Nature Geoscience

Nature Geoscience is a monthly journal dedicated to publishing high-quality original research papers across all areas of the geosciences. The journal’s content reflects all the disciplines within the geosciences, including studies of the Earth’s climate system, the solid Earth and the planets. Nature Geoscience covers studies based on all the methods used by geoscientists, ranging from field work and numerical modelling on regional and global scales to theoretical studies and remote sensing. Physical, chemical and biological investigations that contribute to our understanding of the Earth system or the planets are all represented.

URL: http://feeds.nature.com/ngeo/rss/current

Updated: 13 weeks 10 hours ago

The rise of the Tibetan Plateau was controlled by overriding plate mantle delamination

Tue, 07/02/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 02 July 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01488-0

High-resolution numerical simulations show that subduction of the Indian plate peeled off the mantle lithosphere from the Tibetan Plateau. This process successfully explains first-order observations of the stepwise growth of the plateau, the migration of magmatism in the region and its seismic properties.

Uplift of the Tibetan Plateau driven by mantle delamination from the overriding plate

Tue, 07/02/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 02 July 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01473-7

Delamination of the lithospheric mantle from the overriding Eurasian plate below the Tibetan Plateau is consistent with topographic, magmatic and seismic observations, according to numerical simulations of the geodynamic evolution of the plateau.

Sustained increases in atmospheric oxygen and marine productivity in the Neoproterozoic and Palaeozoic eras

Tue, 07/02/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 02 July 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01479-1

Oxygen in shallow shelf waters rose linearly with atmospheric oxygen in the Neoproterozoic era, potentially driving the first radiation of marine animals, but widespread ocean oxygenation came later, according to reconstructions of oxygen levels and marine productivity.

Past Earth warmed by tidal resonance-induced organization of clouds under a shorter day

Mon, 07/01/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 01 July 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01469-3

Climate simulations suggest atmospheric tides in resonance with atmospheric waves on early Earth when days were shorter could have modified tropical convection patterns and warmed the planet despite a fainter Sun.

An extended pan-North African humid period within the warm Pliocene

Fri, 06/28/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 28 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01481-7

Climate models and paleoclimate proxy records indicate that the absence of preserved eastern Mediterranean organic-rich layers preceding mid-Pliocene glaciation is linked to a pan-North African humid period caused by a more northerly African monsoon front relative to subsequent glacials. The vegetation expansion caused by this humid phase might have influenced early hominin dispersal.

Slushy surface of Antarctic ice shelves

Thu, 06/27/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 27 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01445-x

Surface meltwater plays a key role in ice shelf stability, and consequently, Antarctica’s sea level contributions. New satellite observations suggest there is substantially more surface meltwater than previously thought, and models are underestimating it.

Substantial contribution of slush to meltwater area across Antarctic ice shelves

Thu, 06/27/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 27 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01466-6

Analysis of satellite imagery suggests that slush accounts for approximately half of the total meltwater area across Antarctic ice shelves.

Role of folding-related deformation in the seismicity of shallow accretionary prisms

Tue, 06/25/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 25 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01474-6

Folding-related brittle deformation structures in accretionary wedges may contribute to shallow seismicity in subduction zones, according to a compilation of structural evidence.

Tipping point in ice-sheet grounding-zone melting due to ocean water intrusion

Tue, 06/25/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 25 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01465-7

Modelling results suggest that ice sheets may be more vulnerable to ocean water intrusion at the grounding zone than previously thought due to a potential tipping point that leads to runaway melting.

Mid-Pliocene glaciation preceded by a 0.5-million-year North African humid period

Mon, 06/24/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 24 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01472-8

An absence of sapropels in eastern Mediterranean sediments suggests an expansion of vegetation over a relatively humid North African landscape preceding the mid-Pliocene glaciation, potentially facilitating early human migration.

Deep mantle water prefers slabs

Fri, 06/21/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 21 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01468-4

The fate of water carried by subducted slabs to the deep Earth remains unclear. Experiments suggest that water is unlikely to escape the slabs when they reach the core–mantle boundary despite high pressures and temperatures.

Global patterns of organic carbon transfer and accumulation across the land–ocean continuum constrained by radiocarbon data

Fri, 06/21/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 21 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01476-4

Machine learning analyses of global datasets of radiocarbon in river particles and coastal sediments reveal different patterns of organic carbon transfer and accumulation across the land–ocean continuum worldwide.

Retention of water in subducted slabs under core–mantle boundary conditions

Fri, 06/21/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 21 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01464-8

Water-bearing subducted slabs may not dehydrate and contribute to chemical heterogeneities at the core–mantle boundary, according to high-pressure and high-temperature melting experiments.

Holocene solar activity inferred from global and hemispherical cosmic-ray proxy records

Fri, 06/21/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 21 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01467-5

Millennial-scale trends in cosmogenic radionuclide production rates through the Holocene are largely the result of variations in geomagnetic field and not solar activity, according to an analysis of several radionuclide records and geomagnetic field models.

A reduction in aerolized ammonium in the rural USA and increased ammonia deposition near emission hotspots

Thu, 06/20/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 20 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01456-8

Chemical regimes of atmospheric secondary inorganic aerosol formation and nitrogen deposition in rural areas of the USA shifted from ammonia-sensitive to ammonia-insensitive between 2011 and 2020, according to analyses of long-term observations. These regime shifts led to a reduction in ammonium in aerosols and increased ammonia deposition near emission hotspots.

Regime shift in secondary inorganic aerosol formation and nitrogen deposition in the rural United States

Thu, 06/20/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 20 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01455-9

Chemical regimes of atmospheric secondary inorganic aerosol formation in rural areas of the United States shifted from NH3-sensitive to NH3-insensitive between 2011 and 2020, according to analyses of long-term observational data on aerosol composition and gaseous precursors.

Adapting to AI

Wed, 06/12/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 12 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01475-5

Artificial intelligence tools have the potential to revolutionize how scientists work and publish. We share our ground rules for managing the inherent risks.

Hydration multiplier

Wed, 06/12/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 12 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01463-9

A field experiment in Uganda shows how potassium and phosphorus keep leaves functioning during times of water scarcity, highlighting the need to consider ecosystem-scale processes in studying the response of forests to nutrient limitation.

Evidence for transient morning water frost deposits on the Tharsis volcanoes of Mars

Mon, 06/10/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 10 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01457-7

High-resolution spacecraft imagery has revealed transient deposits that appear in the early mornings of cold seasons at the high altitudes of the Tharsis volcanoes on Mars, consistent with water frost of atmospheric origin.

Groundwater warming

Tue, 06/04/2024 - 00:00

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 04 June 2024; doi:10.1038/s41561-024-01461-x

Ongoing climate warming is heating the subsurface. Projections suggest that by the end of the century millions of people will live in areas where groundwater exceeds the highest threshold for drinking water temperatures.