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A widespread biotic turnover occurred around the time of the Sturtian glaciation. Microfossil analyses show that one regional extinction pre-dates the glacial advance, challenging the more severe models for glacial effects in the Neoproterozoic era.
Millions of people in southern Asia rely on arsenic-contaminated groundwater to live. Massive water withdrawals through wells may be increasing the problem by drawing arsenic-mobilizing substances into shallow aquifers and arsenic-contaminated shallow groundwaters into deeper aquifers.
Ice clouds significantly affect the Earth's radiative forcing, but which particles lie at the core of the ice crystals is a matter of debate. In-flight spectroscopy suggests that biogenic materials contribute to ice formation in clouds.
The lack of strong splitting of seismic shear waves below central Nevada is in marked contrast to the surrounding region. Seismic data and numerical experiments suggest that a skinny, cylindrical drip of lithosphere may be to blame.
The complex three-dimensional structure of the Earth's solid inner core reveals how it has grown through time. Numerical simulations of the solidification process suggest that part of this structure has resulted from recent tectonic activity.
Remnants of the Laurentide ice sheet lasted until about 7,000 years ago. Climate simulations show that they caused the multimillennial delay between maximum early Holocene solar radiation and temperatures evident in Northern Hemisphere proxy records.
Iron can stimulate productivity in many regions of the world ocean, but only if it exists in a readily dissolvable form. Chemical analyses of typical aerosol particles show that the mineralogy of iron-containing particles largely determines their solubility.
Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen can, but does not always, speed up the sequestration of carbon in trees and forest soil. This complexity may arise from the spatial variations in each of the three mechanisms by which nitrogen affects carbon storage.
Climate model simulations do not perfectly match observations of Arctic sea-ice decline. Nevertheless, by combining models, observations and physical reasoning, it can be predicted that September sea ice is likely to vanish before the end of the twenty-first century.
Most of the dust in Antarctic ice cores originates in the glacial outwash of Patagonia. Sedimentary evidence suggests that during the last glacial period, pro-glacial lakes provided an on/off switch for the dust flux to Antarctica.
The timing of the earliest production of oxygen by photosynthesis is hotly debated. Haematite crystals from Pilbara, Australia, may provide evidence for a deep ocean that was at least occasionally oxygenated by photosynthetic microbes 3.46 billion years ago.
The enhanced Arctic warming over the past three decades is attracting much attention. Combining forward and inverse models with observations suggests that regional changes in aerosol concentrations have contributed significantly.
Volcanic rocks at island arcs can show characteristics of the subducting oceanic plate. The isotopic signature of rocks at the Izu-Bonin arc in the northwest Pacific suggest the presence of Indian-type rather than Pacific-type oceanic crust.
The vast Thaumasia plateau on Mars is fringed by extensive zones of deformation. Topographic and structural analysis suggests that the plateau may have slipped in a massive landslide, deforming its margins in the process.
