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The upper atmosphere of Venus rotates much faster than the planet itself. An anomalous stationary structure observed by the Akatsuki mission at the cloud tops of Venus could be an atmospheric gravity wave induced by mountain topography below.
Soils have the capacity to store water at the land–atmosphere interface. Analysis of global satellite data suggests that significant precipitation can be retained by soils, leading to even less groundwater storage in water-starved regions.
Large iron deposits formed episodically in the Archaean oceans. Experimental data and geochemical modelling suggest that green rust was an important contributor to the formation of these deposits and the Archaean iron cycle in general.
The Toarcian anoxic event was linked to a massive release of carbon to the atmosphere. Geochemical data suggest that organic carbon burial in large lacustrine systems was key to the recovery of the carbon cycle.
A giant impact has been proposed as being responsible for forming the Moon, but scenarios that match existing constraints are improbable. Numerical modelling now suggests that instead a series of smaller and more common impacts can explain the Earth–Moon system.
Groundwater storage has declined in northern India and increased in southern India over the past decade. Trend analysis shows that much of this variability can be explained by changes in irrigation in response to monsoon precipitation.
