News & Views in 2023

Megathrust earthquakes along subduction zones present significant hazards. Evidence from the South Chile subduction zone suggests that the structure and fluid distribution of the megathrust interface governs the size and timing of large earthquakes.

Marine microfossil assemblages refine sea surface temperature patterns and yield insights into discrepancies between paleoclimate models of the last ice age and observations.

Three decades of meteorological observations show that Himalayan glaciers have been cooling because of intensified downslope winds, in contrast to the warming observed elsewhere in the region.

A geochemical study of an ancient mass-extinction event shows that only moderate expansion of oxygen-deficient waters along continental margins is needed to decimate marine biodiversity. This finding provides a stark warning of the possible consequences of human-driven ocean deoxygenation on life in Earth’s shallow oceans.

Identifying the metal micronutrients required by early life could help to illuminate how primitive organisms arose, but which metals were biologically available in ancient seawater has not been determined. A new experimental framework suggests how the precipitation of iron minerals from seawater reduced the availability of key metals, particularly zinc, copper and vanadium.

Measurements from a yearlong drift in sea ice across the Central Arctic show that large amounts of fine sea salt particles are produced during blowing snow events, affecting cloud properties and warming the surface.

The chemical signatures of granitic continental crust from the earliest Archean are consistent with formation during subduction, indicating some form of plate tectonics was active at the time.

Improving air quality by reducing atmospheric aerosols can bring valuable health benefits, but also generally leads to warming. Now, research suggests that in cleaner air the local cooling effect of planting trees may be stronger in middle and low latitude regions.

Two decades of measurements across large Arctic rivers reveal unexpectedly divergent biogeochemical changes that have important implications for the Arctic Ocean. This calls for an improved understanding of current disruptions over the boundless Arctic landscape.

A 3-year field experiment suggests plant responses to elevated CO₂ in phosphorus-limited grasslands depends on the biogeochemical interplay between soil microbes and plants.

The chemical weathering of silicate rocks plays a central role in stabilizing our climate through CO₂ drawdown. Li isotopic evidence from a prolonged Eocene warming event suggests clay formation may disrupt this feedback on intermediate timescales.

Deciphering the contribution of mantle convection to Earth’s surface elevation remains challenging, but it may have a dominant influence on mountain-building at subduction zones, according to a new study reconstructing the topographic evolution of Calabria.

High pressures may have enabled ferric iron-rich silicate melts to coexist with iron metal near the base of magma oceans early in the history of large rocky planets like Earth. This suggests a relatively oxygen-rich atmosphere during the late stages of core formation on these planets.

NASA’s DART mission showed how a kinetic impact can be deployed to enhance the momentum change of a near-Earth asteroid while giving us the first up-close view of a binary asteroid system.

Deep overturning circulation in the North Atlantic strongly influences the global climate system. Combined proxy record compilations and modelling refine our understanding of the behaviour of this circulation over the last 20,000 years.

The Montreal Protocol has successfully guided the world’s transition from chlorofluorcarbons that deplete ozone to hydrofluorocarbons that pose no direct threat to the ozone layer. A study suggests that a recent rise in atmospheric chlorofluorcarbons is linked to the inadvertent release of these gases during the production of hydrofluorocarbons.

A field-based study of 4.5 years of whole-soil warming reveals that warming stimulates loss of structurally complex organic carbon at the same rate as that for bulk organic carbon in subsoil.

The devastating intensity of exceptional floods in some rivers can be anticipated, and surprisingly traces back to the river basins themselves, rather than the amount of rain they receive.

The El Niño Southern Oscillation strongly impacts climate, but its variability remains difficult to predict. A conceptual model based on shifting circulation patterns offers a simple explanation for this complex behaviour.

Long-lasting eruptions of some subduction zone volcanoes may be regulated by their magma sources in the mantle. This suggests that direct connections between the mantle and surface are possible through a relatively thick crust.