Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
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 [...]
From Points to Predictions: Data Curation for Geospatial Machine Learning
Published: 2026-01-20
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The quality of training datasets can have a large impact on Machine Learning (ML) models, yet this aspect of the pipeline frequently receives less scrutiny than it should. In the context of geospatial mapping from point-scale field data, quality control strategies to remove erroneous or misleading data can be applied prior to model training to improve performance. However, such strategies and [...]
Secular Cooling Shapes Core–Mantle Heat Transfer and Mantle Plume Dynamics over 1.8 Billion Years
Published: 2026-01-20
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Petrological evidence and global heat budgets indicate that the solid Earth has cooled substantially over geological time, yet the influence of secular cooling on mantle dynamics in global 3D models remains poorly quantified. We incorporate secular cooling into 3D global mantle flow models using plate reconstructions extending back 1.8 billion years. The core-mantle boundary (CMB) temperature is [...]
A detailed picture of Haiti’s seismicity given by deep learning and template matching
Published: 2026-01-20
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Haiti regularly experiences destructive earthquakes, but seismic monitoring in the region has historically been limited. Recent deployments of citizen-hosted RaspberryShake seismometers and temporary seismic deployment following the 2021 Mw 7.2 earthquake provide new data to study the region’s seismotectonics. However, high noise levels at many stations, in particular the RaspberryShake ones, [...]
Is manganese the key? Lowering the dolomite kinetic barrier via redox-driven templating
Published: 2026-01-19
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Planetary Sciences
Fabric-preserving and strata-bound dolostones in deep-time successions defy high temperature burial models, implying an elusive low-temperature, syndepositional formation pathway. Here, we demonstrate a kinetically facile route to disordered dolomite nucleation driven by the synergy of manganese redox cycling and carboxyl functionalization. Using a bio-inspired electrochemical reactor, we show [...]
Defects, impurities and inclusion–host interfaces in diamond: an atomic-scale physico-chemical framework
Published: 2026-01-19
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The term “inclusion” is widely used in diamond research to describe internal features that differ fundamentally in their physical nature. In practice, atomic-scale lattice defects and chemically distinct foreign phases are frequently conflated, leading to ambiguity in the interpretation of microstructural observations. This paper presents a conceptual physico-chemical framework that distinguishes [...]
Filling the gaps between tide gauges: Demonstrating high-resolution seasonal high tide flooding predictions using NOAA’s Coastal Ocean Reanalysis
Published: 2026-01-17
Subjects: Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
High Tide Flooding (HTF) is a present and increasing hazard for coastal communities across the United States. NOAA provides HTF outlooks at U.S. tide gauges, however, many coastal communities lie relatively far from a tide gauge and therefore currently lack localized HTF guidance. In this study, we demonstrate an approach to generate spatially-continuous daily predictions of HTF at 400-500 m [...]
A Simple Model for Tidally Forced Standing Waves in a Submarine Canyon
Published: 2026-01-16
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Submarine canyons are recognized as energetic sites for internal tides and enhanced mixing, yet the mechanisms by which tidal forcing excites these motions remain poorly understood. To address this gap, we develop a simplified theoretical model that represents a canyon as a long, narrow rectangular box. The analysis reveals that the dominant wave modes in this idealized geometry are standing [...]
EVALUATION OF WIND ENERGY RESOURCE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE AND CORNWALL COUNCILS, UNITED KINGDOM
Published: 2026-01-16
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
This study aimed to assess the wind energy potential in the United Kingdom, focusing on the East Riding of Yorkshire and Cornwall Councils. A comparative analysis was conducted by sampling two weather stations from each region to obtain and analyze wind characteristics. The annual energy yield for both regions was calculated over a four-year period. Data analysis involved frequencies, averages, [...]
Introducing Difference: from Euclidean Space to Geological Limits
Published: 2026-01-16
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The Lithotectonic Framework (LTF) provides a systematic approach to describing regional geology in terms of geological history. While LTF has been applied to vocabulary development and regional geological description, its theoretical foundations have remained undocumented. This paper introduces the Spatio-Temporal Framework (STF), which extends Euclidean geometry by adding 'difference' as a [...]
Computation of Regional Groundwater Budgets for the Virginia Coastal Plain Aquifer System
Published: 2026-01-15
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Computation of detailed groundwater flow budgets for subdivisions of Virginia’s Coastal Plain aquifer system has enabled quantification and more thorough understanding of groundwater flow within this important water resource. A zone budget analysis conducted on previously published groundwater models of the Virginia Coastal Plain and Virginia Eastern Shore shows that groundwater conditions vary [...]