Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Post-Fire Resuspension of Metal Toxins at the Wildland–Urban Interface
Published: 2026-09-03
Subjects: Medicine and Health Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
After wildland–urban interface (WUI) fires, the severe destruction leaves metal-containing materials on the ground. During post-fire recovery, wind, debris removal, vehicle movement, and reconstruction can disturb these residues and release these materials into the air. However, what toxic metals are released into the air from fire-altered materials and what controls their airborne release are [...]
Experiential and Collective Responses to Health Implications of Extreme Weather Events
Published: 2026-09-03
Subjects: Education, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Extreme weather events, including wildfires, are becoming more frequent, intense, and consequential for human health. Scientific advances have improved our ability to characterize hazards and the socioeconomic constraints shaping exposure, but these dimensions are not always integrated throughout the development of environmental health knowledge. Meanwhile, broader publics, although often not [...]
Sea-Level Change in Asia since the Last Glacial Maximum
Published: 2026-09-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
As a ‘far-field’ area, distal from former ice sheets, Asia is minimally influenced by the glacial isostatic adjustment process. Therefore, Relative sea-level (RSL) data from Asia, recorded by various geological proxies, provide essential constraints on the history of ice-equavilent sea-level changes. The global mean sea-level has risen over 130 m on average since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), [...]
Seismoacoustic recovery of the SpaceX CRS-32 Dragon re-entry with a proof-of-concept for automated detection
Published: 2026-09-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Atmospheric re-entries of human-made objects are increasing in frequency, yet detailed information on their trajectory, fragmentation, and debris footprint is rarely made publicly available. This creates an information asymmetry in which regulators, independent agencies, and the scientific community lack the means to verify that re-entries occurred as reported or to characterize their physical [...]
Krasheninnikov eruption facilitated by M8.8 Kamchatka earthquake and hidden critical state
Published: 2026-09-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Volcanology
Large earthquakes can trigger volcanic eruptions, but the required conditions and mechanisms remain uncertain. Here, we investigate whether the August 2025 eruption of Krasheninnikov volcano, Russia, was facilitated by the July 29th, 2025, Mw 8.8 Kamchatka megathrust earthquake. InSAR observations from 2016 to 2025 show no pre-earthquake inflation and satellite SO2 data indicate no detectable [...]
Estimating CO2 Leakage Fluxes along Legacy Wells Using a Rapid Physics-Based Screening Approach
Published: 2026-09-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Engineering, Geology, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Petroleum Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Achieving net-zero targets demands the rapid expansion of CO2 geological storage, but legacy wells in mature petroleum provinces represent a significant containment risk when engineered barriers degrade. At the early assessment stage, storage projects need to rapidly bound plausible leakage magnitudes across large legacy-well inventories when integrity data are sparse; however, suitable modelling [...]
Investigation of Drivers and Sources of Potential Harmful Algal Blooms in Lake Anna, Virginia, 2023–24
Published: 2026-09-02
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Earth Sciences, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Water Resource Management
Algal blooms in freshwater reservoirs are an increasing concern because of the risk to aquatic ecosystem health, recreational use, and water quality. Among the taxa that comprise an algal bloom, cyanobacteria are of particular concern due to the potential to produce toxic compounds which can cause acute and chronic illness in humans if ingested through contaminated water or shellfish. When toxins [...]
A cascade, not a flood: testing the competing accounts of the 26 August 2026 Lhende Khola–Bhote Koshi disaster
Published: 2026-09-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Glaciology, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
On 26 August 2026 a rock–ice mass detached above the Lhende Khola on the China–Nepal border, blocked the channel, and released a flow that travelled about 100 km down the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli, killing hundreds of people and removing about a tenth of Nepal's generating capacity in a single morning. Reporting produced mutually incompatible accounts of the cause, while the agency best placed to [...]
Recurrent High-Resolution Satellite Observations Quantify Facility-Resolved Annual Large-Emitter Methane Emissions in the Permian Basin
Published: 2026-08-31
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Repeated high-resolution satellite observations can identify large methane emissions from individual oil and gas facilities, but sparse sampling, intermittent emissions, and variable observation conditions complicate the estimation of annual facility-level emissions. We develop an empirical hierarchical Bayesian method to estimate facility-resolved annual large-emitter methane emissions, with [...]
Quantifying Uncertainty in Climate Sensitivity Metrics Using Large Ensemble Observational Datasets
Published: 2026-08-31
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Gridded surface temperature observational datasets are an important line of evidence for estimating climate sensitivity metrics. Climate sensitivity metrics are often derived from comparing historical warming in these observations against climate model simulations, an approach that is known to be sensitive to the choice of observational dataset. With observational products now providing large [...]
A coordinated NASA observing system for monitoring the next decade of ice sheet-climate interactions
Published: 2026-08-31
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Sea level rise is a global problem that is currently shrouded in uncertainty. The next decade of NASA research priorities must address key unknowns and monitor ongoing changes in the ice sheet-ocean system in order to improve sea level rise projections and equip government officials to legislate the appropriate policies. This will require a coordinated observing system that combines satellite [...]
Effect of the interfacial continuity on the elastic full-waveform inversion
Published: 2026-08-31
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Full-waveform inversion (FWI) routinely assumes welded interfaces between subsurface layers, yet many geological and engineering targets including karst cavities, fractures, and unbonded soil-structure contacts exhibit interfacial slip. We show that this modelling assumption is not merely a geometric detail but introduces a systematic bias in the recovered physical parameters. Using a [...]
Megathrust Earthquakes Amplify Coastal Wave Hazards in Cascadia Under Rising Sea Levels
Published: 2026-08-31
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Along the Cascadia Subduction Zone, destructive megathrust earthquakes represent a significant coastal hazard. These events generate abrupt coseismic subsidence, instantaneously increasing relative sea level. In the coming decades, global sea level rise will continue to shift baseline coastal conditions, potentially enhancing earthquake-driven hazards. Here, we model how sea level rise, wave [...]
The four-vector potential of equatorial shallow water waves from Hamilton’s principle
Published: 2026-08-31
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Linear shallow water waves on an equatorial β-plane can be represented as the states of a charged particle minimally coupled to a four-vector potential whose analogue magnetic field is uniform and proportional to β/c_g. There the potential is written down and verified rather than derived. We show that it need not be assumed. In the Eulerian variational principle for rotating flow the Coriolis [...]
A particle representation of tropical shallow water waves
Published: 2026-08-31
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The linearized shallow water equations on a general β-plane reduce to a single meridional structure equation for the meridional velocity. We show that this equation is exactly the Schrödinger equation for a “charged” particle minimally coupled to a four-vector potential whose analogue magnetic field, B_W=-(β/c_g ) x ̂, is uniform and westward. No ad hoc term is required: every term is generated [...]