Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Nanometallogeny: The role of the nano-effect in the enrichment, migration and mineralization of rare element, rare earth element and precious metal deposits
Published: 2025-12-11
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
geosciences to better understand what is perhaps the most economically important field in geology: the enrichment, migration and deposition of mineral deposits. Ore-bearing fluids and ore particles behave differently at the nano-scale compared to the more familiar macro-scale. Nanometallogenic processes have been used to explain the mechanism in which rare elements with extremely low abundance in [...]
PetThermoTools: a fast, flexible, and accessible Python3 package for performing thermodynamic calculations
Published: 2025-12-11
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
We present PetThermoTools - an open-source Python3 tool for performing thermodynamic simulations of mantle and magmatic processes. Thermodynamic modeling forms a central component to many research projects in igneous petrology. However, few studies utilize the full potential of these methods due to the steep learning curve associated with existing code or text-based interfaces (e.g., [...]
Oceanic Anoxic Event 3 coincided with peak Caribbean Large Igneous Province volcanism at 88 Ma
Published: 2025-12-11
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The high-volume, short-lived magma flux associated with the eruption of oceanic large igneous provinces (LIPs) is believed to have triggered Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Events, most notably OAE1 (~120–100 Ma) and OAE2 (~94 Ma). In contrast, OAE3 (~88–84 Ma) is considered to have occurred independently of LIP volcanism. Here we present a record of OAE3-related black shale deposition in Costa Rica [...]
Multi-Planar Hierarchy in Pan-American Seismic Fractality: A Bayesian Resolution to the Projection Paradox
Published: 2025-12-10
Subjects: Applied Statistics, Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Statistics and Probability
Earthquake catalogs worldwide exhibit an enduring paradox: seismicity appears confined to planar faults (correlation dimension D2≈ 2.0), yet operates within volumetric lithospheric deformation. We resolve this paradox through Bayesian fractal analysis of 50,010 earthquakes across seven Pan-American tectonic regimes (2010–2025), revealing that apparent planarity reflects instrumental projection [...]
Seasonal Wind Turbine-Associated Lightning in Central Europe
Published: 2025-12-10
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
We report systematic evidence that cold-season lightning in Central Eu- rope frequently occurs in close proximity to wind turbines. Using Blitzor- tung stroke data (2021–2024), ENTLN data (2023), and electric field mea- surements, we identify a recurring phenomenon - Seasonal Wind Turbine- Associated Lightning (SWAL), characterised by strokes clustering within proximity of wind turbines and [...]
From Empirical Curves to AI-Derived Rainfall Thresholds for Landslide Initiation in Peninsular Malaysia
Published: 2025-12-09
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Rainfall-induced landslides are a persistent hazard in Malaysia, yet existing rainfall thresholds remain largely based on empirical methods and often lack regional adaptability. This study employs machine learning (ML) based rainfall thresholds for landslide initiation in Peninsular Malaysia. A dataset of rainfall events from 70 rainfall stations across peninsular Malaysia linked with documented [...]
Subduction-driven mantle flow beneath and around the Philippine Sea Plate from seismic anisotropy
Published: 2025-12-09
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Shear-wave splitting illuminates mantle flow and subduction zone dynamics but is typically inferred near stations or earthquakes, limiting studies in sparsely instrumented regions away from earthquakes. Where stations or earthquakes are present, fast splitting directions are often parallel to the nearest trench, which has yet to be fully understood and reconciled with geodynamic flow predictions. [...]
Dynamics, interactions and delays of the 2019 Ridgecrest rupture sequence
Published: 2025-12-08
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The observational difficulties and the complexity of earthquake physics have rendered seismic hazard assessment largely empirical. Despite increasingly high-quality geodetic, seismic and field observations, data-driven earthquake imaging yields stark differences and physics-based models explaining all observed dynamic complexities are elusive. Here we present data-assimilated three-dimensional [...]
Large-scale flow toward low-velocity anomalies reconciles seismic and geodynamic constraints in the deepest mantle beneath Alaska
Published: 2025-12-06
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Deep mantle downwellings are typically located away from the two Large Low-Velocity Provinces (LLVPs) in Earth's mantle. Geodynamic models based on global seismic tomography generally predict that convective flow at the core-mantle boundary (CMB) spreads laterally away from downwelling regions and towards LLVPs. While this offers a framework for understanding large-scale deformation in the [...]
Open-source tools for making geometrically-complex fault surfaces
Published: 2025-12-05
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Three--dimensional fault geometries are critical for realistic analyses of crustal deformation, seismic hazard, and rupture dynamics, yet 3D fault datasets are sparse outside a few well--studied regions. We present a set of free and open-source QGIS plugins that enable users to construct accurate 3D fault surfaces from common types of geological and geophysical data. The workflow combines (1) [...]
Comment on Barboni et al. (2025), ‘Pervasive impact modification of pristine lunar clasts’
Published: 2025-12-05
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Planetary Sciences
In a recent contribution, Barboni et al. (2025) present an experimental calibration relating the aluminium content of zircon and its parent melt under lunar conditions. This calibration is then used to argue that lunar zircons are not in equilibrium with their host silicate melts, and that caution is required when interpreting zircon-derived U-Pb dates in evolved lunar rocks. Their contribution [...]
Recurrent evacuation of mantle mush by mafic recharge in ocean island basalts, recorded by La Palma clinopyroxene
Published: 2025-12-04
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Volcanology
Temporal variations in magma plumbing architecture and magmatic processes influence eruption priming and the interpretation of pre- and syn-eruptive signals. Yet, how these processes operate in low-flux volcanoes remains poorly constrained, leaving a key gap in understanding eruption precursors. Here we examine the temporal evolution of magmatic processes at La Palma, Canary Islands, a low-flux [...]
Revised History of Pleistocene Vertical Motions in NE Sicily and Southern Calabria, Italy, from 40Ar/39Ar Dating and Fault Zone Morphology
Published: 2025-12-04
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure
Long-term rates of crustal uplift in southern Calabria and NE Sicily are incompletely understood due to limited information about the age of marine terraces at 1.0–1.3 km above sea level (asl). This study provides a new constraint on high-elevation terrace ages through integrated analysis of geochronology, stratigraphy, shoreline modeling, and fault-zone morphology. 40Ar/39Ar step-heating [...]
Evaluating Trade-offs Between Irrigation Profit and Streamflow Depletion Using a Hydro-Economic Model
Published: 2025-12-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Water Resource Management
Groundwater overexploitation can reduce flows in connected rivers through streamflow depletion, which threatens ecosystems and downstream users who often rely on these flows for their economic wellbeing. Quantifying groundwater-surface water interactions and their economic trade-offs remains challenging for sustainable water management. This study integrates analytical groundwater and streamflow [...]
The Formation of Seaward-dipping Reflectors in Volcanic Margins: Insights from High-resolution Visco-elasto-plastic Geodynamic Models with Extrusive Surface Processes
Published: 2025-11-29
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Seismic reflection data from volcanic margins show thick packages of seaward-dipping reflectors (SDRs) that are commonly interpreted as buried subaerial lava flows. The origins of SDRs remain debated with proposed mechanisms including (1) syn-kinematic extrusion of lava flows on extended continental crust, (2) progressive rotation of subaerial lava flows due to volcanic loading and magmatic [...]