Preprints
There are 6976 Preprints listed.
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 [...]
Reliability of Raman analyses of CO2-dominated fluid inclusions as a rapid barometer at Kīlauea
Published: 2023-09-25
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 [...]
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 [...]
Spaceborne assessment of the Soviet Union's role in the 1990s methane slowdown
Published: 2023-10-03
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Oil, Gas, and Energy, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Methane is the second most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas, amounting to 60% of the radiative forcing from CO2 since pre-industrial times based on emitted compound. Global atmospheric methane concentrations rose by 10-15 ppb/yr in the 1980s before abruptly slowing to 2-8 ppb/yr in the early 1990s. This period in the 1990s is known as the ``methane slowdown'' and has been attributed to the [...]
Flight quotas outperform focused mitigation strategies in reducing the carbon footprint of academic travel
Published: 2023-10-02
Subjects: Sustainability
The carbon footprint of academia has become a prominent concern and a burgeoning research area, with a notable focus on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from research-related travels. Mitigation strategies often promote alternatives, such as developing virtual communication or adopting sustainable transportation modes for short distances. While more ambitious strategies involving the transformation [...]
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 [...]
Revisiting the 2015 Mw=8.3 Illapel earthquake: Unveiling complex fault slip properties using Bayesian inversion.
Published: 2023-10-02
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The 2015 moment magnitude Mw=8.3 Illapel earthquake is the largest mega-thrust earthquake that has been recorded along the Chilean subduction zone since the 2010 M_W=8.8 Maule earthquake. Previous studies indicate a rupture propagation from the hypocenter to shallower parts of the fault, with a maximum slip varying from 10 to 16 meters. The amount of shallow slip differs dramatically between [...]
Temporal and Spatial Satellite Data Augmentation for Deep Learning-Based Rainfall Nowcasting
Published: 2023-10-03
Subjects: Atmospheric Sciences, Climate, Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Climate change has been associated with alterations in precipitation patterns and increased vulnerability to floods and droughts. The need for improvements in forecasting and monitoring approaches has become imperative due to flash floods and severe flooding. Rainfall prediction is a challenging but critical issue owing to the complexity of atmospheric processes, the spatial and temporal [...]
Lower-Crustal Normal Faulting and Lithosphere Rheology in the Atlas Foreland
Published: 2023-10-02
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Earthquakes beneath the foreland basins of the Andes and Tibet follow a simple pattern, with normal-faulting events from 0--20 km depth and reverse-faulting events from 30--50 km depth. The switch in faulting style with depth suggests that the elastic stresses generated by flexure within these forelands are large enough to break faults, with opposite senses of horizontal strain either side of a [...]
Clarifying the trophic state concept to advance freshwater science, management, and interdisciplinary collaboration across spatial and temporal scales
Published: 2023-10-03
Subjects: Biology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
For over a century, ecologists have used the concept of trophic state (TS) to characterize an aquatic ecosystem’s biological productivity. Because measuring productivity can be challenging within an ecosystem and across landscapes, multiple TS classification schemes, each relying on a variety of proxies for productivity, have emerged to meet use-specific needs. Most commonly, chlorophyll a, [...]
Persistent Global Greening Over the Last Four Decades Using Novel Long-term Vegetation Index Data with Enhanced Temporal Consistency
Published: 2023-10-02
Subjects: Engineering
Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite observations have provided the longest global daily records from the 1980s, but the remaining temporal inconsistency in vegetation index datasets has hindered reliable assessment of vegetation greenness trends. To tackle this, we generated novel global long-term Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Near-Infrared Reflectance [...]
Complementary classifications of aeolian dunes based on morphology, dynamics, and fluid mechanics
Published: 2023-10-03
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Fluid Dynamics, Geomorphology, Other Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Physics, Planetary Geomorphology, Planetary Sciences, Sedimentology
Dunes form where winds blow over a bed of mobile sediment grains – conditions that are common in our solar system. On Earth, dunes abound in arid continental interiors and along sandy coastlines. Dune fields have also been recognized on Venus, Mars, Saturn's moon Titan, and Pluto. In response to the different boundary conditions and other environmental forcings, dunes adopt a rich diversity [...]
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 [...]
Geological evidence confirms the staircase patterns of Earth’s rotation deceleration from the Neoproterozoic to the Mesozoic Era
Published: 2023-10-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences
Due to tidal dissipation, the Earth’s rotation has been slowing down, but the past rates of this process remain subject of debate. Here we conducted a comprehensive cyclostratigraphic analysis of eight geological datasets to further constrain the Earth's rotation history from the Neoproterozoic to Mesozoic. Our results allow us to further test theoretical physical tidal models, and support a [...]