Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Geophysics and Seismology
R-critical constraints on relamination efficiency: The role of mechanical coupling in continental crust recycling
Published: 2026-05-30
Subjects: Geochemistry, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology
Relamination—the reincorporation of deeply subducted continental crust into the overriding plate—has been proposed as a major mechanism for continental growth and differentiation. While numerical models and high-pressure experiments demonstrate the thermochemical feasibility of this process, a fundamental question remains: under what mechanical conditions is relamination sufficiently efficient to [...]
Post-glacial sedimentary evolution and stratigraphy of the shallow offshore areas of the Shetland Islands (UK)
Published: 2026-05-25
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
We present a high-resolution seismic–sedimentological reconstruction of post-glacial sedimentation in three shallow offshore basins around the Shetland Islands (Dury Voe, Colgrave Sound/Basta Voe, and Yell Sound), based on integrated multibeam bathymetry, sub-bottom profiler data, and 77 vibrocores supported by radiocarbon dating. Sediment distribution is strongly controlled by inherited bedrock [...]
Trapped Lee-Wave Resonance Determines Antarctic Megadune Wavelength
Published: 2026-05-23
Subjects: Applied Statistics, Categorical Data Analysis, Design of Experiments and Sample Surveys, Earth Sciences, Fluid Dynamics, Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Glaciology, Mineral Physics, Other Earth Sciences, Paleontology, Physics, Planetary Geology, Planetary Geomorphology, Planetary Geophysics and Seismology, Planetary Glaciology, Planetary Hydrology, Planetary Mineral Physics, Planetary Sciences, Planetary Sedimentology, Sedimentology, Statistical Methodology, Statistical Models, Statistics and Probability, Stratigraphy
Snow megadunes cover 5×105 km2 of the East Antarctic plateau, biasing surface mass balance estimates and overprinting ice-core signals—yet their 2–5 km wavelength has lacked a quantitative selection mechanism for two decades. We first falsify the standard formula λ∗ = 2πU0/N through a calibration-free spatial test: eight REMA 2 m tiles across two independent locations at 81.5–82.0°S show no [...]
Role of Fault Geometry in Generating Backward-migrating P-wave Radiation During the 2025 Mw 7.7 Myanmar Earthquake
Published: 2026-05-20
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology
The Mw 7.7 Myanmar earthquake of 28 March 2025 ruptured the Sagaing Fault system over ~450 km and exhibited complex rupture behavior, including intermittent supershear propagation and backward-migrating high-frequency (HF) P-wave radiation. We image the rupture evolution using multi-frequency teleseismic P-wave back-projection (BP) (0.05–0.5, 0.1–1.0, and 0.3–2.0 Hz) and compare the results with [...]
Slow dynamics under high confining pressure in saturated sandstone with pore pressure
Published: 2026-05-15
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology, Mechanics of Materials
Slow dynamics is a time-dependent, nonlinear elastic behavior occurring in a variety of consolidated or damaged materials, including rocks. The influence of relative humidity and confining pressure on slow dynamics has been studied, but not that of full saturation and effective pressure. We show that slow dynamics is occurring under high confining pressure in fluid-saturated sandstone, if the [...]
Geodynamic Model Description for Ptolemy’s Germania Magna
Published: 2026-05-13
Subjects: Analysis, Astrophysics and Astronomy, Dynamical Systems, Dynamic Systems, Earth Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Mathematics, Other Applied Mathematics, Other Astrophysics and Astronomy, Other Earth Sciences, Other Planetary Sciences, Planetary Geology, Planetary Geophysics and Seismology, Statistical Models, Statistics and Probability, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure, The Sun and the Solar System, Volcanology
This model proposes that the well-documented geodynamic and climatic disruption of the 6th century AD involved a reactivation of the ancient Caledonian Deformation Front (CDF) and the Trans-European Suture Zone (TESZ), most likely triggered by cosmic events in the form of impacts or airbursts. Large-scale inversion tectonics, driven by Alpine compressive forces, are argued to have caused [...]
Causal analyses reveal changing land-atmosphere patterns and soil moisture control under warming
Published: 2026-05-12
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology, Hydrology
Climate change is projected to modify the global water cycle and land-atmosphere interactions. However, warming-induced changes in multivariate dependence remain insufficiently explored. Here we examine the interdependence among temperature, precipitable water, precipitation, evaporation, soil moisture, and runoff in all five earth system models within the latest IPCC CMIP6 ensembles that [...]
TiMEpy: A Python Package for Analyzing Tidal Modulation of Fast and Slow Earthquakes
Published: 2026-05-08
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Due to interactions between the solid Earth and tidal forces, the crust experiences continuous stress perturbations. Understanding how earthquakes respond to tidal stresses provides unique insights into the mechanisms governing earthquake nucleation. Here, we present TiMEpy, an open-source Python package designed to detect tidal modulation in both fast and slow earthquakes. TiMEpy includes [...]
Extreme recharge triggers seismicity in a confined karst aquifer in southern Spain
Published: 2026-05-01
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geophysics and Seismology, Hydrology, Tectonics and Structure
Hydrological forcing during extreme recharge events can perturb crustal stress and trigger seismicity in a critically stressed crust, yet the coupling between aquifer dynamics and the spatio-temporal distribution of earthquake swarms remains poorly constrained. Here we document such a response during an exceptional rainfall episode in early 2026 that affected a confined karst aquifer in southern [...]
Reduced geomagnetic shielding increased UV-B radiation at Earth’s surface during the Laschamps Event
Published: 2026-04-30
Subjects: Astrophysics and Astronomy, Atmospheric Sciences, Biochemistry, Biogeochemistry, Biology, Earth Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Life Sciences, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Other Life Sciences, Paleobiology, Physical and Environmental Geography, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Planetary Geochemistry, Planetary Geology, Planetary Geophysics and Seismology, Planetary Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Statistics and Probability
Exposure to excess UV-B radiation can harm organisms through DNA damage and oxidative stress, and has likely been a key ecological and evolutionary driver throughout Earth’s history. Here, we show UV-B at Earth’s surface was significantly increased during the Laschamps Event, the last major geomagnetic excursion ca. 41ka BP. During the Laschamps, we find significant and prolonged (lasting [...]
Intensifying Seismicity beneath Mount Teide: Assessing the Probability of an Imminent Eruption on Tenerife
Published: 2026-04-30
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology, Volcanology
Recent seismic swarms in the western sector of the Las Cañadas Caldera (Tenerife, Canary Islands) have raised concerns regarding the potential for renewed eruptive activity at Teide. Although the earthquakes were of small magnitude and occurred at depths of around 6-12 km, their detection and media coverage generated public concern on an island visited by millions of tourists each year. Teide [...]
Quantifying 3D Modeling Errors in Time-Domain Electromagnetics: Implications for Deterministic and Probabilistic Inversions
Published: 2026-04-28
Subjects: Geophysics and Seismology
Subsurface resistivity in geophysics is commonly estimated indirectly from dependent measurements. This relationship can be approximated in a forward operator using physical models, such as Maxwell’s equations for time-domain electromagnetics (TDEM), where measured voltages in receiver coils arise from decaying magnetic fields. In TDEM, the inverse operator usually does not exist, so inversion [...]
Upper Crustal Control on Nearshore Subduction Mechanics in Cascadia
Published: 2026-04-24
Subjects: Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Tectonics and Structure
Along-strike upper plate heterogeneity is widely observed at subduction margins, but its direct influence on slab geometry and interseismic deformation remains debated. Here, we investigate the effect of upper-crustal geological segmentation on nearshore subduction mechanics at the Cascadia margin. Using a high-resolution, shore-crossing 3-D seismic tomography model from central to southern [...]
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 [...]
The Geological Pathway Diversity Model (GPDM): A Unified Classification and Predictive Framework for Anomalous Luminous Phenomena
Published: 2026-04-16
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Other Physics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Atmospheric plasma phenomena — persistent luminous orbs, recurrent earth lights, and earthquake lights observed at geographically distributed sites worldwide — share a common mechanism family rooted in stress-activated electronic charge carrier physics. The Geological Pathway Diversity Model (GPDM) formally classifies six geological activation pathways. Version 2.4 introduces four new Variable 3 [...]