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Microbes live under glaciers that have persisted for millions of years, without a clear energy supply. Analyses of crushed rocks suggest that interactions of glaciers with the rocks beneath can produce enough H2 to support methanogenic bacteria.
ENSO-driven rainfall patterns are set to change as the climate warms. A moisture budget decomposition of simulations from 18 climate models reveals the mechanisms driving the shift in rainfall variability from western to central Pacific.
Microbe-mediated reactions remove nitrogen from river water as it flows through sediments. Simulations of the Mississippi River network suggest that denitrification due to flow through small-scale river bedforms exceeds that along channel banks.
Progress in seasonal weather prediction outside the tropics has been slow. An analysis of observation-based meteorological data for winter 2013/2014 suggests that the upper-tropospheric components of weather systems could be useful for prediction.
The last glacial period was characterized by a series of abrupt climate changes. An analysis of bottom water chemistry in the South Atlantic suggests that the southern extent of North Atlantic Deep Water was reduced during abrupt coolings.
The last deglaciation was interrupted by a cool period known as the Younger Dryas. Numerical simulations suggest that the cold interval was the result of a combination of changes in ocean and atmospheric circulation and reduced radiative forcing.
The Tohoku earthquake ruptured a fault that also generates slow slip events. Laboratory experiments on rock samples from the fault show that this spectrum of slip behaviours is a natural consequence of shearing at slow plate-convergence rates.
Faults weaken during earthquakes. Analysis of the amount of energy released during earthquakes globally suggests that heat-induced pressurization of pore fluids can weaken faults during earthquakes of all sizes.
Following large explosive volcanic eruptions, precipitation decreases over much of the globe. An analysis of streamflow records from fifty large rivers reveals statistically significant flow reductions in some regions, but increases in others.
Some of the energy from photosynthesis is used in production of biomass. An analysis of plant productivity measurements reveals that site management is the main factor controlling how efficiently plants produce biomass, not fertility.
Ocean circulation and dynamics can alter atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Numerical modelling suggests that shifts in surface buoyancy loss and the location of upwelling can sequester CO2 in the Southern Ocean during glacial periods.
Transient streaks that appear seasonally on Martian slopes are consistent with brine flows, but evidence of water or salts has been lacking. Analysis of spectral data reveals hydrated salts associated with the streaks, confirming a briny origin.
The fate of old, recalcitrant dissolved organic carbon in oceans is unclear. Field samples show that loss during circulation in hydrothermal vents can account for the 40-million-year lifetime of recalcitrant dissolved organic carbon in oceans.
Mobile organisms first appeared in the fossil record prior to the Precambrian–Cambrian transition. Sediment textures indicate that the degree of sediment mixing by animal activity remained low for 120 million years following the transition.
More than 2 million hectares of Cambodian land have been leased to investors since 2000. Combined satellite and local records show that deforestation on leased land is 29% to 105% higher than in comparable unleased areas.
Ice streams control the discharge of ice from the interior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to the coast. A map of flow convergence suggests that ice-stream flow is subject to a mechanical regulation that limits flow-orthonormal strain rates.
Fires are used to clear tropical forests. Satellite measurements and simulations show that reductions in deforestation and associated fires in Brazil have reduced emissions of particulate matter, preventing between 400 and 1,700 deaths annually.
Alpine topography in Europe has been shaped by recent glaciations. Cosmogenic dating of summits in Svalbard suggest that Arctic alpine topography is a million years old and that subsequent glaciations have preserved rather than eroded the landscape.
Magma in Earth’s crust is in a crystal-rich mushy state, yet must be fluidized before eruptions. Numerical simulations show that rapid injection of new magma into a reservoir creates a mixing bowl of fluid and crystals that are able to erupt.