Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Sedimentology
The Tarim Mega Impact Event: A Permian (~290 Ma) Mega-Impact Triggering Global Magmatism, the Artinskian Warming Event, and the Central Asian Arc-LIP Belt
Published: 2026-07-20
Subjects: Geochemistry, Geographic Information Sciences, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology
We propose that an oblique mega-impact by a ferronickel asteroid (~180×100×90 km, 22 km/s, incidence angle 24°) that occurred at ~290 Ma in the present-day Tarim Basin can, through the "thin-target penetration" mechanism, attempt to unify within a single physical framework: (1) the Tarim Large Igneous Province (TLIP) flood basalts; (2) the Pamir–Iran–Turkey arcuate mafic–ultramafic magmatic belt; [...]
Fluvial response and recovery after the Permo-Triassic Mass Extinction revealed through quantitative paleohydrology
Published: 2026-07-16
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geology, Geomorphology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
Anthropogenic climate change represents the greatest modern forcing on global river dynamics. Investigating the sensitivity of rivers to past climate in the geological record is thus crucial in understanding future landscapes in a warming world. The Sherwood Sandstone Group, UK, a unit of early-middle Triassic (c. 248-239 Ma) dryland fluvial deposits, records events during and after the [...]
Deep Neural Network-Based Inversion of Turbidites in Confined Basins
Published: 2026-07-11
Subjects: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Fluid Dynamics, Geology, Sedimentology
Turbidites generated by large earthquakes and other geological events are commonly preserved in small, topographically confined basins along active continental margins. Reconstructing flow conditions from these deposits is essential for assessing past hazards; however, existing inverse models have been validated only for unconfined settings, and their applicability to confined basins remains [...]
The Rise of Diamond Open Access Journals in Earth Sciences: Past Developments, Present Tensions, and Future Pathways
Published: 2026-07-08
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Cosmochemistry, Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics and Seismology, Library and Information Science, Paleontology, Planetary Sciences, Sedimentology, Tectonics and Structure, Volcanology
Over roughly the last decade, a visible, community-led Diamond Open Access (OA) ecosystem has emerged in the Earth sciences, not as a departure from tradition, but as the latest expression of a long-standing culture of open, society-supported scholarly communication. While free-to-read, fee-free publishing initiatives have deep roots in the field, predating the Diamond terminology by decades and [...]
EARLY PLIOCENE DRAWDOWN AND EXPANSION OF THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA ICE SHEET IN MARGUERITE BAY
Published: 2026-06-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Glaciology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
The Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet (APIS) is situated in a rapidly and persistently warming region of Antarctica and its behavior under warmer conditions projected for Earth’s future remains poorly constrained. Interpretations of stratigraphic records of ice-sheet change from periods of warmth in Earth’s past are essential in providing boundary conditions for estimates of future ice loss and its [...]
Post-glacial sedimentary evolution and stratigraphy of the shallow offshore areas of the Shetland Islands (UK)
Published: 2026-05-26
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 [...]
River intermittency and Eocene climate change in the Castissent and Montllobat formations of the southern Pyrenean Foreland
Published: 2026-05-08
Subjects: Geology, Geomorphology, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
Patterns of river water and sediment transport through time, or river intermittency factors, are generally considered to be highly sensitive to climate and tectonics. Determining the intermittency of rivers in ancient hothouse climates could provide a unique lens through which to investigate Earth’s response to climate change. However, this requires strong constraints on both mean and bankfull [...]
Why the Cap-Ferret sand spit is collapsing
Published: 2026-04-27
Subjects: Geomorphology, Hydrology, Oceanography, Sedimentology
The Cap-Ferret sand spit (SW France) exhibits a pattern of coastal instability that combines chronic shoreline retreat (8.7 m·yr⁻¹ at the tip, Robinet et al. 2025), sudden vertical collapses of emplaced structures (WW2 blockhaus 2024, 2026; oyster-farm sector 1936, 1977; Hortense promenade 1999, 2000, 2014, 2019), and progressive deepening of submarine pits (Hortense-Pointe depression volume [...]
Late Holocene tsunami hydrodynamics, sediment provenance and chronology from Dury Voe, Shetland Islands (UK)
Published: 2026-04-23
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Sedimentology
The Shetland Islands are one of the key sites in the Atlantic Ocean to study tsunami deposits, with three major events identified during the Holocene so far. Here, we aim to (i) reconstruct hydrodynamics of the late Holocene Dury Voe tsunami, (ii) constrain the sediment source area, and (iii) refine its age estimate. Onshore sandy deposits bracketed by thick dystrophic peat as well as marine [...]
Agent-based Modelling of Microbialite Formation through Sedimentation and Precipitation Dynamics
Published: 2026-04-13
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Other Earth Sciences, Paleobiology, Paleontology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology, Stratigraphy
Fossil microbialites resulting from the interplay of sedimentation and microbially induced precipitation are among the oldest evidence of life on Earth and help geobiologists interpret many sedimentary environments. However, the factors governing their internal structure and external morphology are still poorly understood. Additionally, abiotic processes can mimic the morphology of some [...]
Stable isotopic composition, paleoecology, and habitat of the ammonite Sphenodiscus lobatus in the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Western Interior Seaway
Published: 2026-03-04
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Paleobiology, Paleontology, Sedimentology
Despite their abundance as fossils, the life histories of ammonites are still poorly understood. We analyzed the oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) isotopic composition of well-preserved shell material taken from different growth stages of the streamlined oxyconic ammonite species Sphenodiscus lobatus from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Pierre Shale and Fox Hills Formation of South Dakota. [...]
Ichnoliths as results of authigenesis associated with aquatic animal traces
Published: 2026-02-02
Subjects: Sedimentology
Animal-made bioturbational structures modify physio-chemical conditions and biota on the sediment surface and below. The behavior of the trace makers chiefly causes such changes by sediment irrigation, mucus lining, organic matter storage, microbial gardening etc. Such traces are preferential loci for accumulation of organic material that may foster syn- to post-bioturbational mineral [...]
Global sediment transport intermittency is set by river planform
Published: 2026-01-14
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Sedimentology
Patterns of water and sediment flux in rivers are key to understanding landscape responses to environmental change. Quantifying water intermittency in rivers (from perennial to ephemeral) provides vital context for interpreting long-term hydrographs and flood frequency, yet controls on corresponding sediment intermittency are poorly understood due to measurement challenges. We present the first [...]
Liquefaction as an energetic instability of saturated granular systems – Density control and static enthalpy equilibrium
Published: 2025-12-27
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Geophysics and Seismology, Geotechnical Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering, Hydrology, Materials Science and Engineering, Mining Engineering, Other Materials Science and Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Sedimentology
Liquefaction of saturated granular materials is commonly interpreted within stress-based frameworks that rely on the existence of an intact grain skeleton. At the onset of liquefaction, however, the contact network collapses and effective stress ceases to be a meaningful state variable. This work reformulates liquefaction as an enthalpy-driven instability of the coupled grain–water system and [...]