Settling-driven gravitational instabilities observed at the base of volcanic ash clouds have the potential to play a substantial role in volcanic ash sedimentation. They originate from a narrow, gravitationally unstable region called a Particle Boundary Layer (PBL) that forms at the lower cloud-atmosphere interface and generates downward-moving ash fingers that enhance the ash sedimentation rate. We

It is commonly assumed a thrust has a constant slip and uplifting rate along the strike, however, this simplified model cannot always be consistent with field observations. The along strike slip patterns with variable offsets and rates contain plenty of information about the characteristics of the faulting behavior and its relationship with adjacent faults. The east Qilian Shan, located at the northeastern

With the motivation to investigate the role of coal physical structure on the adsorption performance of coal reservoir, 18 different types of coal samples with different coal structure were collected from 6 coal profiles of four production mines located at China. The adsorption characteristics of CH4 on coal samples with different coal structure were examined, then experimental results were fitted

The formation of Gondwana results from a complex history, which can be linked to many orogenic sutures. Those sutures have often been gathered in the literature under broad orogenies — in particular the Eastern and Western Pan-African Orogenies — although their ages may vary a lot within those wide belts. The PANALESIS model is a plate tectonic model, which aims at reconstructing 100% of the Earth’s

In Eastern Indonesia, the western Outer Banda Arc accommodates part of the oblique Australian margin collision with Eurasia along the Timor Trough. Yet, unlike the northern Wetar and Alor thrusts and the adjacent eastern Java subduction zone, both recent and historical seismicity are extremely low. This long-term seismic quiescence questions whether the Banda Arc collision front along the Timor Trough

The middle-Pleistocene Xiashu loess deposit in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River (LRYR), southern China, may yield evidence with significant climatic and environmental significance. However, its provenance remains controversial. In this study, grain size analysis, and quartz grain surface microtextural and morphological observations, enabled comparison of the provenance of loess in the LRYR with

The size distribution of the armor layer in mountain rivers is an important factor affecting the stability of the river bed. However, there are relatively few studies on the prediction of the armor layer size distribution in the reconstruction process after the instability of the previous static armor layer. In response to the above challenges, this paper takes the incipient probability of sediment

Determining how the elevation of the Northern Andes has evolved over time is of paramount importance for understanding the response of the Northern Andes to deformational and geodynamic processes and its role as an orographic barrier for atmospheric vapor transport over geologic time. However, a fundamental requirement when using stable isotope data for paleoaltimetry reconstructions is knowledge about

Snow and precipitation estimates in high-mountain regions typically suffer from low temporal and spatial resolution and large uncertainties. Here, we present a two-step statistically-based model to derive spatio-temporal highly-resolved estimates of snow water equivalent (SWE) across the Swiss Alps. A multiple linear regression model (Step-1 MLR) was first used to combine the CombiPrecip radar-gauge

Ice cliffs can act as “hot spots” for melt on debris-covered glaciers and promote local glacier mass loss. Repeat high-resolution remote-sensing data are therefore required to monitor the role of ice cliff dynamics in glacier mass loss. Here we analyze high-resolution aerial photogrammetry data acquired during the 2007, 2018, and 2019 post-monsoon seasons to delineate and monitor the morphology, distribution

Mangroves, a blue carbon ecosystem between land and ocean in the (sub)tropics, are sensitive to changes in climate and the sea level. It is imperative to reconstruct the historical dynamics of their development to predict the fate of mangrove ecosystems in the backdrop of rapid global changes. This study analyzes records of the sources of organic matter from sediment core Q43 of Qinzhou Bay in tropical

The numerical simulation of tropical cyclones (TCs) has been increasingly conducted using the Advanced Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model with the large-eddy simulation (LES) technique. Given the importance of the boundary wind profile for the vertical exchange of horizontal momentum between the atmosphere and the ocean, the drag coefficient was evaluated in the numerical simulation with the

The “Old Red Sand” (ORS) along the southeast coast of China is of significant paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental significance. However, its provenance remains controversial. In this study, grain size characteristics and quartz grain surface microtextures were analyzed to study the origin and paleoenvironmental significance of the ORS, the results show that the ORS show typical aeolian features and

The discrete element method (DEM) is becoming widely accepted as an effective method of addressing tectonic problems in granular materials. It is capable of reproducing structures observed in the analogue model (AM). However, the previous experiments also pointed to variability among DEM and AM models in the number of fault zones, the dip angle and spacing, and in the evolution of surface slope of

Under the global warming, as the typical arid region of Central Asia, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) has been experienced the remarkable warming and increased precipitation based on large previous studies. The arid and semiarid ecosystem of Xinjiang is very sensitive and vulnerable to climate change and water resource variations. However, the sparse and highly unevenly distributed

Rupture directivity, implying a predominant earthquake rupture propagation direction, is typically inferred upon the identification of 2D azimuthal patterns of seismic observations for weak to large earthquakes using surface-monitoring networks. However, the recent increase of 3D monitoring networks deployed in the shallow subsurface and underground laboratories towards the monitoring of microseismicity

Understanding the complexity of future volcanic impacts that can be potentially induced by the large variability of volcanic hazards and the multiple dimensions of vulnerability of the increasingly interdependent and interconnected societies, requires an in-depth analysis of past events. A structured and inclusive post-event impact assessment framework is proposed and applied for the evaluation of

The floe size distribution (FSD) is an important characteristics of sea ice, influencing several physical processes that take place in the oceanic and atmospheric boundary layers under/over sea ice, as well as within sea ice itself. Through complex feedback loops involving those processes, FSD might modify the short-term and seasonal evolution of the sea ice cover, and therefore significant effort

The Gonghe Basin on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has a cold, arid climate and has suffered severe land degradation. Climate change as well as anthropogenic activities including overgrazing have resulted in widespread blowout development and the formation of some of Earth's largest blowouts. The blowouts are part of an aeolian dominated landscape that passes from deflation zone to grass covered plain,

The surface mass balance (SMB) is very low over the vast East Antarctic Plateau, for example in the Vostok region, where the mean SMB is on the order of 20 to 35~kg~m$^{-2}$~a$^{-1}$. The observation and modelling of spatio-temporal SMB variations are equally challenging in this environment. Stake measurements carried out in the Vostok region provide SMB observations over half a century (1970-2019)

The development and adoption of agriculture has been investigated for decades, and remains a central topic within archaeology. However, most previous studies focus on the crop’s domestication centers lead to gaps in knowledge, particularly in transitional zones between these centers. This paper reviews published archaeobotanical evidence and historical documents to reconstruct the trajectory of agricultural

In 1976 John Ostrom published an enlightening paper about the anatomical transformations in the shoulder girdle and forelimb elements along the origin of birds. Most of his ideas were based on comparing Archaeopteryx lithographica with the extant New World vulture Cathartes aura. Ostrom offered innovative ideas about range of movements and function of wing elements in the basal bird Archaeopteryx.

Global electric circuit could be the key link between the space weather and low atmosphere climate. It has been suggested that the ultrafine aerosol layer in middle to upper stratosphere could set large contribution to the local column resistance and the return current density. In previous work by Tinsley and Zhou (2006), the artificial ultrafine layer was addressed and it caused symmetric significant

Leaf optical properties (LOPs, i.e., leaf reflectance and transmittance), as a fundamental property of vegetation, are a key parameter in the canopy radiative transfer process. LOPs have a direct impact on the surface solar radiation partition and further affect surface flux exchanges. Recent works have provided reliable LOP data and mentioned that notable differences exist between the prescribed LOP

Understanding sub-seabed fluid flow mechanisms is important for determining their significance for ocean chemistry and to define fluid pathways above sub-seafloor CO2 storage reservoirs. Many active seabed fluid flow structures are associated with seismic chimneys or pipes, but the processes linking structures at depth with the seabed are poorly understood. We use seismic anisotropy techniques applied

We investigate the physical mechanisms governing the activation of faults during hydraulic fracturing. Recent studies have debated the varying importance of different fault reactivation mechanisms. Pore pressure increase caused by injection is generally considered to be the primary driver of induced seismicity. However, in very tight reservoir rocks, unless a fracture network exists to act as a hydraulic

The deformation pattern and strain partitioning in the Eastern Chinese Tian Shan are poorly known because of the lack of quantitative study of the kinematics and deformation rate of the major structure. Here we report a late Quaternary shortening rate for the most active reverse fault-and-fold in the Eastern Chinese Tian Shan. We quantified the kinematics and late Quaternary shortening rate of the

The Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) satellite uses a synchronized multi-beam photon-counting method to collect data from three pairs of synchronous ground tracks. The sampling rate along the ground tracks is designed to be ~0.7 m, much smaller than that used in conventional radar altimeters. Hence, it is reasonable to expect an improvement in marine gravity recovery over coastal

Mega earthquakes or serious rainfall storms often cause crowded landslides in mountainous areas. A large part of these landslides are very likely blocking rivers and forming landslide dams in series along rivers. The risks of cascading failure of landslide dams are significantly different form that of a single dam. This paper presented the work on risk-based warning decision making on cascading breaching

Landslides affect nearly every country in the world each year. To better understand this global hazard, the Landslide Hazard Assessment for Situational Awareness (LHASA) model was developed previously. LHASA version 1 combines satellite precipitation estimates with a global landslide susceptibility map to produce a gridded map of potentially hazardous areas from 60 degrees North-South every three hours

Solar radiation is the Earth’s primary source of energy and has an important role in the surface radiation balance, hydrological cycles, vegetation photosynthesis, weather and climate extremes. The accurate prediction of solar radiation is therefore very important in both the solar industry and climate research. We constructed 12 machine learning models to predict and compare daily and monthly values

A large number of intermediate basic volcanic rocks and porphyry Cu-Mo deposits as well as volcanic hosted mgagnetite deposit have been recently discovered in the Xilekuduk area. However, no reports concerning petrogenesisdiagenetic characteristics and age, or their relationship with mineralization have been published to date. The purpose of this study is to make up for the absence of previous studies

The decarbonisation of energy systems to achieve net zero carbon emissions will likely see the rapid development of carbon capture and storage, energy storage in the subsurface and geothermal energy projects. Subsurface data, in particular seismic reflection surveys and borehole data are vital for geoscientists and engineers to carry out comprehensive assessments of both the opportunities and risks

The 2020 Jiashi M6.4 earthquake occurred in the Kaping fold-and-thrust belt, a major south-verging active thin-skin system in the southwestern Chinese Tien Shan Mountain, north of the Tarim Basin. Within 50 km from the epicentral area, seismic hazard is high, as suggested by the occurrence of the 1902 Mw 7.7 Artux (Kashgar) earthquake and 1997 Jiashi strong earthquake swarm. The seismogenic structure

It has been known that the preseismic VLF pulse-like electromagnetic signals sometimes increases a few days before the sizable earthquakes especially inland earthquakes. More than two decades ago, the Tokai University group developed a digital recording system and published remarkable results. However, at the time, due to the limitation of personal computer’s data storage and CPU power, they quitted

Dikes feed most eruptions, so understanding their mechanism of propagation is fundamental for volcanic hazard assessment. The variation in geometry of a propagating dike as a function of the injection rate remains poorly studied. Here we use experiments injecting water into gelatine to investigate the variation of the thickness, width and length of a flux-driven dike connected to its source as a function

The study of past global change is paramount to comprehending the present and future, as well as to better understand the mechanisms and influences of human-land interactions in a given region. The northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau has complex natural environments, sensitive to global change, and renowned for its long history of human occupancy. This makes it an ideal region for the

Repeated multibeam bathymetric surveys played an important role for understanding the distribution of coseismic seafloor displacement caused by the 11 March 2011 Mw 9.0 Tohoku-oki earthquake. After the earthquake, we collected bathymetric data along the same tracks obtained before the earthquake. The selected tracks were crossing the trench and extending from the landward to seaward trench slopes.

For climate adaptation and risk mitigation, decision makers in water management or agriculture increasingly demand for regionalized weather and climate information. To provide these, regional atmospheric models, such as the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, need to be optimized in their physical setup to the region of interest. The objective of this study is to evaluate four cumulus physics

In 2017, Mount Agung produced a small (VEI 2) eruption that was preceded by an energetic volcano-tectonic (VT) swarm (>800 earthquakes per day up to M4.9) and two months of declining activity. The period of decreased seismic activity complicated forecasting efforts for scientists monitoring the volcano. We examine the time history of earthquake families at Mount Agung in search of additional insight

In the rock physical modeling in this study, the complex pore space of tight sands was assumed to be equivalent to the combination of high aspect-ratio pores (stiff pores) and low aspect-ratio microcracks (soft pores). Then, the Chapman theory was used to simulate the elastic properties and inelastic behavior of the dispersion and attenuation caused by the squirt flow of fluids in the complex pore

The height of a thrust-fault scarp on a fluvial terrace would be modified due to erosion and deposition, and these surface processes can also influence the dating of terraces. Under such circumstances, the vertical slip rate of a fault can be misestimated due to the inaccurate displacement and/or abandonment age of the terrace. In this contribution, considering the effect of erosion and deposition

The interaction of surface erosion (e.g. fluvial incision) and tectonic uplift shapes the landform in Tibetan Plateau. The Lhasa River flows towards southwest across the central Gangdese Mountains in the southern Tibetan Plateau, characterized by a low-relief and high-elevation landscape. However, the evolution of low-relief topography and the establishment of the Lhasa River remain highly under debate

A seismic hazard study and analysis of the megathrust source off the west coast of North Sumatra, Indonesia, were conducted based on estimated horizontal crustal strain using the surface displacement data. This area was selected due to the availability of pre- and co-seismic GPS data for the 2005 Nias-Simeulue Mw 8.6 event. This study aims to estimate the Seismic Hazard Function (SHF), which is expressed

Arctic sea-ice loss is emblematic of an amplified Arctic water cycle and has critical feedback implications for global climate. Stable isotopes (δ18O, δ2H, d-excess) are valuable tracers for constraining water cycle and climate processes through space and time. Yet, the paucity of well-resolved Arctic isotope data preclude an empirically derived understanding of the hydrologic changes occurring today

The study of human dietary structures is an effective means of elucidating the subsistence patterns of our prehistoric ancestors and can highlight the processes through which humans interacted with the environment. We conducted stable isotope and archeobotanical analyses of human, animal, and plant remains at the Jiangxifen site, dated to ~900–400 BC, to explore human paleodiets and determine the environmental

Subduction initiation is an important but still poorly documented process on Earth. Here, we document one of a few cases of ongoing transition between passive and active continental margins by identifying the geometrical and structural signatures that witness the tectonic inversion of the Algerian continental margin and the deep oceanic domain, located at the northern edge of the slow-rate, diffuse

Landslide constitutes a severe environmental problem in Jiangxi, China. This research was aimed at conducting landslide hazard assessment to provide technical support for disaster reduction and prevention action in the province. Fourteen geo-environmental factors, e.g., slope, elevation, road, river, fault, lithology, rainfall and land cover types, were selected for this study. A test was made in two

Rock falls and landslides plunging into lakes or small reservoirs can result in tsunamis with extreme wave run-ups. The occurrence of these natural hazards in populated areas have encouraged a recent sharp increase of studies that aim to mitigate their impact on human lives and assess infrastructure lost. This paper amalgamates in a novel fashion and at an unprecedented detail in-situ historic measurements

Biogeochemical processes capable of altering global carbon systems occur frequently in Earth’s Critical Zone–the area spanning from vegetation canopy to saturated bedrock–yet many of these phenomena are difficult to detect. Observation of these processes is limited by the seasonal inaccessibility of remote ecosystems, such as those in mountainous, snow- and ice-dominated areas. This isolation leads

Long-term altimetry data is one of the important data sources to analyze the change of global ice reserves. This study focuses on the elevation and volume changes of Greenland Ice Sheet during 2010-2019 derived from altimetry observations. For better results, the methods for determining surface elevation change rates are discussed and specific strategies are designed. A new elevation-difference method

Wildfire is one of the most common natural hazards in the world.It has tendency to destroy large fields of land and make them uncultivable effecting agriculture and hence economy of the region. China is one of the countries that have a serious wildfire problem and is among the top 20 countries most affected in terms of economic loss as a result of wildfire. Fire risk estimation for purposes of risk

The 3 February 2020 MS 5.1 Qingbaijiang earthquake, southwestern China, is the closest recorded MS ≥ 5.0 event to downtown Chengdu City to date, with an epicentral distance of only 38 km. Here we analyze seismic data from the Sichuan and Chengdu regional seismic networks, and employ a multi-stage location method to relocate the earthquakes that have occurred along the central and northern segments

Fluid conditions of shallow marine hydrothermal vent sites (200 mbsl) and mid-ocean ridge-related environments (>2000 mbsl). At Calypso Vents in the Bay of Plenty and Paleochori Bay at the coast of Milos Island, fluids with temperatures <200°C are emitted through volcaniclastic sediments in water depths <200 mbsl. The hydrothermal mineralisation from these fluids is dominated by pyrite and marcasite

Historical seismic catalogs report that the Gargano Promontory (southern Italy) was affected in the past by earthquakes with medium to high estimated magnitude. From the instrumental seismicity, it can be identified the most energetic Apulian sequence which occurred in 1995 with a main shock of MW=5.2 followed by about 200 aftershocks with maximum magnitude 3.7. The most energetic earthquakes of the

Calving is a crucial process for the mass loss of outlet glaciers in Greenland, while at the same time the calving contributes to large uncertainties in current glacier flow models and projections, particularly due to a lack of observations. Here we investigate the frequency, volume and style of calving events by using high-resolution terrestrial radar interferometer data from six field campaigns,

Understanding the climate-glacier dynamics of debris-covered glaciers is notoriously difficult given a multitude of controlling factors and feedback mechanisms involving climate forcing, debris-load properties, supraglacial water bodies, and multi-scale topographic effects. Recent studies have provided insights into controlling factors, and have reported the presence of anomalies that generally contradict

This study evaluates the performance of dynamical downscaling of global prediction generated from the NOAA Climate Forecast System (CFSv2) at subseasonal time-scale against dense in-situ observational data in Korea. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) double-nested modeling system customized over Korea is adopted to produce very high resolution simulation that presumably better resolves geographically

Cave environment allows long-term processes of rock weathering and chemical deposition that cannot occur on Earth surface directly exposed to meteoric and external biochemical agents. Apart from the common carbonate speleothems, chemical precipitation from infiltration water can also produce phosphate-rich formations usually occurring as parietal dark crusts or spheroidal nodules. Despite the potential

The end-Permian mass extinction (EPME) is marked by a major crisis in Phanerozoic carbonate systems that likely reflected a large-scale change in ocean chemistry and have repercussions during its aftermath. At the basal Triassic distal carbonate ramp of Central Iran, unusual non-skeletal carbonates have been deposited, so-called "crystal layers" or "carbonate crusts". We show here that those carbonates