Featured
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News & Views |
The rocky road to biomolecules
A natural chemical reaction that occurs below the sea floor makes the amino acid tryptophan without biological input. This finding reveals a process that might have helped life on Earth to begin.
- John A. Baross
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Article |
Abiotic synthesis of amino acids in the recesses of the oceanic lithosphere
High-resolution imaging techniques show that aromatic amino acids such as tryptophan formed abiotically and were subsequently preserved at depth beneath the Atlantis Massif of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, supporting the hydrothermal theory for the origin of life.
- Bénédicte Ménez
- , Céline Pisapia
- & Matthieu Réfrégiers
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Research Highlight |
Earth exhaled, and the ‘Great Dying’ began
Gases from deep in Earth’s crust are implicated in the planet’s worst extinction event.
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Letter |
Xenon isotopic constraints on the history of volatile recycling into the mantle
Mantle xenon isotope systematics reveals that no substantial recycling of atmospheric xenon into the deep Earth occurred before 2.5 billion years ago, indicating that downwellings were drier in the Archaean era than today.
- Rita Parai
- & Sujoy Mukhopadhyay
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Letter |
Reverse weathering as a long-term stabilizer of marine pH and planetary climate
Elevated rates of reverse weathering within silica-rich oceans led to enhanced carbon retention within the ocean–atmosphere system, promoting a stable, equable ice-free climate throughout Earth’s early to middle ages.
- Terry T. Isson
- & Noah J. Planavsky
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News & Views |
The origin of blue diamonds
The mystery of where blue diamonds get their colour from has been solved — and reveals a geochemical pathway from Earth’s surface to the lower mantle.
- Andrew Mitchinson
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Letter |
Blue boron-bearing diamonds from Earth’s lower mantle
Mineral inclusions in blue boron-bearing diamonds reveal that such diamonds are among the deepest diamonds ever found and indicate a viable pathway for the deep-mantle recycling of crustal elements.
- Evan M. Smith
- , Steven B. Shirey
- & Wuyi Wang
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Letter |
Macromolecular organic compounds from the depths of Enceladus
The detection of complex organic molecules with masses higher than 200 atomic mass units in ice grains emitted from Enceladus indicates the presence of a thin organic-rich layer on top of the moon’s subsurface ocean.
- Frank Postberg
- , Nozair Khawaja
- & J. Hunter Waite
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Letter |
Evidence for extremely rapid magma ocean crystallization and crust formation on Mars
Isotopic compositions of ancient zircons from the NWA 7034 Martian meteorite suggest that Mars must have formed its primordial crust extremely swiftly, less than 20 million years after the formation of the Solar System.
- Laura C. Bouvier
- , Maria M. Costa
- & Martin Bizzarro
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Letter |
Low-temperature crystallization of granites and the implications for crustal magmatism
Thermobarometry and diffusion modelling in quartz crystals show that some granites may crystallize at much lower temperatures than we had thought, possibly explaining observations of cold magma storage.
- Michael R. Ackerson
- , B. O. Mysen
- & E. B. Watson
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News |
Daring Japanese mission reaches unexplored asteroid Ryugu
Hayabusa-2 will hover above its target and release four landing probes before touching down to collect samples to return to Earth.
- Davide Castelvecchi
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Letter |
Rapid emergence of subaerial landmasses and onset of a modern hydrologic cycle 2.5 billion years ago
The use of triple-oxygen-isotope data from continental shales spanning the past 3.7 billion years suggests that continental crust with near-modern average elevation and extent emerged about 2.5 billion years ago.
- I. N. Bindeman
- , D. O. Zakharov
- & A. Bekker
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Letter |
Isotopic evolution of the protoplanetary disk and the building blocks of Earth and the Moon
The mass-independent calcium isotope composition of inner-Solar-System bodies is correlated with their masses and accretion ages, indicating a rapid growth for the precursors of Earth and the Moon during the protoplanetary disk’s lifetime.
- Martin Schiller
- , Martin Bizzarro
- & Vera Assis Fernandes
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News & Views |
Oxidation softens mantle rocks
Seismic waves that propagate through a layer of Earth’s upper mantle are highly attenuated. Contrary to general thinking, this attenuation seems to be strongly affected by oxidation conditions, rather than by water content.
- Tetsuo Irifune
- & Tomohiro Ohuchi
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Letter |
CaSiO3 perovskite in diamond indicates the recycling of oceanic crust into the lower mantle
The composition of natural calcium silicate perovskite, the fourth most abundant mineral in the Earth, found within a diamond indicates an origin from oceanic crust subducted deeper than 700 kilometres into the Earth’s mantle.
- F. Nestola
- , N. Korolev
- & J. Davidson
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Letter |
Hadean silicate differentiation preserved by anomalous 142Nd/144Nd ratios in the Réunion hotspot source
Neodymium-142 isotope data from young Réunion Island volcanic rocks reflect the effects of geological processes that occurred more than four billion years ago, showing that the deep mantle may preserve geochemical signatures of the primordial Earth.
- Bradley J. Peters
- , Richard W. Carlson
- & Mary F. Horan
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Research Highlight |
Remnants of life from billions of years ago hint at Earth’s evolution
Xenon gas in ancient minerals shows the impact of early life on the atmosphere.
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Letter |
Early episodes of high-pressure core formation preserved in plume mantle
Xenon isotopic anomalies found in modern plume rocks are explained as the result of iodine-to-plutonium fractionations during early, high-pressure episodes of core formation.
- Colin R. M. Jackson
- , Neil R. Bennett
- & Yingwei Fei
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Letter |
A record of deep-ocean dissolved O2 from the oxidation state of iron in submarine basalts
Deep-ocean O2 concentrations over the past 3.5 billion years are estimated using the oxidation state of iron in submarine basalts and indicate that deep-ocean oxygenation occurred in the Phanerozoic.
- Daniel A. Stolper
- & C. Brenhin Keller
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Letter |
The divergent fates of primitive hydrospheric water on Earth and Mars
Modelling the reactions of water with the crusts of early Earth and Mars sheds light on how water was transported through their crusts to give the surfaces we see today.
- Jon Wade
- , Brendan Dyck
- & Andrew J. Smye
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News & Views |
Martian water stored underground
Why did Mars lose so much of its surface water, whereas Earth retained its? Models of the evolution of minerals on the two planets suggest one explanation: the Martian water was drawn into the planetary interior.
- Tomohiro Usui
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Nature Podcast |
Podcast: Electric-eel batteries, magma viscocity, and protein shells
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Letter |
A compositional tipping point governing the mobilization and eruption style of rhyolitic magma
Measurements of the composition-dependent viscosity of rhyolitic magma reveal a tipping point that changes the physical properties of the melt and controls the transition between effusive and explosive eruptions.
- D. Di Genova
- , S. Kolzenburg
- & D. B. Dingwell
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Letter |
Halogens in chondritic meteorites and terrestrial accretion
Halogen abundances in chondrites are 6 to 37 times lower than previously reported, which is consistent with the low abundances of these elements found in Earth.
- Patricia L. Clay
- , Ray Burgess
- & Christopher J. Ballentine
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News & Views |
Evaporating planetesimals
Two studies show that evaporation of molten rock was intrinsic to the formation of Earth and other rocky bodies in the Solar System, suggesting that violent collisions played a key part in the formation process. See Letters p.507 & p.511
- Edward D. Young
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Letter |
Magnesium isotope evidence that accretional vapour loss shapes planetary compositions
The measurement of magnesium isotope ratios at improved accuracy suggests that planetary compositions result from fractionation between liquid and vapour, followed by vapour escape during accretionary growth.
- Remco C. Hin
- , Christopher D. Coath
- & Tim Elliott
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Letter |
Earth’s volatile contents established by melting and vaporization
The pattern of volatile element depletion in the silicate Earth suggests that melting and vaporization on precursor bodies and during accretion were responsible for the volatile element contents of Earth.
- C. Ashley Norris
- & Bernard J. Wood
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News |
Oldest traces of life on Earth may lurk in Canadian rocks
Researchers report chemical evidence of organisms that lived 3.95 billion years ago, but scepticism abounds.
- Alexandra Witze
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Letter |
The rise of algae in Cryogenian oceans and the emergence of animals
Steroid biomarkers provide evidence for a rapid rise of marine planktonic algae between 659 and 645 million years ago, establishing more efficient energy transfers and driving ecosystems towards larger and increasingly complex organisms.
- Jochen J. Brocks
- , Amber J. M. Jarrett
- & Tharika Liyanage
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Research Highlight |
Uranium deposits made by microbes
Bacteria could have a larger role than previously thought in generating uranium ores.
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Letter |
Continental crust formation on early Earth controlled by intrusive magmatism
Modelling of two modes of continental crust formation suggests that before plate tectonics began operating, the Archean early Earth’s tectonic regime was governed by intrusive magmatism.
- A. B. Rozel
- , G. J. Golabek
- & T. Gerya
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Letter |
The concurrent emergence and causes of double volcanic hotspot tracks on the Pacific plate
The emergence of geographically and geochemically distinct double volcanic chains on the Pacific plate coincides with a recent azimuthal change in the motion of the plate.
- T. D. Jones
- , D. R. Davies
- & C. R. Wilson
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Research Highlight |
Lakes face a dangerously salty future
Salt in some freshwater lakes is approaching levels that threaten ecosystems.
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Letter |
Crystallization of silicon dioxide and compositional evolution of the Earth’s core
Melting experiments with liquid Fe–Si–O alloy at the pressure of the Earth’s core reveal that the crystallization of silicon dioxide leads to core convection and a dynamo.
- Kei Hirose
- , Guillaume Morard
- & Stéphane Labrosse
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Letter |
Onset of the aerobic nitrogen cycle during the Great Oxidation Event
Nitrogen isotope data from sediments deposited during the earliest stage of the Great Oxidation Event show evidence for the emergence of a pervasive aerobic marine nitrogen cycle.
- Aubrey L. Zerkle
- , Simon W. Poulton
- & Christopher K. Junium
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Letter |
Primordial helium entrained by the hottest mantle plumes
Analysis of helium isotope ratios in volcanic hotspot lavas suggests that hotter, more buoyant plumes upwelling from the deep mantle entrain high-3He/4He material, unlike cooler, less buoyant plumes, implying the existence of a dense, relatively undisturbed primordial reservoir in the deep mantle.
- M. G. Jackson
- , J. G. Konter
- & T.W. Becker
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News & Views |
Earth's building blocks
Earth grew by the accretion of meteoritic material. High-precision isotopic data reveal how the composition of this material changed over time, forcing revision of models of our planet's formation. See Letters p.521 & p.525
- Richard W. Carlson
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Letter |
Ruthenium isotopic evidence for an inner Solar System origin of the late veneer
All chondrites are shown to have Ru isotopic compositions that are more different from that of the Earth’s mantle the further from the Sun they formed; this means the Earth’s late veneer cannot derive from volatile-rich material formed in the outer Solar System.
- Mario Fischer-Gödde
- & Thorsten Kleine
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Letter |
The isotopic nature of the Earth’s accreting material through time
The mantle signatures of elements with distinct affinities for metal isotopically record different stages of Earth’s accretion, revealing that the Moon-forming impactor had a similar composition to the other impactors that made the Earth.
- Nicolas Dauphas
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News & Views Forum |
The history of Greenland's ice
Global sea levels would rise by several metres if the Greenland Ice Sheet melted completely. Two studies have examined its past behaviour in an effort to evaluate its vulnerability in a warming world — and have come to seemingly conflicting conclusions. Two geochemists and a glaciologist discuss the issues. See Letters p.252 & p.256
- Pierre-Henri Blard
- , Guillaume Leduc
- & Neil Glasser
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News |
Speedy Antarctic drills start hunt for Earth’s oldest ice
British team is first to seek site of 1.5-million-year-old sample.
- Quirin Schiermeier
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Letter |
Water balance creates a threshold in soil pH at the global scale
There is an abrupt transition from alkaline to acid soil pH when mean annual precipitation exceeds mean annual potential evapotranspiration, demonstrating that climate creates a nonlinear pattern in soil solution chemistry at the global scale.
- E. W. Slessarev
- , Y. Lin
- & O. A. Chadwick
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Research Highlights |
Plants take up more carbon
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News & Views |
Ions surprise in Earth's deep fluids
Models indicate that there are strong gradients in element concentrations and in the pH of fluids at the slab–mantle interface — a major discontinuity deep within Earth. This transforms our view of global geochemical transport. See Letter p.420
- David Dolejš
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Letter |
Implications for metal and volatile cycles from the pH of subduction zone fluids
A thermodynamic model of fluid pH and its variability in Earth’s mantle and subducting crust highlights chemical feedbacks that connect deep Earth to surface processes.
- Matthieu E. Galvez
- , James A. D. Connolly
- & Craig E. Manning
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Books & Arts |
Extremophiles: Life at the deep end
Sonja-Verena Albers reviews a riveting chronicle tracing the discovery of archaea.
- Sonja-Verena Albers