pyrite formation has been considered a key iron sink in organic-rich marine sediments. Analyses of sediments from the Ivory Coast–Ghana Marginal Ridge demonstrate that iron can be buried at greater rates during green-clay formation.
The dynamic components of coastal water level can add metres to water levels during extreme events. A data synthesis reveals that Pacific regional wave and water level fluctuations are closely related to the El Niño/Southern Oscillation.
Ice streams control the discharge of ice from the interior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to the coast. A map of flow convergence suggests that ice-stream flow is subject to a mechanical regulation that limits flow-orthonormal strain rates.
Fires are used to clear tropical forests. Satellite measurements and simulations show that reductions in deforestation and associated fires in Brazil have reduced emissions of particulate matter, preventing between 400 and 1,700 deaths annually.
Alpine topography in Europe has been shaped by recent glaciations. Cosmogenic dating of summits in Svalbard suggest that Arctic alpine topography is a million years old and that subsequent glaciations have preserved rather than eroded the landscape.
Magma in Earth’s crust is in a crystal-rich mushy state, yet must be fluidized before eruptions. Numerical simulations show that rapid injection of new magma into a reservoir creates a mixing bowl of fluid and crystals that are able to erupt.
Continental cores, or cratons, are thought to have been stable for billions of years. Analysis of seismic images, however, suggests that the craton root deep beneath North America may have been shifted by mantle flow.
Soil organic matter is a large global carbon pool. Isotopic labelling of litter in the lab and the field reveals that soil organic matter forms from labile organic compounds and litter fragments early and late in decomposition, respectively.
Land-use changes can modify regional climate patterns. A comparison of climate simulations and observations show that a large-scale irrigation scheme in East Africa inhibits rainfall over the irrigation scheme, while enhancing it further away.
Model and proxy-based estimates of climate cooling from volcanic eruptions have disagreed. Refined simulations and tree-ring time series converge on a total of 0.8 to 1.3 °C of cooling in the Northern Hemisphere from the 1257 and 1815 eruptions.
Possible impact of Arctic warming on the mid-latitudes has sparked interest. Analyses of observations and climate model simulations reveal two distinct patterns of Arctic warming that affect East Asia and North America, respectively.
It is unclear how Archaean crust formed. Analysis of seismic data from Western Australia suggests that ancient crust first formed in mantle plume-like settings and later in subduction zones, possibly in response to secular cooling of the mantle.
Rising temperature can increase soil organic matter decomposition and CO2 emissions. In a 4,000 km north–south transect in Chile and Antarctica, soil geochemistry, which can be modified by climate, is the dominant direct control of carbon storage.
The presence of dynamic ice sheets during Snowball Earth glaciations is controversial. Geological evidence and ice sheet modelling suggest that ice sheets may have responded to orbital forcing when reached a certain threshold.
The volatile-rich eruptions required to produce the lunar volcanic glasses are at odds with a volatile-poor Moon. Analyses of the glasses suggest that there was enough of the volatile element carbon in the parent magmas to drive the eruptions.