Preprints
There are 4714 Preprints listed.
Modelling lateral meltwater flow and superimposed ice formation atop Greenland's near-surface ice slabs
Published: 2023-10-02
Subjects: Glaciology, Hydrology
At high elevations on the Greenland ice sheet meltwater percolates and refreezes in place, and hence does not contribute to mass loss. However, meltwater generation and associated surface runoff is occurring from increasingly higher altitudes, causing changes in firn stratigraphy that have led to the presence of near-surface ice slabs. These ice slabs force meltwater to flow laterally instead of [...]
Contemporary and Relic Waters Strongly Decoupled in Arid Alpine Environments
Published: 2023-10-02
Subjects: Other Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Deciphering the dominant controls on interconnections between groundwater, surface water, and climate is critical to understanding water cycles in arid environments, yet persistent uncertainties in the fundamental hydrology of these systems remain. The growing demand for critical minerals such as lithium and associated water demands in these arid environments has amplified the urgency to address [...]
The Holocene to Modern Fraser River Delta, Canada: Geological History, Processes, Deposits, and Natural Hazards
Published: 2023-10-01
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The Fraser River Delta (FRD) is a major sedimentary system and is home to one of Canada’s largest metropolitan areas, Metro Vancouver. It is also an ecologically important region that is culturally significant to several First Nations groups. In this review, we summarize the state of knowledge about the geological evolution of the FRD and link hydrodynamic processes with sedimentary products [...]
Thermo-hydraulic analysis of desiccation cracked soil strata considering ground temperature and moisture dynamics under the influence of soil-atmosphere interactions
Published: 2023-09-27
Subjects: Engineering
Global warming and climate change significantly affect ground temperature and flow patterns. Moreover, areas prone to cracking experience intensified temperature and moisture variations. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate ground temperature and moisture dynamics considering soil-atmosphere interaction through a coupled thermo-hydraulic analysis. Heat transfer, advective, and [...]
Benthic habitat mapping: A review of three decades of mapping biological patterns on the seafloor
Published: 2023-09-26
Subjects: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
What is benthic habitat mapping, how is it accomplished, and how has that changed over time? We query the published literature to answer these questions and synthesize the results quantitatively to provide a comprehensive review of the field over the past three decades. Categories of benthic habitat maps are differentiated unambiguously by the response variable (i.e., the subject being mapped) [...]
Revisiting oxygen-18 and clumped isotopes in planktic and benthic foraminifera
Published: 2023-09-26
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences
Foraminiferal isotopes are widely used to study past oceans, with different species recording conditions at different depths. Their δ18O values record both seawater oxygen-18 and temperature according to species-specific fractionation factors, while their Δ47 signatures likely depend only on temperature. We describe an open-source framework to collect/combine data relevant to foraminiferal [...]
The Balanced Billion
Published: 2023-09-26
Subjects: Earth Sciences
There is a mid-Proterozoic stretch of Earth’s history (roughly 1.9–0.9 Ga) called, non-affectionately, the “boring billion”. The moniker was first inspired several decades ago by the apparent absence of any significant carbon isotope anomalies and was linked to the relatively “boring” interval in between Earth’s broadly two-step pattern in atmospheric oxygenation. However, in light of (i) the [...]
Combined genomic and imaging techniques show intense arsenic enrichment caused by detoxification in a microbial mat of the Dead Sea shore
Published: 2023-09-26
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Life Sciences, Geochemistry, Paleobiology
Microbial mats and microbialites are essential tools for reconstructing early life and its environments. To better understand microbial trace element cycling, a microbial mat was collected from the sinkhole systems of the western shores of the Dead Sea, a dynamic environment exhibiting diverse extreme environments. Intense arsenic enrichment (up to 6.5 million times higher than current water [...]
Reliability of Raman analyses of CO2-dominated fluid inclusions as a rapid barometer at Kīlauea
Published: 2023-09-26
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Interpreting signals of volcanic unrest requires knowledge of the architecture of the magmatic system, particularly the depths at which magmas are stored. Such information can also be vital to help predict changes in eruptive style and vigour. However, popular petrological tools to assess magma storage depths (e.g., melt inclusions) are costly, present large uncertainties, and are too slow for [...]
Reproducing the Mid-Piacenzian Warm Period Climate in the 2020s.
Published: 2023-09-25
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The current expectation of climatologists is that levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases, such as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), will correspond, in the 2020s, to an increase in mean annual global near-surface atmospheric temperature of less than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial Holocene norm (1750 baseline; atmospheric CO2 = 278 ppm). This paper will argue, [...]
No respite from permafrost-thaw impacts in absence of a global tipping point
Published: 2023-09-25
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Climate, Earth Sciences, Geomorphology, Hydrology, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Arctic permafrost, the largest non-seasonal component of Earth’s cryosphere, contains a significant climate-sensitive carbon pool. Its potential for loss due to climatic changes leading to a global tipping point, where thawing accelerates with disproportionate impacts, remains debated. Here, we provide an integrative perspective on this question, building on a cross-disciplinary meta-analysis of [...]
Space-time data-driven modeling of precipitation-induced shallow landslides in South Tyrol, Italy
Published: 2023-09-25
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Shallow landslides represent potentially damaging processes in mountain areas worldwide. These geomorphic processes are usually caused by a combination of predisposing, preparatory, and triggering environmental factors. At regional scales, data-driven methods have been used to model shallow landslides by addressing the spatial and temporal components separately. So far, few studies have explored [...]
Accuracy of UAV mapping of Natura 2000 forest, wetland and grassland habitats: Do we need more seasons or more spectral bands?
Published: 2023-09-22
Subjects: Biodiversity, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Research Methods in Life Sciences
Mapping and monitoring of Natura 2000 habitats (Habitat Directive 92/43/EEC) is one of the key activities to ensure the protection of natural habitats in Europe. Remote sensing can help to acquire high-quality maps of the distribution and conservation status of Natura 2000 habitats, for example through classifying multispectral data. However, due to the high number of habitats (classes) [...]
Omnivariant Generalized Least Squares Regression: Theory, Geochronological Applications, and Making the Case for Reconciled Δ47 calibrations
Published: 2023-09-22
Subjects: Applied Mathematics, Earth Sciences, Geochemistry
Least-squares regression methods are mathematically powerful, conceptually and computationally simple, and widely used in many fields. However, none of the commonly-used flavors of least-squares regression, such as York regression or Generalized Least Squares (GLS), take into account the full set of covariances between all observed (x,y) values. Here we describe the Omnivariant Generalized Least [...]
Komatiites: their geochemistry and origins
Published: 2023-09-22
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Komatiites are ultra-hot ultramafic lavas, largely restricted to the Archaean. They represent an extreme endmember of terrestrial magmatism and challenge our understanding of how mantle melting operates. We briefly introduce this compositionally diverse group of lavas and critically evaluate constraints on their formation. Despite evidence for moderate water contents in some komatiites, the vast [...]