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| Open AccessIncreased ventilation of Antarctic deep water during the warm mid-Pliocene
It is thought that during the mid-Pliocene warm period the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) must have been stronger than today. Here, using proxy data compilation and simulation, Zhang et al.show that the two observations used to support stronger AMOC may not necessitate its increased strength.
- Zhongshi Zhang
- , Kerim H. Nisancioglu
- & Ulysses S. Ninnemann
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Article
| Open AccessSolar wind entry into the high-latitude terrestrial magnetosphere during geomagnetically quiet times
A full understanding of the penetration of solar wind plasma into the Earth’s magnetosphere, during geomagnetically quiet times, remains elusive. Using multi-spacecraft data, Shi et al.find unexpected entry of the solar wind into the high-latitude magnetosphere and suggest a probable entry mechanism.
- Q.Q. Shi
- , Q.-G. Zong
- & E. Lucek
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Article
| Open AccessOne mechanism contributing to co-variability of the Atlantic inflow branches to the Arctic
The branched inflow of warm Atlantic Water to the Arctic has been known for more than a hundred years, yet what controls the relative strengths of the two pathways remains poorly understood. Here, the authors identify the role of atmospheric circulation over the northern Barents Sea in controlling inflow.
- Vidar S. Lien
- , Frode B. Vikebø
- & Øystein Skagseth
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Effect of iron oxidation state on the electrical conductivity of the Earth’s lower mantle
In the Earth’s lower mantle, pressure changes can cause spin transitions of iron, in turn influencing mantle properties. Here a new Mössbauer spectroscopy method is applied to show that Fe3+remains in the high-spin state at pressure–temperature conditions relevant for the lower mantle.
- V. Potapkin
- , C. McCammon
- & L. Dubrovinsky
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Climate change patterns in Amazonia and biodiversity
The long-term hydroclimate variability in Amazonia and its influence on biodiversity remain poorly understood. Here, new speleothem oxygen isotope records characterize spatial–temporal changes in precipitation and provide new insights to understanding the west–east contrasting pattern of biodiversity in Amazonia.
- Hai Cheng
- , Ashish Sinha
- & Augusto S. Auler
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Constraining timescales of focused magmatic accretion and extension in the Afar crust using lava geochronology
In mature continental rifts, magma intrusion appears to accommodate significant crustal extension. Here, radiometric ages for lavas suggest that this style of focused magmatic accretion and rifting remained stable in the Ethiopian crust for at least ~200 kyr, prior to the onset of true oceanic spreading.
- David J. Ferguson
- , Andrew T. Calvert
- & Tim J. Wright
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The Tissint Martian meteorite as evidence for the largest impact excavation
High-pressure minerals in meteorites reflect the conditions prevailing when they were excavated and launched from their parent bodies. Tissint—a recent Martian meteorite—contains an unusual number of large high-pressure minerals, suggesting excavation from an impact of larger magnitude than for previous Martian samples.
- Ioannis P. Baziotis
- , Yang Liu
- & Lawrence A. Taylor
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Article
| Open AccessCaribbean-wide decline in carbonate production threatens coral reef growth
Coral reef health is declining globally and is projected to lead to net loss of reef structure. This study shows that ecological change across the Caribbean has reduced reef growth rates to levels lower than those measured over the last ~8,000 years, threatening the ability of reefs to keep pace with future sea-level rise.
- Chris T. Perry
- , Gary N. Murphy
- & Peter J. Mumby
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| Open AccessHigh heat flow and ocean acidification at a nascent rift in the northern Gulf of California
Active seafloor spreading has been documented in some of the tectonically active basins of the Gulf of California. This work presents new geophysical and geochemical data as evidence that active seafloor spreading is also occurring in the northernmost Wagner and Consag basins of the Gulf.
- Rosa Ma Prol-Ledesma
- , Marco-Antonio Torres-Vera
- & Carlos Robinson
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Mechanisms of carbon storage in mountainous headwater rivers
Rivers receive more terrestrial carbon than they transport to the ocean, leaving carbon stored along the way. Here, with an estimate of carbon storage in the headwater rivers of the Rocky Mountains, the authors show that broad valley bottoms with old-growth forest store most of the above- and below-ground carbon.
- Ellen Wohl
- , Kathleen Dwire
- & Roberto Bazan
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Warming and nitrogen deposition lessen microbial residue contribution to soil carbon pool
Microbes appear to play an important role in carbon sequestration. Here, the composition of microbial residues in a California grassland with elevated carbon dioxide, warming and nitrogen deposition reveals that warming and nitrogen deposition can both alter the fraction of carbon derived from microbes in soils.
- Chao Liang
- & Teri C. Balser
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Holocene winter climate variability in mid-latitude western North America
Mineral cave deposits—speleothems—provide a record of past rainfall changes. This study presents a speleothem data-set from southwestern Oregon, revealing winter climate change over the past 13,000 years with abrupt transitions between warm-dry and cold-wet regimes influenced by solar forcing.
- Vasile Ersek
- , Peter U. Clark
- & R. Lawrence Edwards
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A four-dimensional X-ray tomographic microscopy study of bubble growth in basaltic foam
Changes in bubble foam structure influence magma strength. Here, Bakeret al. measure bubble size and wall thickness of basaltic foams and find that basaltic magmas are most likely to fail immediately upon vesiculation, but a permeability increase within a few seconds may reduce the risk of explosive eruptions.
- Don R. Baker
- , Francesco Brun
- & Mark Rivers
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Atmospheric phosphorus deposition may cause lakes to revert from phosphorus limitation back to nitrogen limitation
Increased atmospheric input of nitrogen has shifted planktonic lake nutrient systems from natural nitrogen to human-induced phosphorus limitation. This study proposes that decades of increased atmospheric phosphorus in the Pyrenean lake district may have reverted the system from phosphorus back to nitrogen-limited.
- L. Camarero
- & J. Catalan
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Reconstructing plate-motion changes in the presence of finite-rotations noise
Reconstructing short-term plate-motion changes through time provides important geodynamical information, but data noise is a problem at fine temporal resolution. This study presents a trans-dimensional hierarchical Bayesian framework that eliminates noise without loss of temporal resolution.
- Giampiero Iaffaldano
- , Thomas Bodin
- & Malcolm Sambridge
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| Open AccessPronounced interannual variability in tropical South Pacific temperatures during Heinrich Stadial 1
During the last glacial termination, the North Atlantic experienced a cold interval, but its impact on tropical climate variability is not clear. Here, a fossil Tahiti coral record shows that tropical sea surface temperature varied actively during this event, consistent with climate model simulations.
- Thomas Felis
- , Ute Merkel
- & Miriam Pfeiffer
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| Open AccessSurface changes in the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation during the last millennium
Palaeoclimate proxies, such as shells, record past ocean changes. A radiocarbon study based on a shell chronology from the Icelandic shelf is used to track changes in ocean circulation and climate for the past 1,350 years, suggesting a declining influence of North Atlantic surface waters on the Icelandic shelf over the last millennium.
- Alan D. Wanamaker Jr
- , Paul G. Butler
- & Christopher A. Richardson
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The oceanic biological pump modulates the atmospheric transport of persistent organic pollutants to the Arctic
Persistent organic pollutants can reach and pollute pristine environments, such as the Arctic Ocean, through atmospheric transport. This study shows that the oceanic biological pump can sequester atmospheric polychlorinated biphenyls, reducing the transport of pollutants to the Arctic Ocean.
- Cristóbal Galbán-Malagón
- , Naiara Berrojalbiz
- & Jordi Dachs
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Abyssal undular vortices in the Eastern Mediterranean basin
Small-scale ocean dynamics can have wide reaching impacts on the larger-scale ocean circulation. Using temperature and velocity data, this study shows the presence of abyssal vortices in the Eastern Mediterranean basin, adding complexity to the structure and evolution of water masses in this region.
- A. Rubino
- , F. Falcini
- & A. Capone
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The origin of pelletal lapilli in explosive kimberlite eruptions
Kimberlites are volatile-rich magmas that form diverging pipes containing pelletal lapilli - well rounded clasts that consist of an inner seed particle. Gernonet al. suggest that pelletal lapilli are formed when fluid volatile-rich melts intrude into earlier volcaniclastic infill close to the diatreme root zone.
- T.M. Gernon
- , R.J. Brown
- & T.K. Hincks
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Environmental noise exposure degrades normal listening processes
The damaging effects of loud noise on auditory function are well established, but the effects of low-level noise are not so well understood. Zhou and Merzenich chronically expose adult rats to structured low-level noise and find that it causes auditory cortex damage and sound discrimination impairment.
- Xiaoming Zhou
- & Michael M. Merzenich
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Article
| Open AccessPotential regime shift in decreased sea ice production after the Mertz Glacier calving
The calving of the Mertz Glacier occurred in 2010 in East Antarctica, brought on by the re-positioning of a large iceberg. Using satellite data, this study shows a reduction in sea ice production following the calving, interpreted as a potential regime shift towards reduced sea ice production for the coming decades.
- T. Tamura
- , G.D. Williams
- & K.I. Ohshima
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| Open AccessTwo centuries of limited variability in subtropical North Atlantic thermocline ventilation
Ocean circulation moves heat and gases between the ocean and atmosphere, impacting the carbon cycle at decadal timescales. Here, a radiocarbon coral record of ocean mixing from Bermuda suggests that the formation of mode water, and thus carbon uptake, have been more stable over the past 200 years than previously thought.
- Nathalie F. Goodkin
- , Ellen R. M. Druffel
- & Scott C. Doney
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Past daily light cycle recorded in the strontium/calcium ratios of giant clam shells
A record of the daily light cycle in tropical regions is difficult to extract from biogenic marine carbonates such as shells. Here, the precise analysis of Sr/Ca ratios is shown in a cultivated giant clam shell, revealing variations that reflect the daily light cycle and the potential for future development of a proxy.
- Yuji Sano
- , Sayumi Kobayashi
- & Kenji Iwai
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Power laws reveal phase transitions in landscape controls of fire regimes
Understanding the environmental controls of past wildfires is difficult due to the lack of records of weather or vegetation. This study shows, using cross-scale analysis, how power laws associated with fire-event time series can identify critical thresholds in landscape dynamics in a rapidly changing climate.
- Donald McKenzie
- & Maureen C. Kennedy
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Three decades of high-resolution coastal sea surface temperatures reveal more than warming
A detailed assessment of near-shore temperature changes is needed for improved forecasts of the consequences of coastal warming. Here, changes in coastal sea surface temperature are estimated, showing that although 71% of the world's coastlines are warming, the rates of change have varied spatially.
- Fernando P. Lima
- & David S. Wethey
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Stress-induced chemical waves in sediment burial diagenesis
Dolomite sedimentary rock has lateral metre-scale periodic variations in porosity and composition, which may provide information on formation and transformation. This study suggests that such variations are fossilized chemical waves emerging from stress-mediated mineral-water interaction during sediment burial diagenesis.
- Yifeng Wang
- & David A. Budd
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Rapid microbial response to the presence of an ancient relic in the Antarctic Dry Valleys
It is thought that turnover in soil microbiota occurs very slowly in the Antarctic Dry Valleys due to the extreme cold and aridity. Now, Tiaoet al. show that a transformation of microbial communities can happen in a matter of years in soils altered by the presence of a mummified seal.
- Grace Tiao
- , Charles K. Lee
- & S. Craig Cary
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Enhanced sea-ice export from the Arctic during the Younger Dryas
The Younger Dryas cold period is thought to have occurred mainly due to the release of fresh water into the North Atlantic from the glacial Lake Agassiz. Here, sedimentary and geochemical data from the central Arctic Ocean support the hypothesis of a northward route drainage event from Lake Agassiz during the Younger Dryas.
- Christelle Not
- & Claude Hillaire-Marcel
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| Open AccessHydrothermal vent fields and chemosynthetic biota on the world's deepest seafloor spreading centre
The Mid-Cayman Spreading Centre is an ultraslow-spreading mid-ocean ridge in the Caribbean. This study reveals two hydrothermal vent fields on the ridge, including high-temperature vents on an off-axis oceanic core complex where, similar to Mid-Atlantic vents, an alvinocaridid shrimp is common at both vent fields.
- Douglas P. Connelly
- , Jonathan T. Copley
- & Sally Wilcox
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River-margin habitat of Ardipithecus ramidus at Aramis, Ethiopia 4.4 million years ago
The habitat where early humans, hominins, lived provides information about the early part of human evolution. In this study, sedimentological and stable carbon and oxygen isotope data suggest homininArdipithecus ramiduslived in a river-margin forest in a wooded grassland landscape at Aramis, Ethiopia.
- M. Royhan Gani
- & Nahid D. Gani
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Migrating deformation in the Central Andes from enhanced orographic rainfall
Active shortening in the Central Andes shifted from the western to the eastern margin between 10-7 Myr ago, but the mechanism of formation is still unclear. Here, using critical wedge theory and local-scale fault friction calculations, this shift is proposed to have been controlled by changes in erosion patterns.
- Kevin Norton
- & Fritz Schlunegger
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A complex multi-notch astronomical filter to suppress the bright infrared sky
The night sky viewed from Earth is very bright at infrared wavelengths due to atmospheric emission, making land-based astronomy difficult in this spectral region. Here, a photonic filter is demonstrated to suppress this unwanted light, opening new paths to infrared astronomy with current and future telescopes.
- J. Bland-Hawthorn
- , S.C. Ellis
- & C. Trinh
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Sauropod dinosaur osteoderms from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar
Osteoderms are bones embedded within the dermis and are common in reptiles. Here, two osteoderms from the sauropod dinosaur Rapetosaurus indicate that the largest osteoderm known has an internal cavity equivalent to half its total volume and may have functioned as a mineral reserve in harsh environmental conditions.
- Kristina Curry Rogers
- , Michael D'Emic
- & Amanda Cagan
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Experimental drying intensifies burning and carbon losses in a northern peatland
Peatlands are a sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide and make up a large soil carbon reservoir. Here, studies of the interaction between drainage and fire show that long-term carbon emissions will likely exceed rates of carbon uptake, reducing the northern peatland carbon sink.
- M.R. Turetsky
- , W.F. Donahue
- & B.W. Benscoter
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Osmium evidence for synchronicity between a rise in atmospheric oxygen and Palaeoproterozoic deglaciation
The Early Palaeoproterozoic saw glaciations and a rise in atmospheric oxygen, but the link between these two changes is poorly understood. Here, osmium isotope records from sedimentary rocks indicate synchronicity between an episode of increasing oxygen and a glacial transition.
- Yasuhito Sekine
- , Katsuhiko Suzuki
- & Teruyuki Maruoka
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Silver hake tracks changes in Northwest Atlantic circulation
Many organisms are responding to a warming climate by shifts in spatial distribution. The poleward movement of silver hake,Merluccius bilinearis, over the last forty years is related to the position of the Gulf Stream and Atlantic meridional overturning circulation through changes in local bottom water temperature.
- Janet A. Nye
- , Terrence M. Joyce
- & Jason S. Link
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Long-term projections and acclimatization scenarios of temperature-related mortality in Europe
The sensitivity of human populations to rising global temperatures is not yet fully understood. The authors describe the link between temperature and daily mortality in over 200 European regions and calculate projections of mortality from climate models under greenhouse gas scenario simulations.
- Joan Ballester
- , Jean-Marie Robine
- & Xavier Rodó
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Helium penetrates into silica glass and reduces its compressibility
SiO2 glass and helium are important in various fields of science and engineering. Sato et al. show SiO2glass to be less compressible in helium under high pressure, which may be relevant for the interpretation of high-pressure experiments and in the design of new materials.
- Tomoko Sato
- , Nobumasa Funamori
- & Takehiko Yagi
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Melt migration in basalt columns driven by crystallization-induced pressure gradients
The internal textures of columnar-jointed lava flows and intrusions are poorly understood. Mattssonet al. propose a melt-migration model for Icelandic basalt driven by crystallization and volume decrease inside cooling columns, which explains the macroscopic features observed in columnar-jointed basalts.
- Hannes B. Mattsson
- , Luca Caricchi
- & Ann M. Hirt
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| Open AccessSouth China Sea hydrological changes and Pacific Walker Circulation variations over the last millennium
Tropical Pacific hydrology affects the global climate through the strength of the Pacific Walker Circulation. Yanet al. reconstruct variations in the Pacific Walker Circulation in the South China Sea over the last millennium and find that less precipitation fell during warmer and more rainfall during cool periods.
- Hong Yan
- , Liguang Sun
- & Wenhan Cheng
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| Open AccessMapping the evolving strain field during continental breakup from crustal anisotropy in the Afar Depression
The spatial and temporal scales over which continental breakup occurs by mechanical deformation and magma intrusion remain controversial. Keiret al. quantify anisotropy across the Afar Triple Junction using S-wave splitting from earthquakes to evaluate the strain in a region of continental breakup.
- Derek Keir
- , M. Belachew
- & J.V. Rowland
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Observational constraints indicate risk of drying in the Amazon basin
Assessments of future water availability in South America are uncertain based on multiple coupled general circulation models. Shiogamaet al.identify global-scale metrics for measuring the reliability of water resource assessments, and indicate a higher probability of drying in the Amazon basin.
- Hideo Shiogama
- , Seita Emori
- & Toru Nozawa
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| Open AccessAnts and termites increase crop yield in a dry climate
The presence of earthworms is known to enhance the quality and moisture of soil in cool and wet climates. Evanset al. show that termites and ants can improve soil quality in warmer and drier climates—their presence results in elevated water infiltration and nitrogen content, leading to increased wheat yields.
- Theodore A. Evans
- , Tracy Z. Dawes
- & Nathan Lo
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Prevailing oxic environments in the Pacific Ocean during the mid-Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Event 2
The second oceanic anoxic event occurred 94 million years ago and constituted a very large perturbation of the Earth's carbon cycle. Here, the authors study carbon isotopes and degrees of pyritization and demonstrate that, unlike other oceans, the Pacific remained oxygenated for most of this period.
- Reishi Takashima
- , Hiroshi Nishi
- & Keiichi Hayashi
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Coastal pollution limits pelagic larval dispersal
Storm water runoff and wastewater effluent are discharged into oceans, but the full ecological effects of these discharges are unknown. Here, the authors examine the population structure of a marine organism, the bat star, and show that these discharges alter the genetic structure and larval dispersal of this species.
- Jonathan B. Puritz
- & Robert J. Toonen
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Growth rates of Florida corals from 1937 to 1996 and their response to climate change
Ocean acidification due to increasing carbon dioxide levels can affect the growth and viability of corals. In this study, the authors measured extension, calcification and density in Florida corals collected in 1996, and show that recent climate change did not cause a decline in their extension or calcification.
- Kevin P. Helmle
- , Richard E. Dodge
- & C. Mark Eakin
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| Open AccessMultiple S-isotopic evidence for episodic shoaling of anoxic water during Late Permian mass extinction
A final catastrophe killed 90% of marine species at the end of the Permian period, but significant biodiversity loss preceded this event. In this study, sulphur isotope evidence suggests that incursion of anoxic water into shallow regions may have contributed to biodiversity loss.
- Yanan Shen
- , James Farquhar
- & Boswell A. Wing
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Article
| Open AccessClimate change drives microevolution in a wild bird
Organisms are expected to adapt to climate change because of selection pressures. Here, the authors demonstrate that brown morphs of Finnish owls are selected against in winters with plentiful snow, and concordantly, increasing winter temperatures and lower snow fall results in the selection of the brown morph.
- Patrik Karell
- , Kari Ahola
- & Jon E. Brommer