Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Geology
Geological controls on Underground Hydrogen Storage in depleted gas fields
Published: 2026-03-27
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Other Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sustainability
The geological storage of hydrogen is an alternative for large-scale energy storage in support of expanding renewable energy systems. The North Sea has hundreds of depleted gas fields that are potential storage sites. Robust screening procedures are necessary to select the most suitable reservoirs in terms of geology. This study investigates the geological controls on hydrogen storage in depleted [...]
mineralML: Leveraging Machine Learning for Probabilistic Mineral Classification
Published: 2026-03-27
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Probability, Statistical Methodology, Statistics and Probability, Volcanology
Characterizing phase assemblages in igneous rocks and the chemical variability within these phases is the fundamental basis of many petrological investigations. We present mineralML (mineral classification using Machine Learning), an open-source Python package that classifies common igneous minerals based on oxide chemical data, with prediction scores. mineralML employs a two-stage neural [...]
Dataset of DInSAR wrapped phase signals for AI-based automated detection and classification of mass movements
Published: 2026-03-26
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
With the growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in remote sensing of mass movements, available datasets for model training and validation are increasingly needed. Although Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (DInSAR) is a widely used technique for studying mass movements, wrapped interferograms remain less exploited, and the importance of geomorphological expertise in their [...]
Comprehensive Inventory of Coseismic Landslides Triggered by the 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes, Türkiye
Published: 2026-03-19
Subjects: Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology
We provide two geospatial inventories covering ~80,000 km² in southern Türkiye for the 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake sequence: (i) a coseismic landslide polygon inventory including 20,270 landslides and (ii) a pre-earthquake geomorphic inventory of pre-existing slope instability including 4,495 landslide polygons. Coseismic landslides were mapped by systematic expert visual [...]
Transient liquid- and solid-dominated inflation of an upper crustal magma chamber: insights from the Carlingford Complex (Ireland)
Published: 2026-03-18
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Volcanology
Layered intrusions are the crystallised remnants of magma reservoirs and preserve a detailed record of magma storage, differentiation, and recharge processes in the upper crust. Their assembly is commonly categorised into two end-member emplacement regimes: long-lived liquid-dominated magma chambers, and incrementally assembled crystal-rich mush systems. These end-members are often presented as [...]
The distribution of Earth’s wind-blown sand dunes
Published: 2026-03-05
Subjects: Climate, Geology, Geomorphology
Sand dunes develop when there is a source of sediment and wind capable of saltating that sediment. Dune morphology and occurrence can then be used to infer the distribution of sediment sources and climate conditions during their formation. This is particularly useful for inference of past climate from relict dunes or the sedimentary record, and for climate conditions where direct observation is [...]
Interplay between geometry and brittle deformation of bedrock fault scarps
Published: 2026-02-28
Subjects: Geology, Tectonics and Structure
Energy built up during interseismic phases is released during earthquakes as seismic energy and dissipated within fault zones. Seismological observations indicate spatial variations in earthquake behavior across a fault (e.g., rupture speed, stress drop, wave directivity). However, how this relates to energy dissipation through brittle fracturing in the fault zone is difficult to quantify from [...]
PaleoEurope-DEM v1.0: A distributed pipeline for continental-scale paleo-landscape reconstruction from FABDEM-GEBCO fusion and glacial isostatic adjustment
Published: 2026-02-28
Subjects: Geology, Glaciology, Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing
Reconstructing paleo-landscapes at high spatial resolution is essential for understanding Quaternary environmental change, yet no open-source, reproducible pipeline currently exists for fusing modern elevation data with glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) models at continental scale. We present PaleoEurope-DEM v1.0, a distributed processing pipeline that produces continuous topo-bathymetric [...]
Rethinking grounding-zone basal drag for improved projections of Antarctic ice loss
Published: 2026-02-24
Subjects: Geology, Geomorphology, Glaciology
Ice-stream grounding zones are critical parts of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and we must be able to model how they retreat with confidence. This is because for most of Antarctica, the grounding-zone location determines the flux of ice to the ocean. As such, future grounding-zone locations (as the ice-sheet edge retreats inland) dictate the pattern and rate of ice loss and the associated sea-level [...]
Backstress governs transient postseismic creep in the continental lithospheric mantle
Published: 2026-02-22
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Mineral Physics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Understanding the physical processes that control how the continental lithospheric mantle responds to sudden stress changes during the earthquake cycle is essential for interpreting postseismic deformation and constraining the rheological behaviour of the mantle. Laboratory studies have revealed that long-range elastic interactions among dislocations generate backstresses that strongly influence [...]
The Role of Flexure Margins in Controlling Open Fracture Distribution: Insights from Analogue Modeling of Orthogonal Rift and Pull-Apart Systems
Published: 2026-02-21
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
Hydrocarbon exploration in Basement Fracture Reservoirs faces significant challenges in predicting fracture connectivity below seismic resolution. This study utilizes analogue sandbox modeling to compare the spatial distribution of open fractures in orthogonal normal fault systems and pull-apart basins. Methodological innovation is implemented through the use of a 1 mm thick gypsum layer atop 8 [...]
Compositional Reservoir Simulation Sensitivity Studies: Grid, Permeability, and Well Configuration Analysis Using OPM Flow
Published: 2026-02-14
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Other Earth Sciences, Petroleum Engineering
This technical report presents a comprehensive parametric sensitivity analysis of compositional reservoir simulation using the open-source OPM Flow simulator, extending previous gas injection feasibility studies (Padder, 2026) through three systematic investigations: (1) grid refinement analysis comparing coarse (7×7×3, 147 cells) and refined (14×14×6, 1,176 cells) spatial discretization under [...]
Mid-crustal Origin of Alkaline Magmas in the Arosa Zone: Evidence from Primary Analcime and Xenolith Interaction at the Rothplattenbach Complex (Germany)
Published: 2026-02-13
Subjects: Geochemistry, Geology, Mineral Physics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Volcanology
The petrogenetic evolution of the alkaline magmatic rocks of the Rothplattenbach Complex was investigated by X-ray diffraction phase analysis and crystallographic lattice-parameter determination. The study focuses on the identification of primary analcime occurring in paragenesis with Ca-rich plagioclase (An₇₇) and diopsidic clinopyroxene. Phase-equilibrium modelling indicates that magma [...]
Multiple-Well Monitoring Site Adjacent to the Midway- Sunset and Buena Vista Oil Fields, Kern County, California
Published: 2026-02-12
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Hydrology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Groundwater quality in and around oil fields in the Southern San Joaquin Valley is of interest to many California residents that rely heavily on groundwater for domestic, commercial, and agricultural use. To help assess the effects of historical oil-field activities and natural geologic sources on groundwater near the southwest margins of the Kern County Groundwater Subbasin, a multiple-well [...]
Shifting the Paradigm: Redefining the Chronostratigraphy of the Triassic Rewan Group, Bowen Basin, Australia
Published: 2026-02-12
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
The Triassic continental Rewan Group in the northern Bowen Basin, Queensland, Australia, consisting of the Sagittarius Sandstone and the Arcadia Formation, preserves a key record of terrestrial environments and faunas that have been assumed to document recovery following the end‑Permian mass extinction (EPME). The Rewan Group accumulated in a retroarc foreland basin during the Hunter–Bowen [...]