Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Earth Sciences
Equality, diversity and inclusion recommendations and best practice from NERC Doctoral Training Partnerships & Centers for Doctoral Training: DEI Forum Report 2023
Published: 2024-07-18
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Education, Environmental Sciences, Higher Education
This report represents the collective voice of NERC DTPs & CDTs, demonstrating the reality of nurturing Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the ground level from the perspectives of staff and students. Individually, we have faced common barriers towards improving DEI within our host universities and honed our expertise in realising DEI through extensive research and [...]
Volcanic arc structure controlled by liquid focusing from the slab — evidence from boron isotopes and trace elements
Published: 2024-07-16
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Volcanology
The rates and pathways of material transport from subducting plates to arc volcanoes control the long-term chemical evolution of the atmosphere, continents, and mantle. Arc magma compositions are commonly used as proxies for the state of the slab directly below a volcanic vent, under the assumption of vertical transport from the slab to the surface. Here, we present new boron (B) isotope and [...]
Modeling sediment compaction beneath ice lenses during frost heave
Published: 2024-07-12
Subjects: Applied Mathematics, Earth Sciences, Glaciology, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Soil Science
Frost heave occurs when the ground swells during freezing conditions due to the growth of ice lenses in the subsurface. The mechanics of ice-infiltrated sediment, or frozen fringe, influences the formation and evolution of ice lenses. As the frozen fringe thickens during freezing, progressive unloading can result in dilation of the pore space and the formation of new ice lenses. Compaction can [...]
Seamounts control subducted carbonate recycling in Central America – evidence from stable Sr isotopes
Published: 2024-07-12
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Volcanology
Accurate estimates of carbon recycling efficiency at subduction zones are crucial for understanding the long-term evolution of the planet’s climate. Estimating subducting carbon recycling efficiency is difficult, however, due to magmatic degassing deep within the crust. Stable strontium (δ88Sr) isotopes have the potential to serve as an additional proxy for carbonate recycling due to carbonate’s [...]
Interdiffusion of major elements at 1 atmosphere between natural shoshonitic and rhyolitic melts
Published: 2024-07-12
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Volcanology
The diffusive mass exchange of eight major elements (Si, Ti, Al, Fe, Mg, Ca, Na, and K) between natural, nominally dry shoshonitic and rhyolitic melts was studied at atmospheric pressure and temperatures between 1230 and 1413 °C using the diffusion couple method. For six elements, effective binary diffusion coefficients were calculated by means of a concentration-dependent method to obtain an [...]
Timescale-dependent response of vegetation to climate change
Published: 2024-07-11
Subjects: Earth Sciences
Climate and ecosystems exhibit dynamic behavior across various timescales, but existing studies often focus on singular timescales when examining ecosystem responses to climate. Here we develop a conceptual and analytical framework using spectral analysis that examines a continuum of timescales, from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of years. By comparing power spectra of vegetation turnover and [...]
A non-equilibrium slurry model for planetary cores with application to Earth’s F-layer
Published: 2024-07-09
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Fluid Dynamics, Geophysics and Seismology, Mineral Physics
Slurry regions may exist in the cores of several terrestrial bodies and are expected to influence the dynamics of deep planetary interiors and the viability of maintaining global magnetic fields. Here we develop a two-component slurry model of the lowermost outer core of the Earth (the F-layer). In contrast to most previous models of slurries in planetary cores, we explicitly model the physics [...]
Building quantitative skills with a simplified physical model of coastal storm deposition
Published: 2024-07-04
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Educational Methods, Geomorphology, Higher Education, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
This article describes an exercise for a physical laboratory experiment designed to enable physical geography students to practice transferrable quantitative skills through inquiry-based learning. The exercise is a deliberately simplified physical model of storm-driven coastal overwash typical of low-lying coastal barrier systems. The experiment can be trialled in anything from a baking pan or [...]
Uranium-series isotopes as tracers of physical and chemical weathering in glacial sediments from Taylor Valley, Antarctica
Published: 2024-07-04
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Glaciology, Soil Science
The McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica formed by extensive glacial erosion, yet currently exhibit hyperarid polar conditions characterized by limited chemical and physical weathering. Efficient chemical weathering occurs when moisture is available, and polythermal subglacial conditions may accommodate ongoing mechanical weathering and valley incision. Taylor Valley hosts several Pleistocene [...]
Littoral activity in the lava deltas of 2021 eruption on Cumbre Vieja Volcanic Rift, La Palma (Canary Islands): constraints on explosive water-magma interaction
Published: 2024-07-01
Subjects: Earth Sciences
Tephra jets are a characteristic explosive phenomenon of lava deltas built by pāhoehoe or ‘a‘ā lava flows. Field observations made during the growth of the 2021 South Lava Delta (La Palma island), emplaced under a 100–150 m high marine cliff, show tephra jets driven by penetration of seawater through the external lava breccia into the interior of ‘a‘ā lava flows entering the ocean. However, this [...]
An Initial Approach of Multiple Linear Regression in CO2-water Relative Permeability Prediction for Carbon Storage Projects
Published: 2024-06-27
Subjects: Earth Sciences
This work discusses the feasibility of multiple linear regression in predicting water/CO2 relative permeability using training and testing datasets from two nearby wells, separately, of the Lower Cretaceous Lakota Sandstone, Jurassic Hulett Sandstone, and Pennsylvanian Minnelusa Formation at the Dry Fork Station site. The outcome is promising as the predicted and measured relative permeability [...]
Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Modeling of Geothermal Energy Systems in Deep Mines: Uncertainty Quantification and Design Optimization
Published: 2024-06-27
Subjects: Earth Sciences
Exploiting geothermal energy using existing deep mining systems streamlines the development of geothermal systems while addressing the cooling needs of deep mines. However, the combined effects of low-temperature and high-pressure injection during geothermal operations adversely impact the stability of deep mine drifts. This makes it crucial to reliably assess the stability of the drifts and [...]
Shallow storage conditions at Krafla IDDP-1 revealed by rhyolite-MELTS geobarometry, and implications for global shallow magmatism
Published: 2024-06-24
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Other Earth Sciences, Volcanology
Identifying the storage depths of melt-dominated magma bodies prior to eruption is critical for understanding magma transport, eruption hazards, and magma body longevity. Rhyolite-MELTS has been used effectively to calculate pre-eruptive storage pressures for silicic magma bodies in the upper crust (~100-350 MPa), but its precision and accuracy in very low-pressure systems (<100 MPa) has not [...]
The Looming Crisis: Global Groundwater Depletion and its Unseen Impacts, Climate Change
Published: 2024-06-21
Subjects: Agriculture, Earth Sciences, Environmental Education, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences
Groundwater depletion is a growing threat to global sustainability, impacting ecosystems, agriculture, and human populations. This viewpoint explores the causes and consequences of unsustainable groundwater extraction, highlighting its far-reaching effects on local and global climates. The paper examines specific examples from various regions worldwide, showcasing the widespread nature of this [...]
Diversity at Goldschmidt conference
Published: 2024-06-19
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Cosmochemistry, Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Planetary Biogeochemistry, Planetary Geochemistry, Planetary Sciences
The field of geochemistry has grown significantly over the past seventy years, contributing to our understanding of Earth's processes. However, geochemists often identify with broader fields like geology or oceanography, reflecting an identity crisis within the discipline. The Goldschmidt Conference, established in 1988, serves as a central international meeting for geochemists, promoting their [...]