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A period of continental aridification and ecosystem change occurred about seven million years ago. A global sea surface temperature reconstruction identifies cooling temperatures and a strengthened meridional temperature gradient at this time.
Buoyant continental crust is thought to resist subduction. Calculation of the crustal mass balance during the collision between India and Eurasia indicates that about 50% of pre-collisional continental crust has been subducted into the mantle.
International trade links regions of production and consumption. Analyses with a multiregional input–output model based on trade data reveal that much of East Asia’s aerosol radiative forcing is tied to consumption in developed countries.
The Himalaya grow as the Indian Plate is thrust beneath Tibet. Analysis of surface deformation caused by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake suggests slip on smaller-scale faults at the foot of the high Himalaya help build Earth’s highest peaks.
Rivers crossing zones of active uplift can bevel broad alluvial platforms. Experiments suggest that competition between lateral channel mobility and uplift rate controls the ability of a river to flatten the landscape.
The origin of large-scale mantle heterogeneities remains enigmatic. Experiments show that different oxygen fugacities lead to density differences in lower-mantle materials, which lead to a heterogeneously oxidized mantle in simulations.
Subduction zones consume seafloor carbonates. Laboratory experiments on carbonate fault gouge from the Costa Rican subduction zone show that carbonates weaken with increasing temperature and pore-fluid pressure, and may nucleate earthquakes.
European summer temperatures are controlled by multiple factors. A climate reconstruction for the past millennium shows that temperature differences between the north and the south reflect internal variability in storm tracks and cloud cover.
The dwarf planet Ceres is thought to have an ice-rich layer in its shallow subsurface. The morphologies of craters, however, suggest little relaxation by viscous flow has occurred and instead indicate a subsurface that is less than 40% ice.
Mantle flow beneath mid-ocean ridges was thought to respond passively to plate motions. Analysis of seismic data from ridges reveals a skew between the directions of plate motion and mantle flow, implying mantle flow may stress the plates.
Distinguishing convective and stratiform rainfall is key to understanding how the water cycle responds to climate change. An analysis of satellite and surface data shows that rain isotope ratios reflect the proportions of these types of rain.
Soil carbon concentrations are sensitive to climate warming. Pairs of measurements of forest soil carbon stocks in the German Alps reveal that topsoil carbon concentrations declined as air temperatures rose between 1976 and 2011.
The fate of the Indian plate during collision with Asia is debated. Seismic images of the western Himalaya reveal large-scale thrust faults that transfer Indian crust upwards, into the overriding Asian plate.
Unlike the Arctic, the Southern Ocean has shown little warming. An analysis of observations and numerical simulations suggests that Southern Ocean warming patterns are shaped by meridional overturning more than surface heating.
Mantle flow causes Earth’s surface to uplift and subside. Global analysis of dynamically generated topography suggests that temperature-induced, small-scale mantle flow has a bigger influence on surface topography than large-scale mantle flow.
The configurations of the ancient supercontinents are poorly known. Analysis of the ages of giant magma intrusions that affected both Siberia and Laurentia shows that the two continents were connected, possibly for as long as 1.2 billion years.
Coastlines above subduction zones often uplift over geological timescales. Analysis of landscape evolution and seismicity at the central Andean margin suggests that earthquakes on the deep plate interface help build up coastal topography.
Extreme summer temperatures are difficult to forecast. A statistical analysis reveals a pattern of Pacific sea surface temperature anomalies that provides skilful predictions of hot weather in the eastern US.
Some rockfalls occur without obvious triggers such as seismicity or freeze–thaw conditions. Temperature and deformation patterns on a granite cliff suggest that cyclical thermal forcing can progressively open fractures and trigger rockfalls.
Carbon release rates during the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum are difficult to constrain. Comparing relative rates of carbon cycle and climate change at the event’s onset suggests emissions were much slower than anthropogenic emissions.