Nature GeosciencePub Date : 2025-01-15DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01626-8
Danica Adams, Markus Scheucher, Renyu Hu, Bethany L. Ehlmann, Trent B. Thomas, Robin Wordsworth, Eva Scheller, Rob Lillis, Kayla Smith, Heike Rauer, Yuk L. Yung
{"title":"Episodic warm climates on early Mars primed by crustal hydration","authors":"Danica Adams, Markus Scheucher, Renyu Hu, Bethany L. Ehlmann, Trent B. Thomas, Robin Wordsworth, Eva Scheller, Rob Lillis, Kayla Smith, Heike Rauer, Yuk L. Yung","doi":"10.1038/s41561-024-01626-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41561-024-01626-8","url":null,"abstract":"Geological records indicate that the surface of ancient Mars harboured substantial volumes of liquid water, a resource gradually diminished by processes such as the chemical alteration of crustal materials by hydration and atmospheric escape. However, how a relatively warm climate existed on early Mars to support liquid water under a fainter young Sun is debated. Greenhouse gases such as H2 in a CO2-rich atmosphere could have contributed to warming through collision-induced absorption, but whether sufficient H2 was available to sustain warming remains unclear. Here we use a combined climate and photochemical model to simulate how atmospheric chemistry on early Mars responded to water–rock reactions and climate variations, as constrained by existing observations. We find that H2 outgassing from crustal hydration and oxidation, supplemented by transient volcanic activity, could have generated sufficient H2 fluxes to transiently foster warm, humid climates. We estimate that Mars experienced episodic warm periods of an integrated duration of ~40 million years, with each event lasting ≥105 years, consistent with the formation timescale of valley networks. Declining atmospheric CO2 via surface oxidant sinks or variations in the planet’s axial tilt could have led to abrupt shifts in the planet’s redox state and transition to a CO-dominated atmosphere and cold climate. Photochemical modelling suggests that H2 outgassing from crustal hydration could have supported transient warming episodes on early Mars in a CO2-rich atmosphere with abrupt transitions to cold climate states in a CO-rich atmosphere.","PeriodicalId":19053,"journal":{"name":"Nature Geoscience","volume":"18 2","pages":"133-139"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142981856","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature GeosciencePub Date : 2025-01-14DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01624-w
{"title":"Magma composition drives tremors during a volcanic eruption","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41561-024-01624-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41561-024-01624-w","url":null,"abstract":"Near-daily sampling of volcanic ash during a three-month eruption reveals shifts in mantle-derived liquid magma (melt) composition, highlighting its potential as a monitoring and forecasting tool. These shifts align with the amplitude of volcanic tremor, a persistent seismic signal, suggesting a link between magma viscosity, shallow bubble escape dynamics, and tremor changes.","PeriodicalId":19053,"journal":{"name":"Nature Geoscience","volume":"18 2","pages":"118-119"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142974869","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature GeosciencePub Date : 2025-01-13DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01627-7
{"title":"Outer planet frontier of geoscience","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41561-024-01627-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41561-024-01627-7","url":null,"abstract":"Space exploration has expanded the realm of geoscience to the outermost Solar System. A new generation of missions shines the way.","PeriodicalId":19053,"journal":{"name":"Nature Geoscience","volume":"18 1","pages":"1-1"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-024-01627-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142974870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature GeosciencePub Date : 2025-01-10DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01623-x
Marc-Antoine Longpré, Samantha Tramontano, Matthew J. Pankhurst, Diana C. Roman, Miriam C. Reiss, Franco Cortese, Mike R. James, Laura Spina, Fátima Rodríguez, Beverley Coldwell, Alba Martín-Lorenzo, Olivia Barbee, Luca D’Auria, Katy J. Chamberlain, Jane H. Scarrow
{"title":"Shifting melt composition linked to volcanic tremor at Cumbre Vieja volcano","authors":"Marc-Antoine Longpré, Samantha Tramontano, Matthew J. Pankhurst, Diana C. Roman, Miriam C. Reiss, Franco Cortese, Mike R. James, Laura Spina, Fátima Rodríguez, Beverley Coldwell, Alba Martín-Lorenzo, Olivia Barbee, Luca D’Auria, Katy J. Chamberlain, Jane H. Scarrow","doi":"10.1038/s41561-024-01623-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41561-024-01623-x","url":null,"abstract":"Forecasting the onset, evolution and end of volcanic eruptions relies on interpretation of monitoring data—particularly seismic signals, such as persistent volcanic tremor—in relation to causative magmatic processes. Petrology helps establish such links retrospectively but typically lacks the required temporal resolution to directly relate to geophysical data. Here we report major and volatile element compositions of glass from volcanic ash continuously sampled throughout the 2021 Tajogaite eruption of Cumbre Vieja volcano, La Palma, Canary Islands. The data reveal the evolving chemistry of melts supplied from depth at a daily temporal resolution. Erupted melt compositions become progressively more primitive until the tenth week of activity, but a sharp reversal of this trend then marks the decline of mantle magma supply and a precursory signal to the eruption end. We find that melt SiO2 content is positively correlated with the amplitude of narrow-band volcanic tremor. Tremor characteristics, inferences from simulations and model calculations point to melt viscosity-controlled degassing dynamics generating variations in tremor amplitude. Our results show promise for a monitoring and forecasting tool capable of quickly identifying rejuvenated and waning phases of volcanic eruptions and illustrate how subtle changes in melt composition may translate to large shifts in geophysical signals. The SiO2 contents of erupted volcanic melts are correlated with persistent seismic signals that accompany eruptions—volcanic tremor—and may represent an eruption monitoring tool, according to a study of volcanic ash glasses from Cumbre Vieja volcano.","PeriodicalId":19053,"journal":{"name":"Nature Geoscience","volume":"18 2","pages":"175-183"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142961366","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature GeosciencePub Date : 2025-01-09DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01618-8
{"title":"Daytime heat stress is reduced by agricultural irrigation in North American cities","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41561-024-01618-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41561-024-01618-8","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines the influence of agricultural irrigation on heat stress and contrasts it against local impacts of urbanization in North American cities using regional climate model simulations. The results indicate that irrigation decreases air temperature and increases relative humidity, with daytime urban moist heat stress reduced according to most indices.","PeriodicalId":19053,"journal":{"name":"Nature Geoscience","volume":"18 1","pages":"8-9"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142937554","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Daytime urban heat stress in North America reduced by irrigation","authors":"TC Chakraborty, Yun Qian, Jianfeng Li, L. Ruby Leung, Chandan Sarangi","doi":"10.1038/s41561-024-01613-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41561-024-01613-z","url":null,"abstract":"There is considerable uncertainty regarding the impact of irrigation on heat stress, partly stemming from the choice of heat stress index. Moreover, existing simulations are at scales that cannot appropriately resolve population centres or clouds and thus the potential for human impacts. Using multi-year convection-permitting and urban-resolving regional climate simulations, we demonstrate that irrigation alleviates summertime heat stress across more than 1,600 urban clusters in North America. This holds true for most physiologically relevant heat stress indices. The impact of irrigation varies by climate zone, with more notable irrigation signals seen for arid urban clusters that are situated near heavily irrigated fields. Through a component attribution framework, we show that irrigation-induced changes in wet-bulb temperature, often used as a moist heat stress proxy in the geosciences, exhibit an opposite sign to the corresponding changes in wet bulb globe temperature—a more complete index for assessing both indoor and outdoor heat risk—across climate zones. In contrast, the local changes in both wet-bulb and wet bulb globe temperature due to urbanization have the same sign. Our results demonstrate a complex relationship between irrigation and heat stress, highlighting the importance of using appropriate heat stress indices when assessing the potential for population-scale human impacts. Convection-permitting regional climate simulations suggest that irrigation reduces daytime urban heat stress in North America.","PeriodicalId":19053,"journal":{"name":"Nature Geoscience","volume":"18 1","pages":"57-64"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142937555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature GeosciencePub Date : 2025-01-08DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01617-9
Dan Bassett, Donna J. Shillington, Laura M. Wallace, Julie L. Elliott
{"title":"Variation in slip behaviour along megathrusts controlled by multiple physical properties","authors":"Dan Bassett, Donna J. Shillington, Laura M. Wallace, Julie L. Elliott","doi":"10.1038/s41561-024-01617-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41561-024-01617-9","url":null,"abstract":"Megathrusts, faults at the plate interface in subduction zones, exhibit substantial spatiotemporal variability in their slip behaviour. Many previous attempts to discern the physical controls on their slip behaviour have focused on individual variables, often associated with the physical properties of either the subducting plate (for example, its age and roughness) or the overriding plate (for example, its thickness and rigidity). Such studies, which are often location-specific or focused on single variables, have fuelled contrasting views on the relative importance of various physical properties on megathrust slip behaviour. Here we synthesize observations of the Alaska, Hikurangi and Nankai subduction zones to ascertain the main causes of the well-documented changes in interseismic coupling and earthquake behaviour along their megathrusts. In all three cases, along-trench changes in the distribution of rigid crustal rocks in the forearc, the geometry of the subducting slab and the upper-plate stress state drive considerable variability in the downdip width of the seismogenic zone. The subducting plate is systematically rougher in creeping regions, with fault-zone heterogeneity promoting a mixture of moderate to large earthquakes, near-trench seismicity and slow-slip events. Smoother subducting plate segments (with thicker sediment cover) are more strongly correlated with deep interseismic coupling and great (>Mw 8) earthquakes. In the three regions considered, there is no one dominant variable. Rather, we conclude that several physical properties affecting the dimensions and heterogeneity of megathrusts collectively explain observed along-trench transitions in slip behaviour at these subduction zones, and potentially at many other subduction zones worldwide. Multiple factors, including slab geometry and upper-plate stress state, determine the variation in slip behaviour along most megathrusts, according to a synthesis of observations of the Alaska, Hikurangi and Nankai subduction zones.","PeriodicalId":19053,"journal":{"name":"Nature Geoscience","volume":"18 1","pages":"20-31"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142936277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature GeosciencePub Date : 2025-01-06DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01612-0
C. Adeene Denton, Erik Asphaug, Alexandre Emsenhuber, Robert Melikyan
{"title":"Capture of an ancient Charon around Pluto","authors":"C. Adeene Denton, Erik Asphaug, Alexandre Emsenhuber, Robert Melikyan","doi":"10.1038/s41561-024-01612-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41561-024-01612-0","url":null,"abstract":"Pluto and Charon are the largest binary system in the known population of trans-Neptunian objects in the outer Solar System. Their shared external orbital axis suggests a linked evolutionary history and collisional origin. Their radii, ~1,200 km and ~600 km, respectively, and Charon’s wide circular orbit of about 16 Pluto radii require a formation mechanism that places a large mass fraction into orbit, with sufficient angular momentum to drive tidal orbital expansion. Here we numerically model the collisional capture of Charon by Pluto using simulations that include material strength. In our simulations, friction distributes impact momentum, leading Charon and Pluto to become temporarily connected, instead of merging, for impacts aligned with the target’s rotation. In this ‘kiss-and-capture’ regime, coalescence of the bodies is prevented by strength. For a prograde target rotation consistent with the system angular momentum, Charon is then tidally decoupled and raised into a near-circular orbit from which it migrates outwards to distances consistent with its present orbit. Charon is captured relatively intact in this scenario, retaining its core and most of its mantle, which implies that Charon could be as ancient as Pluto. Numerical simulations suggest that Pluto’s moon Charon was captured intact, in a scenario in which the two bodies temporarily merged in a collision but did not coalesce due to solid strength effects.","PeriodicalId":19053,"journal":{"name":"Nature Geoscience","volume":"18 1","pages":"37-43"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142929813","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature GeosciencePub Date : 2025-01-06DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01610-2
Hana Jurikova, Claudio Garbelli, Ross Whiteford, Theodore Reeves, Gemma M. Laker, Volker Liebetrau, Marcus Gutjahr, Anton Eisenhauer, Kotryna Savickaite, Melanie J. Leng, Dawid Adam Iurino, Marco Viaretti, Adam Tomašových, Yuchen Zhang, Wen-qian Wang, G. R. Shi, Shu-zhong Shen, James W. B. Rae, Lucia Angiolini
{"title":"Rapid rise in atmospheric CO2 marked the end of the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age","authors":"Hana Jurikova, Claudio Garbelli, Ross Whiteford, Theodore Reeves, Gemma M. Laker, Volker Liebetrau, Marcus Gutjahr, Anton Eisenhauer, Kotryna Savickaite, Melanie J. Leng, Dawid Adam Iurino, Marco Viaretti, Adam Tomašových, Yuchen Zhang, Wen-qian Wang, G. R. Shi, Shu-zhong Shen, James W. B. Rae, Lucia Angiolini","doi":"10.1038/s41561-024-01610-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41561-024-01610-2","url":null,"abstract":"Atmospheric CO2 is thought to play a fundamental role in Earth’s climate regulation. Yet, for much of Earth’s geological past, atmospheric CO2 has been poorly constrained, hindering our understanding of transitions between cool and warm climates. Beginning ~370 million years ago in the Late Devonian and ending ~260 million years ago in the Permian, the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age was the last major glaciation preceding the current Late Cenozoic Ice Age and possibly the most intense glaciation witnessed by complex lifeforms. From the onset of the main phase of the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age in the mid-Mississippian ~330 million years ago, the Earth is thought to have sustained glacial conditions, with continental ice accumulating in high to mid-latitudes. Here we present an 80-million-year-long boron isotope record within a proxy framework for robust quantification of CO2. Our record reveals that the main phase of the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age glaciation was maintained by prolonged low CO2, unprecedented in Earth’s history. About 294 million years ago, atmospheric CO2 rose abruptly (4-fold), releasing the Earth from its penultimate ice age and transforming the Early Permian into a warmer world. A pronounced increase in atmospheric CO2 coincided with warming at the end of the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age, according to an 80-million-year-long boron isotope CO2 proxy record.","PeriodicalId":19053,"journal":{"name":"Nature Geoscience","volume":"18 1","pages":"91-97"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-024-01610-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142929794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature GeosciencePub Date : 2025-01-06DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01609-9
Peter Brandt, Mareike Körner, James N. Moum, Marisa Roch, Ajit Subramaniam, Rena Czeschel, Gerd Krahmann, Marcus Dengler, Rainer Kiko
{"title":"Seasonal productivity of the equatorial Atlantic shaped by distinct wind-driven processes","authors":"Peter Brandt, Mareike Körner, James N. Moum, Marisa Roch, Ajit Subramaniam, Rena Czeschel, Gerd Krahmann, Marcus Dengler, Rainer Kiko","doi":"10.1038/s41561-024-01609-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41561-024-01609-9","url":null,"abstract":"The eastern equatorial Atlantic hosts a productive marine ecosystem that depends on upward supply of nitrate, the primary limiting nutrient in this region. The annual productivity peak, indicated by elevated surface chlorophyll levels, occurs in the Northern Hemisphere summer, roughly coinciding with strengthened easterly winds. For enhanced productivity in the equatorial Atlantic, nitrate-rich water must rise into the turbulent layer above the Equatorial Undercurrent. Using data from two trans-Atlantic equatorial surveys, along with extended time series from equatorial moorings, we demonstrate how three independent wind-driven processes shape the seasonality of equatorial Atlantic productivity: (1) the nitracline shoals in response to intensifying easterly winds; (2) the depth of the Equatorial Undercurrent core, defined by maximum eastward velocity, is controlled by an annual oscillation of basin-scale standing equatorial waves; and (3) mixing intensity in the shear zone above the Equatorial Undercurrent core is governed by local and instantaneous winds. The interplay of these three mechanisms shapes a unique seasonal cycle of nutrient supply and productivity in the equatorial Atlantic, with a productivity minimum in April due to a shallow Equatorial Undercurrent and a productivity maximum in July resulting from a shallow nitracline coupled with enhanced mixing. The seasonal timing of peak primary productivity in the eastern equatorial Atlantic is a result of wind-driven processes coinciding with increased surface nitrate supply, according to transect and mooring observations.","PeriodicalId":19053,"journal":{"name":"Nature Geoscience","volume":"18 1","pages":"84-90"},"PeriodicalIF":15.7,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-024-01609-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142929505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}