Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Geology
The Petrology, Geochemistry, and Origin of the East Australian Potassic Suite: Bulk Chemistry and Genesis
Published: 2025-03-26
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Volcanology
The Eastern Australian Potassic Suite (EAPS) is an alkaline volcanic province made up of over 20 widely dispersed outcrops that extend almost 700 km, forming the southern portion of the world’s longest continental hotspot track, the Cosgrove track. In contrast to the large basaltic volcanic complexes to the east and north, the EAPS occurs exclusively as mafic potassium–rich occurrences with [...]
Weakening of AMOC linked to past Greenland Ice Sheet retreat
Published: 2025-03-21
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Climate, Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Oceanography, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Paleontology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
A weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is predicted to occur under multiple scenarios of future warming. However, the effect of meltwater from a decaying Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) on AMOC is uncertain. Using a basin-wide network of North Atlantic sediment cores, we show that the largescale melting of the GrIS during a previous interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 11c [...]
Origin of the Harappan Ernestites: Fabrication and Raw Materials
Published: 2025-03-17
Subjects: Geochemistry, Geology, Other Earth Sciences
Significant developments in stone bead technology in South Asia, including drilling techniques, happened during the Harappan civilization. Among the stone drill bits used for bead making, long and constricted cylindrical drill bits made from a unique stone named Ernestite were exclusive to the Harappan civilization. Most Ernestites have been discovered in the Harappan cities in Gujarat, India. [...]
Orogenic architecture diagrams to reconstruct paleogeography and plate tectonics: Newfoundland (Canada) as a case study
Published: 2025-03-17
Subjects: Geology, Tectonics and Structure
Reconstructing paleogeography from accretionary records is challenging due to the difficulty of integrating data sources from different specialized fields. Here, we present the ‘orogenic architecture diagram’ method to systematically compile geological data in temporal and spatial context at the scale of nappes - the ‘building blocks’ of orogens - and to use their interpreted geological histories [...]
Modern Cave Monitoring Informs Interpretations of Past Climate Change: Applications to Titan Cave, Wyoming
Published: 2025-03-10
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Speleology
Monitoring of cave environments is an essential process for deciphering records of past climate change preserved in the geochemical composition of speleothems, or mineral cave deposits. This study presents data from a multi-year monitoring effort in Titan Cave, Wyoming, a site of interest due to the abundance of speleothems suitable for paleoclimate reconstruction. Titan Cave exhibits annual cave [...]
Improved LA-Q-ICP-MS U-Pb Zircon Age Estimates for Young (< 10 Ma) Zircons & Quantification of Bias in CL Guided Spot Selection
Published: 2025-03-07
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
We present a new approach to reducing U-Pb data from zircons obtained by laser ablation-quadrupole-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-Q-ICP-MS), with emphasis on young (< 10 Ma) zircons. In young zircons the 207Pb yield is extremely low, generating a relatively high abundance of zero values during analyses. This impacts the use of 207Pb/206Pb in application of Tera-Wasserburg [...]
Low computational cost stochastic Gassmann fluid substitution modelling of hydrogen and carbon dioxide in clastic storage reservoirs
Published: 2025-03-06
Subjects: Geology, Geophysics and Seismology
The ability to safely store non-hydrocarbon fluids in the subsurface, such as carbon dioxide or hydrogen, will likely be vital in all pathways to decarbonise global energy systems. Storage of these fluids will require monitoring programmes to identify dynamic changes during the injection and storage phases and to identify unintended migration. Seismic monitoring is widely adopted in monitoring [...]
Neoproterozoic denudation of a Laurentian superbasin
Published: 2025-02-28
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Tectonics and Structure
It has long been speculated that isolated Paleoproterozoic basins of northern Laurentia are remnants of a once contiguous sedimentary cover due to similarities in stratigraphy, paleocurrent directions, sediment provenance, and geochronological data. However, corroborating evidence for this 'superbasin hypothesis' has been lacking outside the footprints of the preserved basins. We present new [...]
Geochemistry and Mineralogy of Ilmenite Exsolutions in Titanomagnetite and Their Implications for the Ore-Forming Process at the Damiao Deposit
Published: 2025-02-14
Subjects: Geochemistry, Geology
The Damiao Fe-Ti-P deposit, located within the Damiao anorthosite complex in northeastern China, features Fe-Ti oxide ores and nelsonites that occur as irregularly inclined stratiform-like bodies, lenses, or veins with sharp contacts against anorthosite and gabbronorite. This deposit is characterized by abundant titanomagnetite that hosts diverse ilmenite exsolution textures, including blocky, [...]
Where has all the Sinter gone? From the Pink and White Terraces, the Greatest Tourist Attraction of the Southern Hemisphere
Published: 2025-02-01
Subjects: Environmental Studies, Geology, Geomorphology, Other Geography, Paleontology, Physical and Environmental Geography, Spatial Science, Stratigraphy, Volcanology
Debate continues over the silica sinter Pink and White Terraces, the greatest tourist attraction of the southern hemisphere. The 1886 Tarawera eruption may or may not have destroyed them by burial or eruption. This research compiles surviving sinter. The volume is unexpectedly tiny, which bears on the debate. A database was developed including photography. A forensic approach was taken to [...]
A New Interpretation of Ptolemy's Germania Magna: Employing Computer-Assisted Image Distortion of a Medieval Map by Donnus Nicolaus Germanus to Examine Post-Glacial Geodynamics in Europe
Published: 2025-02-01
Subjects: Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Nature and Society Relations, Other Astrophysics and Astronomy, Other Earth Sciences, Other Geography, Other Planetary Sciences, Planetary Geology, Planetary Geomorphology, Planetary Geophysics and Seismology, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure, The Sun and the Solar System
This paper revisits Claudius Ptolemy's depiction of Germania Magna through a multidisciplinary approach, integrating computer-aided distortion analysis of Donnus Nicolaus Germanus's medieval cartography with geological insights. The study proposes that the region underwent significant and complex transformations, likely influenced by tectonic activity, such as the reactivation of the Caledonian [...]
Insights into plume-ridge-transform fault interactions as derived from 3D numerical geodynamic modelling of the Azores Triple Junction
Published: 2025-01-31
Subjects: Geology, Tectonics and Structure
The Azores Archipelago is an igneous province located in the centre of the Atlantic Ocean marked by a large bathymetric plateau with a complex tectonic history. Over the last 10 Myr, this region has been shaped by the interaction between the Azores plume, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR), and the Gloria Fault zone. This complex interaction was characterised namely by the transition from a [...]
Widely variable granite production from a restitic metasedimentary terrane by volatile redistribution
Published: 2025-01-24
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Other Earth Sciences
The amount of melt extracted from a metasedimentary source is a major parameter in quantitative models of crustal processes; however, quantification of melt volume is thwarted by the heterogeneity of the crust and a lack of estimates concerning the amount of fluid present. We observe that highly systematic trends in metasedimentary rocks allow treatment of protoliths as two component mixtures, [...]
Pleistocene pedogenic carbonates from alluvial paleosols in eastern Sudan reveal a semi-arid and seasonal climate, similar to today
Published: 2025-01-23
Subjects: Geology
Pedogenic carbonates can provide important information regarding paleoclimatic conditions. Compared with East Africa, Pleistocene pedogenic carbonates in Sudan, particularly calcretes, have received very little attention, particularly with regard to local paleoclimatic reconstructions. Pleistocene alluvial sediments aged from ~230 to <17 ka were deposited along the middle Atbara River in [...]
Model weighting for ISMIP6-Greenland based on observations and similarity among models
Published: 2025-01-23
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Glaciology
The Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project for CMIP6 (ISMIP6) resulted in a large number of ice sheet simulations from multiple ice sheet models. To-date, there are no model weighting studies that analyze or quantify the model performance and possible duplication of the ISMIP6 ice sheet models and the resulting effect on projections of mass loss. In this study, we adopt a model weighting scheme [...]