Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
A universal law for non-breaking surface wave decay
Published: 2026-03-22
Subjects: Fluid Dynamics, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Physics, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
Macroscopic friction can emerge from microscopic fluctuations whose mean vanishes but whose autocorrelation does not. Here we use this statistical-mechanical route to resolve a sixty-year-old problem in ocean wave physics, how non-breaking surface waves lose energy to upper-ocean turbulence. The Navier-Stokes equations contain a stochastic vortex force (the coupling between wave orbital motion [...]
Tectonic reconstruction
Published: 2026-03-21
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
This is a book chapter that explains tectonic reconstruction techniques, from the field to the plate scale. It is directed at field geologists who want to place their detailed observations in regional (plate) tectonic context, relative to major plates, mantle or spin axis.
Spectral signatures in satellite soil moisture reveal irrigation patterns across the contiguous United States
Published: 2026-03-21
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Irrigation profoundly alters the terrestrial water cycle, yet its spatial distribution and temporal variability remain poorly constrained. Here, we introduce a new approach to detect irrigation in space based on spectral differences between modelled and satellite-observed soil moisture time series. Using wavelet decomposition, we isolate irrigation-induced variability at sub-annual scales by [...]
Bimodal seismic-aseismic behavior of a weakly coupled megathrust segment revealed by kinematic analysis of a seismic swarm and slow slip event offshore Copiapó, Chile
Published: 2026-03-21
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
A seismic swarm occurred in Chile in 2023, in a region well known for hosting this type of seismicity, the Atacama region, and more precisely within the low coupling zone of Barranquilla. It started on August 26th and lasts about 6~weeks, ending early October. Thanks to our high-density small-scale GNSS network, we recorded the spatio-temporal evolution of surface deformation generated by a slow [...]
Investigating the application of LLMs to invertebrate palaeontology through the development of automated taxonomy assistants for brachiopod identification
Published: 2026-03-19
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Taxonomic identification is a central practice in palaeontology, underpinning biostratigraphic correlations, palaeobiogeographic reconstructions, and analyses of macroevolutionary patterns. Despite its importance, taxonomy depends on a limited number of specialists and on the synthesis of extensive descriptive literature that is often difficult to access. Recent developments in artificial [...]
Temporal Analysis of Site-Level Methane Emissions from Nearly One Thousand Upstream Oil and Gas Facilities Equipped with Fixed-Point Continuous Monitoring Systems
Published: 2026-03-19
Subjects: Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Temporal variability in methane emissions from oil and gas facilities may significantly impact the accuracy of measurement-based emissions inventories and the effectiveness of measurement-based mitigation policies. Yet the existing knowledge of duration, frequency, and magnitude of emission events remains very limited. A deeper understanding of these temporal characteristics is therefore [...]
Comparison of probabilistic approaches to acoustic full-waveform inversion in compressed model and data spaces
Published: 2026-03-18
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Full-waveform inversion estimates subsurface properties by minimizing the misfit between observed and modelled data. However, conventional deterministic approaches are highly sensitive to noise, dependent on the starting model and prone to converging to local minima of the cost function. Bayesian approaches offer a viable alternative, enhancing solution space exploration and providing uncertainty [...]
Leveraging synthetic data for deep learning denoising and prediction of measured earthquake waveforms
Published: 2026-03-18
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Single-station recordings of teleseismic earthquakes are inherently complex due to the superposition of numerous seismic phases and their contamination with noise, which can be particularly problematic in urban environments. A detailed knowledge of the wavefield generated by teleseismic earthquakes is critical for high-precision research facilities like those involved in photon science or gravity [...]
Kelvin-Helmholtz Stability Analysis as a Function of Dipole Tilt and Solar Wind Property
Published: 2026-03-17
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Beyond efficiency: Sufficiency unlocks deep decarbonization of U.S. residential sector
Published: 2026-03-17
Subjects: Climate, Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Residential decarbonization strategies in the United States have focused predominantly on energy efficiency measures such as heat pump adoption and building envelope upgrades, while sufficiency—avoiding unnecessary energy demand while ensuring well-being—remains largely unrepresented in quantitative national scenarios. Here, we assess the effects of structural sufficiency (i.e., moderating [...]
Melt sustains pre-monsoon flow while groundwater drives the monsoon in the Nepal Himalayas
Published: 2026-03-15
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Himalayan water-security assessments often focus on glacier retreat, yet groundwater may supply much of river flow. We combine seismic observations from the Hi-CLIMB transect across Nepal (2002–2004) with gauged discharge, satellite precipitation, and glacier-cover inventories to resolve when streamflow is sustained by melt versus groundwater. Relative seismic velocity changes track hillslope [...]
THE ROLE OF IRON CENTERS IN COAL OXIDATION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND QUANTITATIVE ESTIMATION OF SURFACE ACTIVE SITE DENSITY
Published: 2026-03-15
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Iron in coals occurs in various forms (pyrite, ultradispersed particles, ions in the carbon matrix) and plays a key role in oxidation processes, spontaneous combustion, liquefaction, and gasification. Although extensive experimental data have accumulated over recent decades, a systematic generalization linking quantitative estimates of the surface density of catalytically active Fe centers to [...]
The 1908 Tunguska event and some mini-Tunguskas
Published: 2026-03-14
Subjects: Education, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
This paper is a continuation of a series of works, devoted to various aspects of the 1908 Tunguska event. This paper is devoted to several events which can be called as mini-Tunguskas. Their manifestations are in some ways similar to the 1908 Tunguska event, only on a much smaller scale. Often initially such events were interpreted as meteoroidal bolides or even meteorite falls. However, the [...]
A Physics-Informed Data Science Approach to Quantifying Rain-Snow Fraction Dynamics in the Central Himalayas
Published: 2026-03-13
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Mountain studies worldwide have documented increases in rainfall fraction as an impact of climate change. Most mountain systems show an increasing trend in rainfall fraction due to shifting snow precipitation to rain. In Nepal, which occupies an 800 km-long belt of the Hindu Kush Himalaya, the precipitation phase trend is not well known. This study conducts a precipitation phase study in the [...]
Interpretable Relations between Tropical Sea Surface Temperature and U.S. Precipitation in Winter Season Forecasts
Published: 2026-03-13
Subjects: Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
We explore the large-scale relations between anomalies of global tropical sea surface temperature (SST) and U.S. precipitation to assess the sources of December-February (DJF) predictability and skill. Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) is applied to forecasts from NOAA's latest seasonal prediction system, the Seamless System for Prediction and EArth System Research (SPEAR). We find that DJF [...]