Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Earth Sciences
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 [...]
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 [...]