A set of four outwash terraces in the northern Alpine Foreland motivated Penck and Brückner's classical scheme of four great Alpine ice ages: Günz, Mindel, Riss, and Würm. While it is now established that the Würm corresponds to marine isotope stages (MIS) 5d–2 (∼117–14 ka) and the Riss type locality to MIS 6 (∼191–130 ka), there is no consensus regarding the age of the older glaciations. The two oldest

Bubbles are known to have a dramatic effect on lava rheology, but their impact on lava flow run out distance has not been extensively investigated. To quantify bubble effects on basaltic lava flow emplacement, we conducted a series of large-scale two-phase (melt+bubbles) experiments at the Syracuse University Lava Project facility. In this study, nine basaltic lava flows with low to intermediate vesicle

A wide variety of magmas entrain, transport and erupt mantle material in the form of xenoliths and xenocrysts. The host magmas are often low viscosity in nature and range from basalt to more esoteric compositions such as kimberlite, nephelinite and basanite. Here we focus on kimberlite magmas which are particularly successful at transporting deep mantle cargo to the surface, including economically

Broadband and long-period magnetotelluric (MT) data were used to obtain a continuous image of the lithospheric electrical conductivity structure across the southeastern Tibetan Plateau margin, where long-wavelength crustal thickening and surface uplift have been attributed to the influx of weak crustal material from Tibet into the adjacent Yangtze Block. The resulting resistivity model reveals two

The core-mantle boundary (CMB) represents the lower boundary layer of the actively convecting Earth's mantle and is structurally very complex. Thermal and chemical structures such as thermal plumes and thermochemical piles have been considered to explain the complexities. Both affect the dynamics of the Earth's mantle and its temporal evolution. But also the surface plates are an essential aspect of

Here we present Re-Os geochronological data from two carbonaceous shale units from the Hornby Bay and Amundsen basins that provide important chronological markers for Mesoproterozoic stratigraphic successions within northern Canada. Shale from the basal Escape Rapids Formation yields a robust depositional age of 1067.3 ± 13.5 Ma for the lowermost Shaler Supergroup of Amundsen basin with a remarkably

Two samples of a unique achondritic lithology of the Almahata Sitta meteorite (MS-MU-019 and MS-MU-036) contain three coexisting pyroxene species: orthoenstatite, clinoenstatite and augite. The silicate assemblage appears to be the restite after extraction of melts of broadly basaltic and metal-sulfide composition from an enstatite chondrite protolith. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) provides

The formation of Cenozoic mountain belts in the Mediterranean realm was preceded by tens of millions of years of subduction, forming volcanic arcs, and frontal contractional systems. In addition, subduction usually involves slab rollback and formation of oceanic backarcs. Although such structure must have influenced the orogeny of Mediterranean mountain belts, no active analog has been mapped with

Plate motion near the fault gouge layer, and the elastic interplay between the gouge layer and the plate under stick-slip conditions, is key to understanding the dynamics of sheared granular fault systems. Here, a two-dimensional implementation of the combined finite-discrete element method (FDEM), which merges the finite element method (FEM) and the discrete element method (DEM), is used to explicitly

The timing of formation of 100-300 km size planetesimals in the protoplanetary disk remains largely unconstrained. Recent models show that gravitational collapse of boulders in overdense regions of a dusty accretion disk can overcome the meter-sized barrier and lead to rapid formation of planetesimals with size of several km that further grow by pebble accretion. Hf/W ages indicate that the first large

The eastern Himalayan syntaxis, where the Yarlung Tsangpo sharply bends, is one of the areas experiencing most rapid exhumation on Earth. The rapid exhumation is often regarded as the result of capture of the Yarlung Tsangpo by the Brahmaputra River. However, both the timing of integration of the Yarlung Tsangpo-Brahmaputra River and initiation of the rapid syntaxial exhumation are debated. As the

One of the outstanding issues in the study of nutrient dynamics during Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAEs) is the preservation of 15N-depleted nitrogen isotope signals, which are not observed in analogous modern environments. The favored mechanism for δ15N values below 0‰ is utilization of excess ammonium derived from underlying anoxic waters by primary producers. However, there are few modern examples available

We report evidence for Milankovitch cycles in two drill cores from the Cambro–Ordovician Alum Shale Formation of Scandinavia. The signal is preserved in elemental abundances recorded at high stratigraphic resolution by core scanning XRF analysis (0.2 mm resolution). The new data enable us to establish a floating timeline calibrated to the stable 405 kyr eccentricity cycle for a ∼8.7 Myr interval across

CV chondrites are one of the most studied group of carbonaceous chondrites. Based on a number of mineralogical features, they have been divided into three sub-groups: CVOxA, CVOxB, and CVRed. These sub-groups are classically interpreted as coming from a single parent body, with a common protolith affected by significant parent body fluid-assisted metasomatism occurring at different temperatures and/or

Localized pyroclastic deposits (LPDs) are low-albedo accumulates of pyroclastic material with distinct positive topographic signatures that are found dominantly along highland-mare boundaries. Previous workers hypothesized that LPDs represent products of a lunar equivalent of Vulcanian-style eruptions, based in part on the observation that some of the deposits in Alphonsus Crater have large vent volumes

The Ediacaran is a highly dynamic period in terms of large perturbations in Earth's atmosphere, biosphere, and climate. Among these perturbations, a pronounced negative carbon isotope excursion, known as the Shuram excursion (SE), is characterized by the most depleted δ13C values (-12‰) that have ever been observed in the geological record. A poorly determined chronostratigraphic framework makes the

Valley networks are ancient drainage systems incised on the southern hemisphere of Mars, and stand as evidence that liquid water once sculpted its surface. The duration of valley network activity and the sources of water are key questions in deciphering the timing of water stability on early Mars, but remain poorly constrained. In this study we address two questions: Did Martian valley networks evolve

Aquifers and fault zones may interact through groundwater flow and stress redistribution, yet their spatiotemporal relationship remains enigmatic. Here we quantify changes in water storage and associated stress along the Wasatch Fault Zone in Salt Lake Valley, recently shaken by a M5.7 earthquake on March 18th, 2020. Ground deformation mapped by Sentinel-1 SAR imagery (2014-2019) reveals an elongated

The thermal conductivity of post-perovskite (ppv), the highest-pressure polymorph of MgSiO3 in the Earth's mantle, is one of the most important transport properties for providing better constraints on the temperature profile and dynamics at the core-mantle boundary (CMB). Incorporation of Fe into ppv can affect its conductivity, which has never been experimentally investigated. Here we determined the

Topographic domes that are distant from active plate boundaries are often characterised by rapid, youthful uplift, contemporaneous mafic volcanism, radial drainage patterns, and positive long-wavelength gravity anomalies. There is increasing evidence that they are underlain by anomalously low sub-plate seismic velocities. Despite their well-known geomorphological expression, the origin of these epeirogenic

In the Southern Hemisphere, the major sources of dust and other aeolian materials are from Patagonia, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Dust from Patagonia and New Zealand has been identified in ice cores throughout Antarctica, suggesting that during arid and windy periods, such as glacial periods, dust can be entrained and transported onto the continent. However, little information exists

Many volcanic hotspots are connected via ‘plume’ conduits to thermochemical structures with anomalously low seismic velocities at the core-mantle boundary. Basaltic lavas from some of these hotspots show anomalous daughter isotope abundances for the short-lived 129I-129Xe, 146Sm-142Nd, and 182Hf-182W radioactive decay systems, suggesting that their lower mantle sources contain material that dates back

The 66 Ma, ∼180 km Chicxulub impact structure in the northern Yucatán peninsula and southern Gulf of Mexico is the best-preserved large impact crater on Earth with a well-developed peak ring. The most recent drilling campaign took place offshore during the joint International Ocean Discovery Program – International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (IODP–ICDP) Expedition 364 at site M0077A (21

Giant impacts are disruptive events occurring in the early stages of planetary evolution. They may result in the formation of a protolunar disk or of a synestia. A central planet and one or several moons condense upon cooling bearing the chemical signature of the silicate mantles of the initial bodies; the iron cores may partly vaporize, fragment and/or merge. Here we determine from ab initio simulations

Precambrian banded iron formations (BIF) are chemical sedimentary deposits whose trace element signatures have been widely used to interrogate the chemical composition and redox state of ancient seawater. Here we investigated trace element signatures in BIF of the 3.22 Ga Moodies Group, Barberton Greenstone Belt (South Africa), which are interbedded with near-shore siliciclastic sedimentary rocks and

Nickel isotopes are a novel and promising tracer of the chemistry of past ocean environments, but realisation of this tracer's potential requires a comprehensive understanding of the controls on Ni burial in the marine sedimentary archive. An outstanding puzzle in the marine budget of Ni, first recognised in the 1970s, is a major imbalance in the known inputs and outputs to and from the ocean: the

Xenolith and seismic studies provide evidence for tectonic erosion and eastward displacement of lower crust-subcontinental mantle lithosphere (LC-SCML) underlying the Mojave Desert Region (i.e. southern California batholith (SCB)). Intensified traction associated with the Late Cretaceous flattening of the subducting Farallon plate, responsible for deforming the SW U.S., likely played a key role in

A key process in the early solar system that significantly affects the further evolution and transport of highly volatile elements throughout the solar system hydrothermal parent body alteration. To determine whether hydrothermal alteration in outer solar system parent bodies occurred more or less simultaneously or due to a sequence of multiple different events, we investigated low-temperature hydrothermally

The Late Triassic saw a period of broad uplift, vigorous magmatism and supracrustal stretching in the northern North China block, but the driving mechanism has been uncertain. Previous investigations have mostly dealt with individual tectonic processes, such as petrogenesis of igneous complexes, extensional deformations, or basin development, and the proposed models were aimed to account for some specific

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

Most lake-terminating glaciers in the Himalaya retreat rapidly due to periodic frontal ice loss at their terminus, but long-term observations are still limited regarding their flow dynamics, which is crucial for understanding the processes of ice mass loss and proglacial lake growth. We present multi-decadal surface velocity dynamics of the Longbasaba Glacier, a rapid retreating lake-terminating glacier

The geochemical and physical properties of terrigenous sediment stacked in sedimentary basins are used as proxies for the paleo-environmental conditions that prevailed during their period of deposition. Nevertheless, sediment grains have a stochastic transit from mountain sources to sedimentary basins: a fraction of grains are stored for a long time while others are recycled from old deposits. Consequently

Clumped isotope based temperature estimates from exceptionally well-preserved belemnites from Staffin Bay (Isle of Skye, Scotland) reveal that seawater temperatures throughout the Middle-Late Jurassic were significantly warmer than previously reconstructed by conventional oxygen isotope thermometry. We demonstrate here that this underestimation by oxygen isotope thermometry was likely due to a) using

Early isotopic studies of sulfate in carbonate minerals (carbonate associated sulfate; CAS) suggested that carbonates can provide a reliable, well-dated archive of the marine sulfur cycle through time. However, subsequent research has shown that diagenetic alteration can impose highly heterogeneous CAS sulfur isotopic compositions (δ34SCAS) among different carbonate phases within sediments. Such alteration

This study uses organic-rich sediments from the Tarfaya Basin, Morocco, to assess the Cd- and Zn-isotope response to dramatic global palaeoenvironmental change during the Cenomanian–Turonian interval (Late Cretaceous). These organic-rich continental-margin deposits include an expression of Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE 2, ∼94 Ma), an interval associated with the spread of low-oxygen marine environments

Temporal water storage is a fundamental component of the terrestrial water cycle. Methods of estimating water storage variations are often limited to specific, well-monitored locations, and/or system scales. Thus, measures of storage from small systems can be difficult to compare to large systems. Here we compare three independent methods of estimating water storage variations for systems spanning

New P- and S-wave velocity models of the upper mantle from 100 to 400 km depth beneath the central portions of West Antarctica, obtained by inverting relative travel-times from teleseismic earthquakes recorded on Polar Earth Observing Network (POLENET/ANET) and UK Antarctic Network (UKANET) seismic stations between 2007 and 2017, reveal a heterogeneous upper mantle. A low velocity anomaly (−1.0% Vp;

Organic geochemistry and palynology reveal major organofacies changes in the marginal marine Polish Basin during the early Toarcian linked to changes in environmental conditions. Increasing water salinity and enhanced biomass contributions from phytoplankton, adopted to brackish conditions, attest to periodic marine ingressions into the paralic, hyposaline Polish Basin. Marine ingressions occurred

Recent orbital data revealed the presence of hydrated minerals on the surfaces of asteroids, mainly through the identification and the study of the 3-μm spectral absorption band (Hamilton et al., 2019; Kitazato et al., 2019). The presence of an absorption feature around 3-μm on planetary bodies' surfaces is indicative of the presence of OH-bearing minerals. This band has been widely detected on carbonaceous

The mechanical properties of sediment inputs to subduction zones are important for understanding rupture propagation through the accretionary prism during megathrust earthquakes. Clay minerals strongly influence the frictional behavior of fault gouges, and the clay content of subduction input materials varies through a stratigraphic section as well as for subduction margins globally. To establish the

Imdr Regio is a volcano dominated young topographic rise of Venus whose most prominent volcanic structure, Idunn Mons, shows indications of being recently active. Despite its scientific relevance, this region has been poorly studied to date. Idunn Mons is spatially related to a rift system, Olapa Chasma, which dominates the topographic rise. The rift fractures around Idunn Mons form an “hourglass”

The Cenozoic landscape of northern South America evolved under the influence of different geodynamic processes, culminating in the formation of the largest drainage basin on Earth, the Amazon drainage system. The orogeny of the Andean cordillera and the increase in surface denudation induced an asymmetric influx of sediments in Amazonia, which caused an eastward propagation of the Andean sedimentary

This paper presents electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), trace element and U–Pb data of apatite grains from a granitic mylonite from the Taxaquara Shear Zone (SE Brazil). The mylonite recrystallized under upper-greenschist facies and presents two types of apatite with distinct microstructures. Type-1 apatite appears in quartz-rich layers and does not exhibit any microstructural, crystallographic

Hydrocarbon seeps occur worldwide along continental margins and act as conduits for fluid discharge from the lithosphere to the overlying hydrosphere/atmosphere. The dynamics and rates of hydrocarbon release at cold seeps remain poorly constrained. Seepage enables a variety of processes that alter the seafloor morphology and affect the geochemistry of substrata, supporting diverse and important chemosynthetic

The presence of 40Ar in Titan's atmosphere and the replenishment of methane argue for the exchange between the interior and the atmosphere. These observations triggered the present study that aims to determine the conditions under which the high-pressure (HP) ice layer, likely present between the deep ocean and the silicate core, poses a barrier for the exchange of volatiles. We model heat and water

Regional-scale faults typically experience complex, long-lasting histories, commonly recording evidence of multiple reactivation events. Therefore, they contain multiscalar structural domains characterised by varying microstructures, mineralogical compositions and kinematics. These domains result from differential strain partitioning during the recorded faulting stages, and, as a result, can preserve

InSAR time series of surface deformation from 16 yr of Envisat (2003-2011) and Sentinel-1 (2014-2019) ESA satellite radar measurements have been constructed to characterise spatial and temporal dynamics of ground deformation over an 80,000 km2 area in the permafrost of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. The regional deformation maps encompass various types of periglacial landforms and show that seasonal

The biogenicity of proposed stromatolite structures from Eoarchean (ca. 3.71 Ga) rocks of the Isua Supracrustal Belt (ISB) in West Greenland is under debate. The structures in question are found within a suite of multiply deformed greenschist- to amphibolite-facies metamorphic rocks. To assess their premise as primary sedimentary features – as opposed to products of strain localization in layered,

Stylasterids are a ubiquitous deep-sea coral taxon that build their skeletons from either calcite, aragonite, or both. Yet, robust geochemical proxy data from these corals are limited. In this study, 95 modern stylasterids, spanning a wide range of depths (63 to 2894 m) and ambient seawater temperatures (0 to 17 °C), were tested for their potential use as paleoceanographic archives. Stable oxygen and

Accumulations of ice and dust mixtures may acquire magnetization during deposition in a manner analogous to sedimentary rocks. Here, we consider the process of particles descending through an atmosphere and depositing in a preferential orientation that serves to record the ambient magnetic field during emplacement. We use a simple model for the settling and reorientation of ice particles with magnetic