Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Earth Sciences
Colonial history and global economics distort our understanding of deep-time biodiversity
Published: 2021-06-24
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Paleobiology, Paleontology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Sampling variations in the fossil record distort estimates of past biodiversity. However, compilations of global fossil occurrences used in these analyses not only reflect the geological and spatial aspects of the fossil record, but also the historical collation of these data. Here, we demonstrate how the legacy of colonialism as well as socio-economic factors such as wealth, education and [...]
Determining the absolute sustainability of products with case studies on laundry and food production
Published: 2021-06-22
Subjects: Agriculture, Earth Sciences
In this work, a new metric called ‘Service-weighted Product Level Absolute Sustainability’ is proposed as a numerical indicator to determine if a product is sustainable. The service offered by a product was found to be crucial to normalize its environmental impact and permit comparisons between products. Service-weighted Product Level Absolute Sustainability is demonstrated here with examples of [...]
Modeling P waves in seismic noise correlations: Advancing fault monitoring using train traffic sources
Published: 2021-06-19
Subjects: Applied Mathematics, Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physics
The theory of Green's function retrieval essentially requires homogeneously distributed noise sources. Even though these conditions are not fulfilled in nature, low-frequency (<1 Hz) surface waves generated by ocean-crust interactions have been used successfully to image the crust with unprecedented spatial resolution. In contrast to low-frequency surface waves, high-frequency (>1 Hz) body waves [...]
30-year record of Himalaya mass-wasting reveals landscape perturbations by extreme events
Published: 2021-06-18
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology
In mountainous environments, quantifying the drivers of mass-wasting is fundamental for understanding landscape evolution and improving hazard management. Here, we quantify the magnitudes of mass-wasting caused by the Asia Summer Monsoon (ASM), extreme rainfall and earthquakes in the Nepal Himalayas. Using a newly compiled 30-year mass-wasting inventory, we establish empirical relationships [...]
Characteristics of landslide path dependency revealed through multiple resolution landslide inventories in the Nepal Himalaya
Published: 2021-06-18
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology
Recent research in Umbria, Italy, has shown that landslide susceptibility is controlled by a process called path-dependency, which describes how past landslides control the locations of future landslides. To date, landslide path-dependency has only been characterised in Italy. This raises the question of whether this process occurs in other geomorphic settings, and thus whether path-dependency [...]
Geodynamic, geodetic, and seismic constraints favour deflated and dense-cored LLVPs
Published: 2021-06-18
Subjects: Cosmochemistry, Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geophysics and Seismology, Mineral Physics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Two continent-sized features in the deep mantle, the large low-velocity provinces (LLVPs), influence Earth's supercontinent cycles, mantle plume generation, and its geochemical budget. Seismological advances have steadily improved LLVP imaging, but several fundamental questions remain unanswered, including: What is their vertical extent? And, are they purely thermal anomalies, or are they also [...]
Fluid invasion dynamics in porous media with complex wettability and connectivity
Published: 2021-06-17
Subjects: Chemical Engineering, Complex Fluids, Earth Sciences, Fluid Dynamics, Hydrology, Materials Science and Engineering, Other Materials Science and Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Transport Phenomena
Multiphase flow is important for many natural and engineered processes in subsurface geoscience. Pore-scale multiphase flow dynamics are commonly characterized by an average balance of driving forces. However, significant local variability in this balance may exist inside natural, heterogeneous porous materials, such as rocks and soils. Here, we investigate multiphase flow in heterogeneous rocks [...]
Channel, dune and sand sheet architectures of strait-adjacent deltas, Rifian Corridor, Morocco
Published: 2021-06-17
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
Sea strait geographies amplify tidal currents, which can result in the formation of tidal strait deposits with a symmetrical facies arrangement. It can be problematic to distinguish such confined tidal strait deposits from strait systems that developed in less constricted settings. To push a more robust differentiation between the confined tidal strait model and a model for less constricted tidal [...]
Microstructure and fluid flow in the vicinity of basin bounding faults in rifts – the Dombjerg Fault, NE Greenland rift system
Published: 2021-06-17
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Sedimentology, Tectonics and Structure
Faults commonly form loci for high fluid flux in sedimentary basins, where fluids, rocks and deformation processes frequently interact. Here, we elucidate the interaction of fluid flow, diagenesis and deformation near basin-bounding faults in sedimentary basins through a study in the vicinity (0-3.5 km) of the Dombjerg Fault in the NE Greenland rift system. Due to fault-controlled fluid [...]
A new tropical cyclone surge index incorporating the effects of coastal geometry, bathymetry and storm information
Published: 2021-06-14
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Risk Analysis
This study presents a new storm surge hazard potential index (SSHPI) for estimating tropical cyclone (TC) induced maximum surge levels at a coast. The SSHPI incorporates parameters that are often readily available at real-time: intensity in 10-minute maximum wind speed, radius of 50-kt wind, translation speed, coastal geometry, and bathymetry information. The inclusion of translation speed and [...]
Remote bed-level change and overwash observation with low-cost ultrasonic distance sensors
Published: 2021-06-12
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Few datasets exist of high-frequency, in situ measurements of storm overwash, an essential mechanism for the subaerial maintenance of barrier islands and spits. Here we describe a new sensor platform for measuring bed-level change and estimating overwash inundation depths. Our MeOw (Measuring Overwash) stations consist of two ultrasonic distance sensors, a microprocessor board, and a camera and [...]
Ubiquity of human-induced changes in climate variability
Published: 2021-06-12
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Biogeochemistry, Climate, Earth Sciences, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
While climate change mitigation targets necessarily concern maximum mean state changes, understanding impacts and developing adaptation strategies will be largely contingent on how climate variability responds to increasing anthropogenic perturbations. Here we present a new 100-member large ensemble of climate change projections conducted with the Community Earth System Model version 2 to examine [...]
A Reduced Order Approach for Probabilistic Inversions of 3D Magnetotelluric Data II: Joint inversion of 3D MT and Surface-Wave Data
Published: 2021-06-10
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology
Joint probabilistic inversions of magnetotelluric (MT) and seismic data has great potential for imaging the thermochemical structure of the lithosphere as well as mapping fluid/melt pathways and regions of mantle metasomatism. In this contribution we present a novel probabilistic (Bayesian) joint inversion scheme for 3D MT and surface-wave dispersion data particularly designed for large-scale [...]
Independent constraints on deep-sea temperatures across two early Eocene hyperthermals from clumped isotope thermometry
Published: 2021-06-08
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry
The early Eocene hothouse experienced the occurrence of transient global warming events, so-called hyperthermals. The deep ocean constitutes a stable and vast heat reservoir, and hence arguably provides a good estimate of the global mean climate state. However, available proxy deep-sea temperature reconstructions rely on uncertain assumptions of non-thermal influences associated with seawater [...]
The hazards of unconfined pyroclastic density currents: a new synthesis and classification according to their deposits, dynamics, and thermal and impact characteristics
Published: 2021-06-08
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Volcanology
Pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) that escape their confining channels are among the most dangerous of volcanic hazards. These unconfined PDCs are capable of inundating inhabited areas that may be unprepared for these hazards, resulting in significant loss of life and damage to infrastructure. Despite their ability to cause serious impacts, unconfined PDCs have previously only been described [...]