Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Earth Sciences
Closure of Constraints in the Earth System: Biogeochemical Cycles and Planetary-Scale Biological Organisation
Published: 2026-04-06
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Life Sciences, Systems Biology
The concept of closure of constraints has been developed as a characterization of the distinctive causal regime at work in biological systems. Its extension to ecological systems has been attempted but faces persistent difficulties regarding the individuation of ecosystems and the scope of functional ascription. Meanwhile, the question of the biological character of the Earth system (variously [...]
First Characterisation of P-band Scattering Mechanisms from Orbit in Lower Shire Valley, southern Malawi, using ESA Biomass Imagery
Published: 2026-04-06
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
The European Space Agency (ESA) Biomass mission provides the first spaceborne fully polarimetric P-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) observations in orbit. Here, we report the first characterisation of P-band scattering mechanisms over the Lower Shire Valley (LSV) floodplain, southern Malawi. A single quad-polarimetric acquisition, collected at the onset of the rainy season in November 2025, [...]
A nearly 1.5 millennia long record of North Atlantic climatic forcing recorded in tree-ring growth records from Angstel/Vecht Delta, the Netherlands (1283 BCE-156 CE)
Published: 2026-04-04
Subjects: Earth Sciences
The impact of multi-annual to decadal climatic cycles on tree-ring growth remains understudied. Here, we analyse a nearly one-and-a-half-thousand-year-long tree-ring chronology (1283 BCE–156 CE) based on bog oaks from an alder carr environment in the Angstel-Vecht delta in the Netherlands to assess the influence of multi-year climatic oscillations on tree-ring growth and the origin of the [...]
Multi-Sensor Monitoring of Wetland Inundation Using a Machine Learning and Data Fusion Framework
Published: 2026-04-03
Subjects: Applied Statistics, Earth Sciences, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Statistics and Probability
Continuous, high-resolution inundation data are needed to understand how small-scale, short-term wetland flooding influences global methane emissions and carbon cycling. Small (less than 1,000 m²), variably inundated wetlands are significant methane sources, yet coarse satellite products often miss their dynamics. Integrating optical and radar imagery with resolutions less than 30 m offers a [...]
The Anthropocene as a Multi-Level Stability Landscape Regimes, Transitions, and Reorganization of the Human–Earth System
Published: 2026-04-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Understanding the evolution of the human–Earth system over decadal-to-centennial timescales remains a central challenge in Earth system science. The Anthropocene is commonly described using trajectories, tipping elements, and scenario pathways, which capture non-linear dynamics but do not provide a unified representation of regime structure and transitions at planetary scale. Here we introduce a [...]
Nickel Isotope Systematics in the Talvivaara Paleoproterozoic Black Shale Deposit Reveal Mineralogy-Controlled Fractionation with a Preserved Biogenic Signal
Published: 2026-04-01
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Nickel isotope systematics in sediment-hosted sulfide deposits are now more commonly used to infer redox and diagenetic processes, yet their potential to record biological signals and their preservation through diagenesis and metamorphism remains poorly constrained. Here we present micro-scale coupled δ60Ni, δ34S, δ13C, REE pattern, and paleoproductivity proxy data from the Paleoproterozoic [...]
Injecting vegetation-based spatialization in the hydrogeological framework for erosion modelling
Published: 2026-03-31
Subjects: Applied Statistics, Biodiversity, Computer Sciences, Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing
Erosion processes and landslide are widespread across Italy and frequently cause significant damage to people, infrastructure, and ecosystems. These processes are primarily triggered by rainfall events, whose impact depends on multiple interacting factors, including geomorphology, soil properties, land use, and vegetation. Among these, vegetation plays an essential role in regulating hillslope [...]
The Hermatz Effect: A Five-Layer Solar–Geo Dynamo Model for the Persistent 0.038 Hz Global Seismic Signal
Published: 2026-03-30
Subjects: Astrophysics and Astronomy, Atmospheric Sciences, Condensed Matter Physics, Earth Sciences, Environmental Chemistry, Fluid Dynamics, Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Hydrology, Meteorology, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Other Astrophysics and Astronomy, Other Physics, Planetary Geology, Planetary Geomorphology, Planetary Geophysics and Seismology, Planetary Hydrology, Tectonics and Structure, The Sun and the Solar System
Earth produces a faint but globally detectable vibration at a period of exactly 26 seconds, and no one has fully explained why. This paper proposes that it comes from a crack in the ocean floor off West Africa acting like a tuned whistle — the ocean blows air through it, the crack vibrates at its natural frequency, and the vibration travels around the entire planet as a seismic wave. Occasionally [...]
MonteCarlo Biphasic Estimation of Fire Properties (McBEF): Part II, Night-time VIIRS Implementation
Published: 2026-03-29
Subjects: Applied Statistics, Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Statistics and Probability
This study presents the application and global evaluation of the Monte Carlo Biphasic Estimation of Fire Properties (McBEF) algorithm using nighttime observations from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). McBEF extends traditional fire retrieval techniques by partitioning sub-pixel combustion into flaming and smoldering phases, enabling the estimation of phase-specific [...]
MonteCarlo Biphasic Estimation of Fire Properties (McBEF): Part I, Algorithm formulation
Published: 2026-03-29
Subjects: Applied Statistics, Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Statistics and Probability
Sub-pixel fire characterization is essential for quantifying wildfire energetics, combustion phase dynamics, and their atmospheric impacts from satellite observations. This study presents a series of Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) to systematically evaluate the influence of temperature phase complexity, channel selection, and intra-phase temperature heterogeneity on the [...]
A snag for nutrient fertilization: decoupled production and export
Published: 2026-03-28
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Sciences, Life Sciences, Marine Biology, Microbiology, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Interest in nutrient fertilization waned after inconclusive field experiments, but has resurged. Collating Southern Ocean \textit{in-situ} observations and available fertilization simulations, we find phytoplankton primary production and organic carbon export are uncorrelated in the largest high-nutrient-low-chlorophyll (HNLC) region, while model estimates cast doubt on realistic deployments [...]
No place to hide? Regional resilience and vulnerability to global catastrophic risk
Published: 2026-03-27
Subjects: Agriculture, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Food Science, Forest Sciences, Geography, Public Health
What places on Earth are most resilient to global catastrophic risk (GCR)? We provide the first systematic study of what locations are more resilient to a range of catastrophic threats. We reviewed the literature on resilience factors against the impacts of nuclear war, near-Earth objects, large-magnitude volcanic eruptions, large-scale cyberattacks, high altitude electromagnetic pulse, [...]
Geological controls on Underground Hydrogen Storage in depleted gas fields
Published: 2026-03-27
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Other Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sustainability
The geological storage of hydrogen is an alternative for large-scale energy storage in support of expanding renewable energy systems. The North Sea has hundreds of depleted gas fields that are potential storage sites. Robust screening procedures are necessary to select the most suitable reservoirs in terms of geology. This study investigates the geological controls on hydrogen storage in depleted [...]
Decadal Evolution of Supraglacial Hydrology on the Nivlisen Ice Shelf: From Localized Ponding to Spatially Synchronized Hydrofracture Forcing (2015-2026)
Published: 2026-03-27
Subjects: Computational Engineering, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics
Understanding the mechanical response of Antarctic ice shelves to surface meltwater is critical for evaluating their structural stability. This study presents 11 austral summer seasons (AS 2015-2016 to AS 2025-2026) assessment of supraglacial melt pond dynamics and their mechanical implications for the Nivlisen Ice Shelf grounding zone using Landsat-8/9 imagery combined with in-situ validation [...]
mineralML: Leveraging Machine Learning for Probabilistic Mineral Classification
Published: 2026-03-27
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Probability, Statistical Methodology, Statistics and Probability, Volcanology
Characterizing phase assemblages in igneous rocks and the chemical variability within these phases is the fundamental basis of many petrological investigations. We present mineralML (mineral classification using Machine Learning), an open-source Python package that classifies common igneous minerals based on oxide chemical data, with prediction scores. mineralML employs a two-stage neural [...]