Preprints
There are 6347 Preprints listed.
A Systems-Level Approach to Extracting Oxygen from Lunar Regolith via Molten Regolith Electrolysis
Published: 2025-02-12
Subjects: Aerospace Engineering, Engineering, Other Planetary Sciences, Planetary Sciences
We present a top-level architecture for extracting up to 10 metric tonnes per year of oxygen from lunar regolith by means of Molten Regolith Electrolysis (MRE) using less than 30 kW from vertical solar arrays and a regolith excavator. This System Integration Study identifies specific technology which could be engineered together in the near term into a single system and lander provided focused [...]
Integration of Different Permeability Model Parameters for Permeability Prediction from Capillary Pressure Curves in Carbonate Reservoirs
Published: 2025-02-12
Subjects: Engineering
Permeability prediction is essential for reservoir characterization, commonly derived from core analysis and mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) data. Many conventional models, often calibrated for sandstones, are based on parameters such as porosity or specific mercury saturation points, which limits their accuracy in carbonate reservoirs due to differing rock properties. This study [...]
Airborne remote sensing of concurrent submesoscale dynamics and phytoplankton
Published: 2025-02-12
Subjects: Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology
Submesoscale dynamics can induce significant vertical fluxes of phytoplankton, nutrients, and carbon, resulting in biological and climatological impacts such as enhanced phytoplankton production, phytoplankton community shifts, and carbon export. However, resolving these dynamics is challenging due to their rapid evolution (hours to days) and small spatial scales (1-10 km) of variability. The [...]
Mid-crustal strain localisation triggered by localised fluid influx and activation of dissolution-precipitation creep
Published: 2025-02-12
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Understanding mid-crustal deformation is vital for determining the spatial and temporal distribution of strain localisation, with implications for upper-crust deformation including seismic hazard. Here, we conduct fieldwork and microstructural and minerochemical analyses on the amphibolite-facies, 100-m-wide Upper Badcall shear zone in northwest Scotland, which deforms initially anhydrous [...]
Methodological Advances in Volcanology: The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Volcano Monitoring, Modelling, and Hazard Assessment
Published: 2025-02-11
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Volcanology
This chapter explores the opportunities and challenges of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in volcanology. It starts by introducing the basic concepts of AI and ML. Then, it discusses the current and potential applications of AI and ML in volcanology, including recent advances in petrology, geophysics, remote sensing, and ground monitoring. We highlight that AI and ML [...]
Formation of Mg-silicates in the microbial sediments of a saline, mildly alkaline coastal lake (Lake Clifton, Australia): environmental versus microbiological drivers
Published: 2025-02-11
Subjects: Education
Recent interest in Mg-rich silicate formation stems from their role as valuable paleoclimatic indicators in fluvio-lacustrine environments and their insights into metal geochemical cycling. Traditionally, Mg-silicate genesis in lacustrine contexts is linked to alkaline or saline conditions in closed, evaporitic basins. However, the discovery of interparticle amorphous kerolite-like Mg-silicates [...]
Managing Smoke Risk from Wildland Fires: Northern California as a Case Study
Published: 2025-02-11
Subjects: Engineering, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Smoke fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from increasing wildfires in the western United States threatens public health. While land managers often prioritize reducing wildfire risk in the wildland-urban interface, the impact on regional air quality from mitigating wildfire spread is less explored. We develop a framework to quantify wildfire contributions to smoke exposure and assess targeted land [...]
The Role of Quaternary Spatiotemporal Gradients and Dynamic Disequilibrium in Shaping Present Neotropical Biotic Patterns
Published: 2025-02-11
Subjects: Paleontology
No abstract available
Rewetting drained boreal peatland forests does not mitigate climate warming in the 21st century
Published: 2025-02-08
Subjects: Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology, Biogeochemistry, Forest Sciences, Natural Resources and Conservation, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Sustainability
Rewetting of drained peatland forests restores ecosystem functions and improves peatland ecological status. It is also considered to mitigate climate change, yet some studies challenge this view Recently, Laine et al. (2024, Restoration Ecology, 32(7), p.e14213) considered feasible restoration outcomes of boreal forestry drained peatlands and proposed that rewetting nutrient-rich peatland forests [...]
Inclusive Qualifying Exams Toolkit
Published: 2025-02-08
Subjects: Education, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Doctoral qualifying or comprehensive exams are widely used in the earth and space sciences, yet research on assessment pervasively demonstrates that high-stakes exams are heavily biased and poor predictors of success. To address these issues and work towards broadening participation in these fields, this toolkit presents related-research and strategies for academic units looking to update their [...]
Glacially enhanced silicate weathering revealed by Holocene lake records
Published: 2025-02-08
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
How glaciation affects CO2 drawdown by chemical weathering sets the strength of the weathering-climate feedback, which controls the exogenic carbon cycle and planetary habitability (Kump et al., 2000). However, the exact role of glaciers remains elusive as glaciation alters multiple factors controlling weathering, the net effect of which is ambiguous even in directionality. While illustrative, [...]
Models of Future Food Systems Should Address Transformation Complexity and Uncertainty
Published: 2025-02-08
Subjects: Environmental Studies
Food systems face increasing, multi-dimensional pressures that demand fully integrated assessments of environmental, social, health, nutritional, and economic dimensions to inform their transformation. Food system models traditionally designed for market-driven optimisation and economic efficiency may not be well suited to address these emerging needs, limiting their ability to support decisions [...]
Reducing RES Droughts through the integration of wind and PV
Published: 2025-02-07
Subjects: Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Power and Energy
Increasing the share of electricity produced from renewable energy sources (RES), combined with RES dependence on weather, poses a critical challenge for energy systems. This study investigates the importance of the balance between wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity on periods of low renewable generation, known as RES droughts. Three different RES datasets are used to estimate the capacity [...]
Quantifying interfacial interactions between kerogen, water, and hydrocarbons across thermal maturity levels and their impact on fluid mobility
Published: 2025-02-07
Subjects: Engineering
Wettability of organic-rich mudrocks has significant impacts on multiphase fluid flow and hydrocarbon recovery. Since kerogen can constitute a significant volumetric fraction of mudrocks, the wettability of kerogen can considerably affect the wettability of organic-rich mudrocks. In a recent project, we showed using a combination of experimental methods and molecular simulation studies that [...]
Climate Extremes at the City–River Interface: Insights from the Philadelphia-Schuylkill System
Published: 2025-02-07
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Climate, Environmental Monitoring, Hydrology
Hurricane Ida struck the U.S. East Coast in August 2021, pushing the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia to a record discharge nearly 100 times larger than its average flow. As one of the most severe disasters of the 21st century, Ida exemplifies the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme hydrometeorological events under climate change. Predicting urban flood pathways remains challenging due [...]