Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
ZDR Column Behavior in Real and Simulated X-band Radar Observations of Potentially Tornadic Storms
Published: 2026-02-03
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The primary objective of this research is to characterize distinct differential reflectivity (ZDR) column behavior with respect to height, intensity, and aerial coverage prior to tornadogenesis (failure) in X-band radar observations of supercells. ZDR observations of three supercells observed at high spatiotemporal resolution with X-band polarimetric radar, two tornadic and one nontornadic, are [...]
Energy-Driven Radius Evolution of Chthonian Planets: A Viscoelastic Maxwell Framework with Applications to Earth
Published: 2026-02-03
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Chthonian planets—dense rocky or metallic remnants of gas giants stripped of their gaseous envelopes—experience extreme internal pressures and energy densities, making their structural evolution fundamentally different from classical terrestrial planets. We aim to develop a physically grounded framework to describe energy-driven radius evolution in such bodies and to understand how internal [...]
A Multivariable Calculus Sustainability Infusion
Published: 2026-02-02
Subjects: Applied Mathematics, Other Applied Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Climate change is one of the big challenges facing this generation. Given the threats faced by climate change, it is important that everyone have an education that allows them to engage with the issue as an informed member of society. Typical math courses rarely include examples from Earth science or ecology as part of the curriculum. Incorporating sustainability into pre-requisite math classes [...]
Sampling variability under extreme skewness: sample size guidance for future methane measurement campaigns
Published: 2026-02-02
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Methane emissions from the oil and gas sector follow highly right-skewed distributions, making it hard to accurately quantify average emissions with a limited number of measurements. In this study, we probe the statistical implications of sampling (i.e., measuring) from these highly right-skewed distributions, using six US oil and gas basins as an example. For each basin, we provide a minimum [...]
Rethinking Vertical Transport of Buoyant Plastics in Open Channels
Published: 2026-02-01
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Recent studies have demonstrated that the vertical distribution of positively buoyant plastic particles in turbulent open channel flows can be described by a modified Rouse profile. However, implicit observations in the literature also suggest that floating particles remain confined to the air–water interface due to surface tension forces. To shed more light on this apparent contradiction, we [...]
Improving 210Po low level measurements in seawater
Published: 2026-01-28
Subjects: Environmental Sciences, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Physics
Ocean is the largest sink of atmospheric carbon, atmospheric CO2 is synthesized by surface phytoplankton into particle organic carbon (POC) that is exported from the ocean surface to depth, where it can be stored for years. An accurate quantification of downward POC flux is crucial for making reliable predictions of present and future atmospheric CO2 concentrations. A method based on the [...]
Do 3D Dynamic Rupture Models Capture the Variability in Long-Period Velocity Pulses? Insights from the 2023 Mw 7.8 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake
Published: 2026-01-28
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Capturing ground motion variability, especially in near-fault long-period velocity pulses, is a key challenge for seismic hazard assessment. Empirical methods often rely on simplified assumptions and may not fully capture the non-linear interplay of source, path, and site effects. Physics-based dynamic rupture simulations offer a self-consistent alternative, but their ability to reproduce [...]
Near-total loss of buttressing stresses observed on Pine Island Ice Shelf, West Antarctica
Published: 2026-01-27
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Glaciology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Ice shelves, the floating extensions of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, provide critical buttressing stresses that resist the seaward flow of ice and help set the position of the grounding line, where the ice goes afloat. As buttressing stresses are diminished by thinning or fracturing and collapse of the ice shelf, glaciers tend to accelerate. Here, we focus on the response of Pine Island Ice Shelf [...]
Spontaneous liquefaction in saturated granular deposits: State controlled boundary and surface reconfiguration
Published: 2026-01-26
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Engineering Science and Materials, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Geotechnical Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering, Mechanics of Materials, Mining Engineering, Other Civil and Environmental Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Risk Analysis
In the case of water-saturated, granular deposits that are at risk of liquefaction, engineers need reliable information about the spatial extent of soil deformation in the event of liquefaction. It is not so important for them to know the exact location of the first failure. However, existing anal-yses primarily deal with the triggering of liquefaction and offer only limited information on how [...]
Exploring Potential Mechanisms for the Initiation of Solifluction Patterns
Published: 2026-01-25
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Hillslopes in arctic regions commonly display large-scale features—known as solifluction patterns—that form due to the exceedingly slow downhill movement of frost-heaved soil. Here we use a combination of remote sensing data, linear stability analysis, numerical modeling, and review of a wide range of literature to evaluate several working hypotheses for the necessary and sufficient conditions [...]
AI-assisted identification of stromatoporoids
Published: 2026-01-23
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Stromatoporoid sponge fossils were major diverse reef-builders in the Palaeozoic Era; their taxonomic identification relies on thin sections examined under transmit-ted light microscopy, where vertical and transverse skeletal elements reveal diag-nostic architectural features that vary with taxa. These elements typically appear darker than the cement-filled internal spaces, allowing [...]
Storm signals in coastal sediments: A review of palaeostorm archives and analytical approaches in north-west Europe
Published: 2026-01-22
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Coastal sedimentary archives offer key insights into past severe storms and related flooding, contributing to a better understanding of long-term coastal hazard histories. Although interest in palaeostorm reconstructions has increased in recent decades, a comprehensive overview and information for north-west Europe is missing. This synoptic literature review compiles all known sedimentary storm [...]
Fabric, texture, and bubble characteristics of the million-year old Allan Hills blue ice core ALHIC1901
Published: 2026-01-21
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Ice cores from the Allan Hills blue ice area in Antarctica have been dated to several million years of age. However, the stratigraphy of these cores is often disturbed, and age reversals are common, hampering the interpretation of the derived climate records. To better understand the physical processes affecting the ice, we here use a variety of microstructural methods to investigate the fabric, [...]
Multi-level geothermal analysis of urban heat-in-place: a Leeds case study
Published: 2026-01-21
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
As cities across the UK seek to decarbonise heat and achieve net-zero targets, shallow geothermal energy presents an underutilised yet promising resource. In this study, we evaluate the geothermal potential of the upper 1,000 m of the subsurface beneath Leeds, a major urban centre underlain by Carboniferous sandstone aquifers and abandoned coal mine workings. Using geological maps and legacy [...]
Magmatic degassing as the primary source of salt in Archean oceans
Published: 2026-01-21
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The salinification of Earth’s early oceans impacted both the climate and the evolution of life. However, available halogen data of Archean seawater samples are at apparent odds with a conventionally assumed mantle origin of sea salt, highlighting a critical lack of mechanistic understanding of how the Archean oceans became salty. Here, we present new triple halogen (Cl-Br-I) data from high [...]