Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Earth Sciences
Dueling dynamics of low-angle normal fault rupture with splay faulting and off-fault damage
Published: 2026-04-16
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology
Despite a lack of modern large earthquakes on shallowly dipping normal faults, Holocene Mw>7 low-angle normal fault (LANF; dip<30°) ruptures are preserved paleoseismically and inferred from historical earthquake and tsunami accounts. Even in well-recorded megathrust earthquakes, the effects of non-linear off-fault plasticity and dynamically reactivated splay faults on shallow deformation [...]
Terrestrial formation of calcium sulfate and carbonate assemblages in Atacama CO chondrites: Implications for Martian evaporitic environments
Published: 2026-04-15
Subjects: Cosmochemistry, Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Planetary Geochemistry, Planetary Geology, Planetary Mineral Physics, Planetary Sciences
Evaporites are frequently reported in carbonaceous chondrites from hot and cold deserts, yet their origin remains debated between formation on the parent body or by post-fall terrestrial alteration. Here, we present a systematic characterization of Ca sulfate and Ca carbonate assemblages in four CO carbonaceous chondrites from different dense collection areas of the Atacama Desert (Los Vientos [...]
How Would You Like Your SAR Flood Model? A Full-Stack, AI-Enabled Perspective on Operational Flood Mapping
Published: 2026-04-14
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Hydrology
Flood mapping with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) has long been framed primarily as a problem of improving inundation detection algorithms. That framing has produced major advances, but it increasingly understates what operational flood monitoring actually requires. In practice, useful flood products depend on the coordinated performance of data access, preprocessing, ancillary information, model [...]
Estimating the ice thickness and water depth of a frozen lake using flexural waves recorded by distributed acoustic sensing
Published: 2026-04-14
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Information about frozen lakes, including ice rigidity, ice thickness, and water depth, is essential for both environmental studies and practical applications. Although these properties can be measured in the field, such measurements are labor-intensive and spatially limited, motivating the development of alternative observation methods. Seismic waves offer an alternative approach to studying [...]
Agent-based Modelling of Microbialite Formation through Sedimentation and Precipitation Dynamics
Published: 2026-04-13
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Other Earth Sciences, Paleobiology, Paleontology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
Fossil microbialites resulting from the interplay of sedimentation and microbially induced precipitation are among the oldest evidence of life on Earth and help geobiologists interpret many sedimentary environments. However, the factors governing their internal structure and external morphology are still poorly understood. Additionally, abiotic processes can mimic the morphology of some [...]
Beyond the 100-kyr and 41-kyr dichotomy: ~76- and ~52-kyr signals and forbidden periodicities in Quaternary glacial cycles
Published: 2026-04-12
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology
While the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT) is often described as a shift from 41-kyr to ~100-kyr glacial cycles, this binary perspective fails to capture the nuanced spectral evolution of Quaternary climate. Applying wavelet-based spectral analysis to benthic d18O records, we identify previously underappreciated signals－~52 kyr before 1.2 Ma and ~76 kyr thereafter－marking the MPT's onset. [...]
Fractal Tomography and the Fisher Information Barrier of Seismicity: Addressing the Origin of Dual Paradoxes via Precision-Calibrated Bayesian Inference
Published: 2026-04-10
Subjects: Applied Statistics, Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Non-linear Dynamics, Other Statistics and Probability, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Statistical Methodology, Statistics and Probability, Tectonics and Structure
The spatial organization of seismicity presents dual multi-decade paradoxes: (1) earthquake catalogs exhibit quasi-planar correlation dimensions (D2 ≈ 2.0–2.6) despite volumetric lithospheric deformation (geometric projection paradox), and (2) Bayesian inference systematically yields D3 ≈ 3.0 contradicting structural geology (Bayesian saturation paradox). We address both through the Fractal [...]
Persistent Geochemical Zonation (“Striping”) within the Galápagos Mantle Plume
Published: 2026-04-10
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Some hotspot tracks, such as those formed by the Hawai’i and Galápagos mantle plumes, exhibit long-lived cross-track isotopic zonation, thought to reflect the streaking out of heterogeneous material in the plume conduit during upwelling. In lavas associated with the Galápagos mantle plume, three geochemical domains, present for at least 15 Myr, have been identified: northern, southern and [...]
HydroScholar AI: A Collaborative Agent for End-to-End Automated Hydrological Research Lifecycle
Published: 2026-04-09
Subjects: Computer Sciences, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Hydrological research relies on multi-stage computational workflows that are often slow, fragmented across disparate tools, and inconsistently documented, limiting reproducibility. This study presents HydroScholar AI, an agentic, human-in-the-loop platform that consolidates the plan-to-paper research lifecycle into a single interactive automated framework. From a natural-language prompt, the [...]
From geochemical to biogeochemical cycles: an organizational view of how (and why) life shaped its conditions of existence
Published: 2026-04-08
Subjects: Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology, Biodiversity, Biogeochemistry, Earth Sciences, Life Sciences
Since the seminal work of Maturana and Varela, the Organizational Approach (OA) has defended an organism-centered view of life. This paper argues that the OA must be extended to include the historical, ecological and geochemical processes that sustain biological systems across scales. We develop a multiscale account of closure of constraints (CoC) in which localized closures can emerge and [...]
Modeling PDC cutter-rock interactions using finite discrete element method for geothermal drilling applications
Published: 2026-04-08
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) cutters are used in geothermal energy drilling operations as they are exceptionally effective due to their strength and resistance to abrasion. It is important to understand the effect of downhole conditions to accurately model rock-cutter-rock interactions, as well as wear on the bit and drilling efficiency. Cutting efficiency is determined through the [...]
Automated Detection of Slow Slip Events from InSAR: Application to the North Anatolian Fault
Published: 2026-04-08
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
The growing volume of InSAR time series offers new opportunities to systematically detect transient aseismic deformation, but identifying low-amplitude slow slip events (SSEs) remains challenging due to noise and limited temporal resolution. Here, we adapt the geodetic matched filter, originally developed for GNSS data, to InSAR displacement time series in the context of shallow strike-slip [...]
Simulation of Groundwater Flow To Evaluate Hydrogeologic Controls on a PFAS Plume, Coakley Landfill Superfund Site, Rockingham County, New Hampshire
Published: 2026-04-08
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Health and Protection, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Water Resource Management
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), have been detected at combined concentrations above 2,000 nanograms per liter (ng/L) at groundwater seep locations near the Coakley Landfill Superfund site, in North Hampton, New Hampshire. The landfill was active from 1972 to 1985. An impermeable cap was placed on the [...]
Geochemical and granulometric fingerprints of 8,200-year Westerly variability recorded in inner-fjord lake sediments from Central Svalbard
Published: 2026-04-08
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth. As sea-ice diminishes, surface boundary conditions (roughness and air-sea coupling) change and open-water fetch increases, potentially strengthening the effective wind forcing on Arctic coasts. These changes can be recorded in lake sediments through the deposition of wind-blown grains and elements, offering insights into past wind and [...]
Changing the Chilly Climate: Observations on Gender Diversity and Inclusion at a Geoscience Conference in the Netherlands
Published: 2026-04-08
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Higher Education, Social and Behavioral Sciences
The aim of this study was to observe audience participation in a conference where the planned structures (presenters, keynotes and chairs) had an equal gender balance. The collected data can give an indication of the effectiveness of diversity and inclusion initiatives beyond the planned structures of the conference itself. We observed behaviours of attendees of the annual Dutch Earth and [...]