Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Lower-Crustal Normal Faulting and Lithosphere Rheology in the Atlas Foreland
Published: 2023-10-02
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Earthquakes beneath the foreland basins of the Andes and Tibet follow a simple pattern, with normal-faulting events from 0--20 km depth and reverse-faulting events from 30--50 km depth. The switch in faulting style with depth suggests that the elastic stresses generated by flexure within these forelands are large enough to break faults, with opposite senses of horizontal strain either side of a [...]
The Holocene to Modern Fraser River Delta, Canada: Geological History, Processes, Deposits, Natural Hazards, and Coastal Management
Published: 2023-10-01
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The Fraser River Delta (FRD) is a large sedimentary system and home to Metro Vancouver, situated within the unceded territories of several First Nations. This review provides an overview of the geological evolution of the FRD, connecting hydrodynamic processes with sedimentary deposits across its diverse environments, from the river to the delta slope. The study emphasizes the implications of [...]
Benthic habitat mapping: A review of three decades of mapping biological patterns on the seafloor
Published: 2023-09-26
Subjects: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
What is benthic habitat mapping, how is it accomplished, and how has that changed over time? We query the published literature to answer these questions and synthesize the results quantitatively to provide a comprehensive review of the field over the past three decades. Categories of benthic habitat maps are differentiated unambiguously by the response variable (i.e., the subject being mapped) [...]
Reliability of Raman analyses of CO2-dominated fluid inclusions as a rapid barometer at Kīlauea
Published: 2023-09-26
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Interpreting signals of volcanic unrest requires knowledge of the architecture of the magmatic system, particularly the depths at which magmas are stored. Such information can also be vital to help predict changes in eruptive style and vigour. However, popular petrological tools to assess magma storage depths (e.g., melt inclusions) are costly, present large uncertainties, and are too slow for [...]
Reproducing the Mid-Piacenzian Warm Period Climate in the 2020s.
Published: 2023-09-25
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The current expectation of climatologists is that levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases, such as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), will correspond, in the 2020s, to an increase in mean annual global near-surface atmospheric temperature of less than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial Holocene norm (1750 baseline; atmospheric CO2 = 278 ppm). This paper will argue, [...]
No respite from permafrost-thaw impacts in absence of a global tipping point
Published: 2023-09-25
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Climate, Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Arctic permafrost, the largest non-seasonal component of Earth’s cryosphere, contains a significant climate-sensitive carbon pool. Its potential for loss due to climatic changes leading to a global tipping point, where thawing accelerates with disproportionate impacts, remains debated. Here, we provide an integrative perspective on this question, building on a cross-disciplinary meta-analysis of [...]
Space-time data-driven modeling of precipitation-induced shallow landslides in South Tyrol, Italy
Published: 2023-09-25
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Shallow landslides represent potentially damaging processes in mountain areas worldwide. These geomorphic processes are usually caused by a combination of predisposing, preparatory, and triggering environmental factors. At regional scales, data-driven methods have been used to model shallow landslides by addressing the spatial and temporal components separately. So far, few studies have explored [...]
Komatiites: their geochemistry and origins
Published: 2023-09-22
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Komatiites are ultra-hot ultramafic lavas, largely restricted to the Archaean. They represent an extreme endmember of terrestrial magmatism and challenge our understanding of how mantle melting operates. We briefly introduce this compositionally diverse group of lavas and critically evaluate constraints on their formation. Despite evidence for moderate water contents in some komatiites, the vast [...]
FireSight: Utilizing Deep Learning for Wildfire Prediction And Determining Escape Routes
Published: 2023-09-22
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Since 2000, seven million acres have burned every year. Yet, since robust analytics are scarce, capitalizing on machine learning algorithms have the capability to bridge gaps in decision making and effective deployment. Despite this, a major limitation in current research is resolution and accuracy. Utilizing public data from NASA’s MODIS, LP DAAC, University of Idaho, and UC Irvine, 12 input [...]
Complexity in the 3D stress fields of mid-ocean ridge tectonics: a manifestation of sub-crustal mush dynamics
Published: 2023-09-20
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Mid-ocean ridge (MOR) systems evolve in strongly heterogeneous stress environments. However, the origin of such stress complexity still awaits a comprehensive explanation, which is the central theme of the present article. This study develops a thermo-mechanical model to demonstrate the multi-ordered 3D convective circulations, produced by decompression melting in the mushy region, as the key [...]
Shifting institutional culture to develop climate solutions with Open Science
Published: 2023-09-20
Subjects: Climate, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Imprint of chaos on the ocean energy cycle from an eddying North Atlantic ensemble
Published: 2023-09-18
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
We examine the ocean energy cycle where the eddies are defined about the ensemble mean of a partially air-sea coupled, eddy-rich ensemble simulation of the North Atlantic. The decomposition about the ensemble mean leads to a parameter-free definition of eddies, which is interpreted as the expression of oceanic chaos. Using the ensemble framework, we define the reservoirs of mean and eddy kinetic [...]
Antarctic Geothermal Heat Flow, Crustal Conductivity and Heat Production Inferred From Seismological Data
Published: 2023-09-15
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Geothermal heat flow is a key parameter in governing ice dynamics, via its influence on basal melt and sliding, englacial rheology, and erosion. It is expected to exhibit significant lateral variability across Antarctica. Despite this, surface heat flow derived from Earth's interior remains one of the most poorly constrained parameters controlling ice-sheet evolution. To obtain a continent-wide [...]
Obtaining backwater length estimates in modern and ancient fluvio-deltaic settings: review and proposal of standardized workflows
Published: 2023-09-15
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The backwater effect (i.e. channel flow influence by a body of standing water) is used to predict down-dip changes in fluvial morphodynamics and consequent sediment distribution on delta plains. These changes include downstream fining, decrease in sinuosity, and deepening and narrowing of channel belt deposits. This study reviews existing methods for estimating backwater length in ancient and [...]
Intraplate Stress of the Pacific Plate Inferred from Global Mantle Flow Models
Published: 2023-09-13
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The intraplate stresses of the Earth's oceanic plates, which can be measured by geophysical and geological approaches (i.e., focal mechanisms, borehole breakouts, in situ stress measurements, fault slip analysis, volcanic vent alignments, etc.) is crucial for understanding the origin of the intraplate stress field of plate motion. The Pacific plate, which is the largest oceanic plate on Earth, [...]