Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
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, [...]
Is the smoke aloft? Caveats regarding the use of the Hazard Mapping System (HMS) smoke product as a proxy for surface smoke presence across the United States
Published: 2023-09-13
Subjects: Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Background: NOAA’s Hazard Mapping System (HMS) smoke product comprises smoke plumes digitized from satellite imagery. Recent studies have used HMS as a proxy for surface smoke presence. Aims: We compare HMS to airport observations, air quality station measurements, and model estimates of near-surface smoke. Methods: We quantify the agreement in smoke days and trends, regional discrepancies in [...]
Robust estimates of the ratio between S- and P-wave velocity anomalies in the Earth's mantle using normal modes
Published: 2023-09-13
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Estimating three-dimensional displacements with InSAR: the strapdown approach
Published: 2023-09-08
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Deformation phenomena on Earth are inherently three dimensional. With SAR interferometry (InSAR), in many practical situations themaximum number of observations is two (ascending and descending), resulting in an infinite number of possible displacement estimates. Here we propose a practical solution to this underdeterminancy problem in the form of the strapdown approach.With the strapdown [...]
Soil moisture effects on InSAR - a correction approach and example from a hyper-arid region
Published: 2023-09-08
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
We present Interferometric Synthetic Aperture data spanning a series of precipitation events that impacted the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula in 2017-2018. The arid climate, sparse vegetation and low topographic relief result in very high interferometric coherence magnitude between most pairs of dates, even for those separated by multiple years. For pairs of dates with differing soil [...]
Machine Learning in Petrology: State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives
Published: 2023-09-08
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The present manuscript reports on the state-of-the-art and future perspectives of Machine Learning (ML) in petrology. To achieve this goal, it first introduces the basics of ML, including definitions, core concepts, and applications. Then, it starts reviewing the state-of-the-art of ML in petrology. Established applications mainly concern the so-called data-driven discovery and involve specific [...]
Mesozoic drift of the Wrangellia superterrane revisited: the way forward from paleomagnetic data
Published: 2023-09-07
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The allochthonous origin of the Wrangellia superterrane relative to North America has been established in the early days of plate tectonics using paleomagnetic and geological data. However, long-standing disagreement between paleomagnetic and structural studies on magnitude of northward translation of the Wrangellia superterrane during the Latest Cretaceous–earliest Cenozoic has cast doubt on the [...]
Reevaluating the oxidation effect of garnet crystallization
Published: 2023-09-05
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Garnet has been proposed to be an important fractionating phase during magmatic differentiation in thick volcanic arcs because garnet fractionation can reproduce the hallmarks of continental crust by driving residual magmas to higher silica, lower total iron, and higher iron oxidation states. Recently authors have measured the partition coefficients for Fe2+ and Fe3+ between garnet and melt and [...]
Reversal of the impact chain for actionable climate information
Published: 2023-09-02
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Escalating impacts of climate change underscore the risk of crossing thresholds of socio-ecological systems and adaptation limits. However, limitations in the provision of actionable climate information may hinder an adequate response. Here we suggest a reversal of the traditional impact chain methodology as an end-user focused approach to link local climate risks to emission pathways. We outline [...]
Tracking Changes in Magma Transport from Very-Long-Period seismic signals at Piton de la Fournaise volcano
Published: 2023-09-02
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Changes in magma properties and transport geometry can have a direct impact on volcanic activity. However, such variations can be difficult to track during eruptions. We report previously undetected very-long-period (VLP) signals at Piton de la Fournaise that can be used to probe changes in magma transport. Source analysis of VLP events during the August-October 2015 eruption indicates a source [...]
Garnet fracturing reveals ancient unstable slip events hosted in plate interface metasediments
Published: 2023-09-02
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
A paradox exists between the great number of intermediate-depth earthquakes occurring along active subduction interfaces worldwide and the extreme scarcity of paleo-seismic events recorded in exhumed metasedimentary rocks from ancient subduction zones. Recrystallization, shearing as well as exhumation-related overprinting generally contribute to the nearly-complete erasing of markers of unstable [...]