The development, uncertainty evaluation and certification of eleven newly developed zinc isotope ratio reference materials (GBW04465‐04475) are described. The reference materials were gravimetrically prepared with enriched isotopic materials. During the certification, calibrated MC‐ICP‐MS measurements were performed. The improved techniques for certification in this study are: (a) the isotopic compositions

A collection of 81 plugs were obtained from the Humilly-2 borehole (France), that reached the Permo-Carboniferous sediments at a depth of 3051 m. Experimental measurements of physical parameters and mineralogical analysis were performed to explore the links between sedimentary facies and seismic characteristics and provide a key tool in the interpretation of seismic field data in terms of geological

This technical report summarizes the GLOBE Observer dataset from 1 April 2016 to 1 December 2019. GLOBE Observer is an ongoing NASA‐sponsored international citizen science project that is part of the larger Global Learning & Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program, which has been in operation since 1995. GLOBE Observer has the greatest number of participants and geographic coverage

The borehole electrical imaging log offers general visual borehole wall, leaving no doubt that the conductivity contrast is sufficient to obtain a qualitative gain-size distribution of rocks. In this study, an automatic grain-size classification method is proposed using gray values of borehole electrical images from Baikouquan Formation in Mahu Depression. The first stage is comparing electrical images

Organic carbon in the top metre of Earth’s soils is far older than previously thought, averaging 4,800 years old. These radiocarbon-derived age estimates require us to recalibrate our expectations of ecosystem gains and losses of carbon.

The possibility of antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of disease is a general concern for the development of vaccines and antibody therapies because the mechanisms that underlie antibody protection have the theoretical potential to amplify viral infections or trigger immunopathology. Observations relevant to the risks of ADE of disease require careful review at this critical point in the SARS-CoV-2

Hector Aguilar-Carreno is working from home to direct his team’s promising work on a COVID-19 vaccine.

Want to get ahead in business? Entrepreneurs need to be resilient, patient and strong team players, says Barbara Domayne-Hayman.

The month’s sharpest science shots, selected by Nature’s photo team.

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Immediately before the extinction of the end‐Guadalupian (Middle Permian; ca. 260 Ma), a significant change to the global carbon cycle occurred in the superocean Panthalassa, as indicated by a prominent positive δ13C excursion called the Kamura event. However, the causes of this event and its connection to the major extinction of marine invertebrates remain unclear. To understand the mutual relationships

We disagree on many basic aspects of the Cambrian–Triassic tectonic reconstruction of central Qiangtang, Tibet, proposed by Xu et al. (2020) (Earth-Science Reviews, v. 201, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103083), because their reconstructions are inconsistent with geological evidence. The allochthonous fragments in the accretionary complex of the Shuanghu suture zone should not be used

Shelf mud is an important sink for fluvial sediment, and it is sensitive to variations in river discharge and ocean circulation, which are significantly influenced by climate change. However, the evolution of shelf mud in response to climate change during the Holocene is poorly understood. Here, we present high‐resolution sedimentary records of heavy minerals and mass accumulation rates (MARs) from

Chemical erosion is of wide interest due to its influence on topography, nutrient supply to streams and soils, sediment composition, and Earth’s climate. While controls on chemical erosion rate have been studied extensively in steady‐state models, few studies have explored the controls on chemical erosion rate during transient responses to external perturbations. Here we develop a numerical model for

The dynamics of the Earth's mantle is still poorly constrained due to the lack of understanding the transfer of matter between the upper and the lower mantle and their convective vigor. The transition zone (TZ) might play a crucial role as the interface connecting the upper to the lower mantle. Here, we examine the rheology of the main TZ minerals, wadsleyite, ringwoodite and majorite garnet based

Terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide concentrations in fluvial deposits allow estimation of paleo-erosion rates and reconstruction of the response of landscapes to climatic perturbations. In partly ice-covered landscapes, however, incorporation of subglacially-derived sediments that were shielded by ice from cosmic can lead to erroneous erosion rate calculations. Here, we combine in situ-produced 10Be-derived

The breakup of the L-chondrite parent body (LCPB) in the mid-Ordovician is the largest documented asteroid breakup event during the past 3 Gyr. It affected Earth by a dramatic increase in the flux of L-chondritic material and left prominent traces in both meteorite and sedimentary records. A precise constraint on the timing of the LCPB breakup is important when evaluating the terrestrial biotic and

We present the results from a study combining zoned geochronology, mineral trace element geochemistry and phase equilibria modeling of a mafic lithology from the Zermatt Saas Ophiolite in order to elucidate the tectonic rates and thermal structure of the Western Alps paleo-subduction interface. The Zermatt-Saas Ophiolite represents dismembered slices derived from an eclogitized, 60-km wide coherent

On March 11 and 12, 2011, a large rainfall event caused floods and thousands of gravitational mass movements on the coast of the state of Paraná, Brazil. This paper focuses on the large debris flows that reached the Jacareí river basin and uses them to test the new hazard mapping method proposed by the GIDES Project, a technology transfer partnership between Brazil and Japan. The method’s purpose is

The Grès Singuliers unit represents an anomalous occurrence of a siliciclastic-dominated sedimentary system typifying a restricted geographic area around the Mont Blanc massif. Deposited during Early Jurassic rifting, this unit was influenced by the tectonic processes responsible for its development. This contribution integrates and reconciles sedimentological, stratigraphic and tectonic data and discusses

Most of the third world countries having rivers passing through them suffer from the water contaminant problem. This problem is considered so difficult to get the water quality within the standard allowable limits for drinking, as well as for industrial and agricultural purposes. This research aims to assess the water quality of the Tigris River using the water quality index method and GIS software

It is widely accepted that soil erosion has become a serious problem in recent decades for dams in general. In particular, the Dam of Beni Haroun (Algeria) is confronted with this problem. The present paper aims at investigating all the parameters likely to have an impact on this phenomenon. For this, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool model is applied for the purpose of estimating the solid inputs

Yanbu is the second largest port and population settlement on the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast. With the increasing development of its nearby coast, the geomorphological characteristics of the region must be studied in detail in order to inform future developments of the region. This study examines the region’s suitability for future development. A high-resolution map of the coastal area under study

In geosciences, field observations, and survey, remote sensing applications and data analysis still need to find out a seamless approach of integration, interlinking, and storing environment. Most applications of geomatic tools in geological studies (mainly in southern countries) focus on getting information of the real world from satellite data, but do not specify the concept of the way to represent

In this paper, we develop two novel hybrid models, namely N-soft expert set model and fuzzy N-soft expert set model. An N-soft expert set model is the combination of N-soft sets with soft expert sets, and a fuzzy N-soft expert model studies the fuzziness of N-soft expert sets. Further, we illustrate our hybrid models with daily life examples involving uncertainties in data. Moreover, we describe some

Community actions have a significant role in disaster response. This study analyses the socio-demographic and satisfaction variables within community resilience in the context of the Kerala floods of 2018 and elucidates its gaps from the perspective of a developing country. The data from the self-administered questionnaire survey among the fishermen who were prominent amongst the first responders during

The Tengchong volcanic field, located at the collision zone between the Indian and Eurasian plates, is well known for its large-scale Holocene volcanic eruptions and extensive hydrothermal activities. Bubbling gases from eight geothermal springs at the Tengchong field were collected and analyzed for their chemical and isotopic compositions (3He/4He, 20Ne, N2, Ar, δ13CCH4 and δ13CCO2). The results show

Plant domestication is often discussed as a form of mutualism between humans and crop plants. Ethnographies provide records of a multitude of adaptive strategies employed by human societies with varying degrees of reliance on manipulation of wild plant resources. These manipulations have included vegetation clearance, controlled burning, pruning, coppicing, tilling, sowing and more. Such activities

The Early to Mid-Holocene transgression, dated between approximately 10,000 and 7000 cal yr BP, inundated a significant part of the coastal areas of Norway. In this paper we compare observations of the amplitude of the transgression with numerical modelling. The observations of the transgression along the coast vary from a couple of meters to more than 20 m, and depend on the distance from the margin

Oriented lakes—characterized by elongate forms, central basins and shallow littoral shelves—are common features of circum-arctic coastal lowlands. The environmental conditions, geological processes and chronology associated with the development of oriented lakes, however, are little known but essential for understanding how such Arctic lowlands evolve. Using combined techniques of field and drill-log

Understanding the past hydrological cycle and climate change may contribute to the sustainable utilization of water resources. Here we combined groundwater stable isotopes (2H and 18O), age dating (3H and 14C) and water vapour transport trajectories modeling to reveal the moisture source and climate evolution over the last 30 kyr in southeastern Qaidam Basin, northeast Tibetan Plateau. The compositions

Well-resolved lake sediment records are key to answering questions about past hydroclimate variability. These questions are particularly relevant in California (USA), where a recent drought stoked fears of water scarcity and caused significant agricultural and other economic losses in this populous state. To contextualize recent and past cycles of aridity, we utilized a Late Holocene lacustrine record

The shallow structures of the Chalco and Xochimilco sub-basins (southeastern Mexico Basin) are established based on a seismic line that stretches trough both depressions. Interpretation of the seismic line was constraint by the stratigraphic column cut by the approximately 3000 m deep Tulyehualco well. The seismic line was converted to depth based on a vertical transverse isotropy velocity model determined

Vertebrates that inhabited northern South America few million years after the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) event are still poorly known. Here I present remains of turtles and crocodylomorphs from the lower to middle Paleocene, Lisama Formation of Colombia; representing the first record of Paleocene vertebrates for the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin, and one of the earliest Paleocene northern South American

Oil-producing rocks can be characterized by organic, inorganic and palynological geochemical parameters to assess the quantity and quality of organic matter. In the present study, samples of source rocks collected from different formations (Fm) from the sedimentary basins of the Parnaíba (Pimentairas Formation) and Paraná (Irati and Ponta Grossa Formations) were evaluated through the geochemical correlation

The lower chert unit of the 3.48 Ga Dresser Formation (Pilbara Craton, Western Australia) hosts Earth’s oldest convincing evidence of life in the form of stromatolites in a depositional setting that has been interpreted as either a shallow marine lagoon, an active volcanic caldera, or a basin deposited during regional extension. Understanding the environment where early life thrived is important not

The transport of coarse material strongly controls the stability and evolution of mountain fluvial systems but, despite this, bedload dynamics are not yet fully understood especially in mountain streams. In this sense, particular attention was paid on the bedload magnitude (volume) expressed at event-scale and on the long-term, while few studies were focused on when and how the transport of the coarse

Diffs, a concept known from source code version control systems such as git, is interesting for geospatial, event-based workflows. We investigate how the native mathematical structure of vector geometries can be utilized in order to create a diffing algorithm tailored to geospatial vector data. Diffing algorithms are a well-researched area which dates to the 1970ies; however, we find that geospatial

In Australia, the drivers of precolonial fire regimes remain contentious, with some advocating an anthropogenic-dominated regime, and others highlighting the importance of climate, climatic variability or alternatively some nexus between climate and human activity. Here, we explore the inter-relationships between fire, humans and vegetation using macroscopic charcoal, archaeology and palynology over

Wildfire is a ubiquitous disturbance agent in subalpine forests in western North America. Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia), a dominant tree species in these forests, is largely resilient to high-severity fires, but this resilience may be compromised under future scenarios of altered climate and fire activity. We investigated fire occurrence and post-fire vegetation change in a lodgepole

Accessory‐mineral Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu*) are routinely measured to infer changes in the amount of feldspar over time, allowing accessory mineral U–Pb dates to be linked to the progressive crystallization of igneous and metamorphic rocks and, by extension, geodynamic processes. However, changes in Eu/Eu* can reflect any process that changes the relative availability of Eu2+ and Eu3+. We constructed partitioning

We present the results of a combined analysis of remote sensing and geophysical‐geotechnical data carried out in the Acque Albule Basin, a sinkhole prone area located close to the city of Roma, where a wide travertine wedge is present. We carried out geophysical measurements and borehole drillings over two test areas to image the subsoil where paroxysmal surficial dynamics occur. One site is marked

The performance of a variable‐resolution global model, based on the Model for Prediction Across Scales‐Atmosphere (MPAS‐A) framework and with customized 160‐to‐1 km resolution grid mesh, was tested by simulating idealized flow fields as well as forecasting the evolution of actual weather systems. The mesh contains five levels of refinement, with 20, 15, 9, 3, and 1 km resolution covering central to

This paper explores the relationship between human trafficking and geographies of stigma. We introduce post‐trafficking contexts as important settings for understanding how geographical imaginaries underpin the everyday occurrence of stigma for those who have experienced human trafficking. We show how a focus on trafficking can speak back to some of the core migration literatures in Geography, highlighting

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Understanding deformation associated with active thrust wedges is essential to evaluate seismic hazards. In this study, we investigate the spatial distribution, timing, and rates of deformation across the central Andean backarc of Argentina, where deformation and shortening has been assumed to occur within a narrow wedge‐front zone. The combined results of our geomorphic mapping, topographic surveying

Quebecia is a unique Geon 15 to 13 composite arc belt in the central Grenville Province that preserves record of rifting and subsequent re‐amalgamation of part of the Laurentian margin. Key lithological components include: (a) c . 1.5 Ga metasedimentary sequences indicative of earlier rifting of the Laurentian margin; (b) remnants of 1.50–1.45 Ga peri‐Laurentian island arcs to the south built on rifted

The Quito Basin, a narrow NE‐trending tectonic depression, contains a perched Quaternary volcaniclastic sequence juxtaposed against the Interandean Depression through the Quito fault system (QFS). Syntectonic infilling, which occurs during a piggy‐back phase, consists of alluvial fan sets grading eastward into lacustrine facies. The western piedmont margin overlies the foothills of Quaternary volcanoes

An integrated approach involving geophysical and physicochemical methods was undertaken to assess the potential availability of groundwater and its quality was carried out at Akole, Abeokuta Southwestern Nigeria. A combination of electrical resistivity and natural electric field methods were used in delineating the sub-surface lithology, determining potential groundwater-bearing zones, and the potential

The contaminated soil by mining activities could be transported through the erosive effect of wind. In this study, human health risk was assessed for exposure to heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb) present in surface soil of Irankouh zinc–lead mine, (the nearest mine to Isfahan, Iran) as one of the main dust storm sources. The effect of improper mining waste and tailings management in the Irankouh zinc–lead

One of the most common geological hazards in mining and civil projects is the occurrence of instability in the rock slopes. Rock slope behavior is mainly influenced by the presence of discontinuities in the rock masses. Therefore, the determination of shear strength parameters for these weak surfaces is of particular importance. There are various shear strength criteria for estimating the shear strength

Historic sulphidic Pb–Zn mining catchments at Leadhills and Wanlockhead, in the south of Scotland, UK have a legacy of mining of PbS (galena) and ZnS (sphalerite) from the twelfth century to the 1930s. The mining activities created tailing piles, ponds, adits and contaminated soils that contribute leaching and surface runoff of potentially toxic elements, particularly lead (Pb), which impact on the

Rivers are one of the main sources to supply sand and gravel for construction projects. Depending on river morphology and hydraulic characteristics, its sediment transport capacity, and mining operation method, the extraction of river bed materials may affect its ecosystem through bank and bed erosion. To advance the mechanisms of river pit infilling, the effects of various parameters (i.e., the distance

Vortex ripples induced by oscillatory flow display straight crests at equilibrium, but they develop transient three‐dimensional (3D) bedform geometries when transitioning from one equilibrium state to another due to changes in the oscillatory flow. Large‐eddy simulations were performed of oscillatory flow over 3D bedform defects associated with an increase of the orbital motion amplitude, similar to

Ooids are a common type of carbonate sand grain that form through a combination of constructive and destructive mechanisms: growth via precipitation and diminution via physical abrasion. Because growth and abrasion obey distinct morphometric rules, we developed an approach to quantitatively constrain the history of growth and abrasion of individual ooid grains using the record of evolving particle