Preprints
There are 6976 Preprints listed.
Unified Cross-Modal Learning for Hydrological Processes Using Multi-Task Transformer Framework
Published: 2025-10-31
Subjects: Environmental Engineering, Environmental Monitoring, Hydraulic Engineering, Hydrology, Water Resource Management
Most deep learning studies in hydrology adopt single-task frameworks that address individual variables such as rainfall or streamflow independently, limiting opportunities for shared learning across related environmental processes. This study introduces a unified multi-task, multi-modal deep learning framework capable of jointly performing 24-hour horizon streamflow forecasting and rainfall [...]
Hidden in plain sight? Some challenges and needs for practical planetary biosignature exploration, both home and away-A Mini-Review.
Published: 2025-11-02
Subjects: Biogeochemistry, Other Earth Sciences, Other Planetary Sciences, Paleobiology, Planetary Biogeochemistry, Planetary Geochemistry
Identifying organic molecular biosignatures for life is challenging. Most current analytical methods were developed on Earth sediments rich in total organic carbon (TOC), and these methods struggle when dilute organic matter is situated within reactive, mineralogically complex astrobiological samples. Diverse geological alteration processes degrade biomarker signals, often concealing some [...]
Nature’s role in national security
Published: 2025-11-01
Subjects: Aquaculture and Fisheries Life Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Health and Protection, Environmental Studies, Marine Biology, Natural Resources and Conservation, Natural Resources Management and Policy
The ability of a nation to protect its citizens, institutions, and interests from domestic and foreign threats is one of the foundational responsibilities of any government. However, the ability of sovereign nations to ensure national security for their citizens and institutions has been increasingly challenged by various forms of anthropogenic global change. While the link between climate change [...]
Unexpected canopy gain in Earth’s mangrove forests linked to natural expansion and regrowth
Published: 2025-11-02
Subjects: Forest Sciences
Mangroves have disappeared rapidly due to deforestation and sea-level rise but can also recover through natural regrowth and restoration. However, their long-term trajectory in area and canopy cover remains highly uncertain. By developing a global mangrove canopy density dataset, we show that mangrove loss (conversion to other land uses) and degradation (reduction in canopy density) have been [...]
Factors Affecting Aboveground Carbon Storage in Mixed Oak-Pine Forests: A Multiple Regression Analysis of Southeastern U.S. Forest Inventory Data
Published: 2025-11-02
Subjects: Applied Statistics, Climate, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment, Environmental Sciences, Forest Biology, Forest Management, Multivariate Analysis, Natural Resources and Conservation, Plant Sciences, Statistical Models
This study investigated the factors affecting aboveground carbon storage in mixed oak-pine forests of the southeastern United States, with a particular focus on the influence of stand age. Using data from 946 Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plots collected from 2009 to 2019, a multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the relative importance of various forest and topographic [...]
Bending the Sierra Madre Oriental: A Paleocene Orocline
Published: 2025-11-02
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Tectonics and Structure
The Sierra Madre Oriental belt of the Mexican thin-skinned fold-and-thrust belt, which formed during the Late Cretaceous due to the subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath North America, exhibits a pronounced curvature of approximately 100°, concave to the southwest. A recent paleomagnetic study in Jurassic rocks has classified the curvature of the Sierra Madre Oriental as an orocline. However, [...]
Two-thirds of new fossil fuel infrastructure targets critical ecosystems, elevating health risks for millions
Published: 2025-11-12
Subjects: Environmental Sciences
While the fossil fuel industry’s role in driving climate change is well established, the elevated risks to fenceline communities and critical ecosystems remain underexplored at a global scale, limited to a handful of prior coarse assessments. Here we map over 18,000 operating fossil fuel facilities across 170 countries, and assess their placement in surrounding populations and ecosystems, [...]
Modelling the transport and dispersion of volcanic co-PDC ash clouds using NAME: an evaluation of source geometry and mass eruption rate
Published: 2025-11-03
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Volcanology
Pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) are gravity currents that frequently form during explosive volcanic eruptions. These ground-hugging density currents consist of high-temperature mixtures of pyroclasts (e.g., ash, pumice), lithics, and gas. They have the potential to generate co-PDC plumes, which detach from the underlying PDC as they buoyantly rise into the atmosphere. Co-PDC plumes, composed [...]
Biases due to widespread use of low-cost sensors for urban heat stress assessments
Published: 2025-11-06
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Urban heat stress is an area of critical research interest due to its relevance for public health and policy. Given the lack of operational-grade weather stations within cities, different types of low-cost sensors have been used to assess urban heat stress. However, these sensors are traditionally not designed for capturing fine scale differences in temperature and humidity (i.e., the main [...]
Why are farmers in South India shifting from conventional ‘Green Revolution’ agriculture to natural farming? A mixed-methods study
Published: 2025-11-04
Subjects: Environmental Studies
Introduction: The Green Revolution contributed to significant increases in crop production and yield in India. However, it also resulted in negative social and environmental consequences. In response, alternative farming practices have emerged which are based on agroecological principles, such as natural farming. In the recent years government policies at state and national level are also [...]
A Two-Stage Fitting Method for Truncated Stem Diameter Distributions
Published: 2025-11-06
Subjects: Applied Statistics, Forest Management, Statistical Methodology, Statistical Models
Stem diameter distributions underpin growth projections, harvest scheduling, and carbon accounting, yet permanent sample plot inventories are routinely truncated by merchantability limits and maximum expected diameters. The accepted remedy is to fit truncated versions of the desired density, but those forms are seldom documented or supported in common software, so practitioners often default to [...]
Multi-Agent Geophysical AI Workflow for Automated Reservoir Characterization
Published: 2025-11-07
Subjects: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Computational Engineering, Computer Sciences, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Geophysics and Seismology
Traditional geophysical workflows like reservoir characterization are driven in a collaborative manner where teams of geoscientists share their individual analyses to inform key decisions made by executives. However, these workflows are repetitive, time-consuming, prone to human error, and introduce subjective bias. While researchers have used automation to address these limitations via deep [...]
From clay raw materials to ceramics: mineralogical and geochemical markers for assessing refinement technologies and provenance in north-western Tuscany (Italy)
Published: 2026-05-15
Subjects: Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Understanding the provenance and selection of ceramic raw materials is essential for reconstructing past technological practices and production networks. Twenty-four clay outcrops from geological formations and deposits located near documented production sites in north-western Tuscany (Italy) were sampled, refined into experimental briquettes, and fired. The samples were characterised using a [...]
A snag for nutrient fertilization: decoupled production and export
Published: 2026-03-28
Subjects: Earth Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Sciences, Life Sciences, Marine Biology, Microbiology, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Interest in nutrient fertilization waned after inconclusive field experiments, but has resurged. Collating Southern Ocean \textit{in-situ} observations and available fertilization simulations, we find phytoplankton primary production and organic carbon export are uncorrelated in the largest high-nutrient-low-chlorophyll (HNLC) region, while model estimates cast doubt on realistic deployments [...]
A proof-of-stake blockchain framework for transparent climate data verification
Published: 2025-11-06
Subjects: Environmental Sciences
Trust in climate data remains a significant barrier to effective climate action. Skepticism about data manipulation and politicization reduces confidence and hinders evidence-based policy. Existing climate data systems lack transparent verification and accessible analytical tools, limiting accountability and stakeholder engagement. This study presents a reproducible framework that applies [...]