Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Geology
Geochemical variability as an indicator for large volume eruptions in volcanic arcs
Published: 2021-11-17
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Volcanology
Caldera-forming eruptions have the potential to impact global climate and induce drastic socioeconomic change. However, the criteria to identify volcanoes capable of producing large magnitude eruptions in the future are not well constrained. Here we compile and analyse data, revealing that volcanoes which have produced catastrophic caldera-forming eruptions in the past, typically show larger [...]
An optimization method for paleomagnetic Euler pole analysis
Published: 2021-11-15
Subjects: Geology, Geophysics and Seismology
Owing to the axial symmetry of the Earth’s magnetic field, paleomagnetic data only directly record the latitudinal and azimuthal positions of crustal blocks in the past, and paleolongitude cannot be constrained. An ability to overcome this obstacle is thus of fundamental importance to paleogeographic reconstruction. Paleomagnetic Euler pole (PEP) analysis presents a unique means to recover such [...]
Plagioclase archives of depleted melts in the oceanic crust
Published: 2021-11-15
Subjects: Geochemistry, Geology
Mid-ocean ridge and ocean island basalts provide vital but incomplete insights into mantle chemistry. For example, high-anorthite plagioclase is generally too refractory and incompatible-element depleted to have crystallized from the melts that carry it to the surface. Moreover, erupted basalts rarely preserve the extreme isotopic and incompatible-element depletions found in some primitive melt [...]
Rare allanite in granulitised eclogites constrains timing of eclogite to granulite facies transition in the Bhutan Himalaya
Published: 2021-11-15
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Tectonics and Structure
During continental collision, crustal rocks are buried, deformed, transformed and exhumed. The rates, timescales and tectonic implications of these processes are determined by linking geochemical, geochronological and microstructural data from metamorphic rock-forming and accessory minerals. Exposures of lower orogenic crust provide important insights into orogenic evolution, but are rare in [...]
Streamlined subglacial bedform sensitivity to bed characteristics across the deglaciated Northern Hemisphere
Published: 2021-11-10
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Glaciology
Streamlined subglacial bedforms observed in deglaciated landscapes provide the opportunity to assess the sensitivity of glacier dynamics to bed characteristics across broader spatiotemporal scales than is possible for contemporary glacial systems. While many studies of streamlined subglacial bedforms rely on manual mapping and qualitative (i.e., visual) assessment, we semi-automatically identify [...]
Nonlinear time series analysis of palaeoclimate proxy records
Published: 2021-11-08
Subjects: Applied Statistics, Climate, Dynamic Systems, Earth Sciences, Geology, Longitudinal Data Analysis and Time Series, Multivariate Analysis, Non-linear Dynamics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
Identifying and characterising dynamical regime shifts, critical transitions or potential tipping points in palaeoclimate time series is relevant for improving the understanding of often highly nonlinear Earth system dynamics. Beyond linear changes in time series properties such as mean, variance, or trend, these nonlinear regime shifts can manifest as changes in signal predictability, [...]
Subsurface temperature from seismic reflections: application to the post break up sequence offshore Namibia
Published: 2021-11-05
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology
Accurate estimations of present-day subsurface temperatures are of critical importance to the energy industry, in particular with regards to geothermal energy and petroleum exploration. In frontier basins, the subsurface temperature regime can give an indication of the hydrocarbon potential of source horizons. The Lüderitz Basin, offshore Namibia, is a frontier deep water basin located on a [...]
Mesophotic Depth Biogenic Accumulations (“Biogenic Mounds”) Offshore the Maltese Islands, Central Mediterranean Sea
Published: 2021-10-28
Subjects: Geology, Geomorphology, Other Earth Sciences, Other Environmental Sciences
The mesophotic domain is a poorly explored part of the oceans, notably in the Mediterranean Sea. Benthic communities in these depths are not well documented and as such are under higher risk from anthropogenic impacts. Hard substrate habitats in this depth window are not common and are a key ecotope. The Malta Plateau in the central Mediterranean, which is characterized by low sedimentation [...]
A 18,000 yr record of tropical land temperature, convective activity and rainfall seasonality from the maritime continent
Published: 2021-10-27
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Climate, Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Planetary Hydrology
The maritime continent exports an enormous amount of heat and moisture to the rest of the globe via deep atmospheric convection. How this export has changed through time during the last deglacial period and through the Holocene, is hardly known yet critical for the understanding of global climate dynamics. Here we present a continuous paleoclimate record from southern Thailand covering the last [...]
Reproducibility in subsurface geoscience
Published: 2021-10-26
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Cosmochemistry, Earth Sciences, Environmental Education, Environmental Health and Protection, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Glaciology, Hydrology, Mineral Physics, Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resources and Conservation, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Other Earth Sciences, Other Environmental Sciences, Paleobiology, Paleontology, Sedimentology, Soil Science, Speleology, Stratigraphy, Sustainability, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology, Water Resource Management
Reproducibility, the extent to which consistent results are obtained when an experiment or study is repeated, sits at the foundation of science. The aim of this process is to produce robust findings and knowledge, with reproducibility being the screening tool to benchmark how well we are implementing the scientific method. However, the re-examination of results from many disciplines has caused [...]
Sharp-based, mixed carbonate-siliciclastic shallow-marine deposits (upper Miocene, Betic Cordillera, Spain): the record of ancient transgressive shelf ridges?
Published: 2021-10-23
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
Isolated sharp-based sedimentary bodies in shelf settings can develop via the reworking of regressive deposits during transgressions. An example of these are shelf ridges, formed under a wide range of processes, and widely studied due to their high reservoir potential. However, there is still a lack of examples in mixed (carbonate-siliciclastic) successions. This study presents an outcrop example [...]
SAR data and field surveys combination to update rainfall-induced shallow landslides inventory
Published: 2021-10-22
Subjects: Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Environmental Monitoring, Geology
The Campania region has been recurrently hit by severe landslides in volcanoclastic deposits. The city of Naples, and in particular the Camaldoli and Agnano hills, also suffered several landslide crises in weathered volcanoclastic rocks as a consequence of intense rainfalls or wildfires. This work provides an updated landslide database for the suburbs of Naples. The obtained database consists of [...]
Improving the reliability of Fe- and S-XANES measurements in silicate glasses: Correcting beam damage and identifying Fe-oxide nanolites in hydrous and anhydrous melt inclusions
Published: 2021-10-19
Subjects: Geochemistry, Geology, Mineral Physics, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Volcanology
The redox state of silicate melts influences crystallization, element partitioning, and degassing behavior. Synchrotron-based micro-X-ray absorption near edge structure (μXANES) spectroscopy has emerged as a powerful tool for determining redox conditions through the direct measurement of speciation of multivalent elements such as iron and sulfur in silicate glasses. In particular, the high [...]
Foraminiferal Analysis of Holocene Sea Level Rise within the Trinity River Incised Paleo-Valley, Offshore Galveston Bay, Texas
Published: 2021-10-06
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Paleontology
Sea-level is expected to continue to rise in the next century, and as society prepares to deal with this hazard it is critically important to understand how coastal systems will respond, especially in regions with rapid rates of coastal erosion and relative sea-level rise like the Gulf of Mexico Texas coast. Tide gauge records in Galveston Bay, Texas, indicate that local sea level rise rates are [...]
Seismic and Acoustic Monitoring of Submarine Landslides: Ongoing Challenges, Recent Successes and Future Opportunities
Published: 2021-10-04
Subjects: Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Oceanography, Sedimentology
Submarine landslides pose a hazard to coastal communities due to the tsunamis they can generate, and can damage critical seafloor infrastructure, such as the network of cables that underpin global data transfer and communications. These mass movements can be orders of magnitude larger than their onshore equivalents and are found on all of the world’s continental margins; from coastal zones to [...]