Apollo renaissance - p69
doi:10.1038/ngeo1085
Forty years ago, the Apollo missions brought unprecedented knowledge of the Moon. After a lengthy period of hibernation, the material recovered in the late 1960s and early 1970s is back in the limelight.
Full Text - Apollo renaissance | PDF (207 KB) - Apollo renaissance
Research Highlights
Our choice from the recent literature - p70
doi:10.1038/ngeo1082
Full Text - Our choice from the recent literature | PDF (151 KB) - Our choice from the recent literature
News and Views
Sea-level rise: Melting glaciers and ice caps - pp71 - 72
Frank Paul
doi:10.1038/ngeo1074
The contribution of glaciers and ice caps to global sea-level rise is uncertain: they are incompletely counted and the calculation is challenging. A new estimate from the best available data suggests a contribution of about 12 cm by 2100.
Full Text - Sea-level riseMelting glaciers and ice caps | PDF (319 KB) - Sea-level riseMelting glaciers and ice caps
Subject term: Cryospheric science
See also: Letter by Radić & Hock
Evolution: Old genes - p72
Alicia Newton
doi:10.1038/ngeo1079
Full Text - EvolutionOld genes | PDF (160 KB) - EvolutionOld genes
Subject term: Palaeoclimate and palaeoceanography
Economic geology: Hidden gold - pp73 - 74
Jeremy P. Richards
doi:10.1038/ngeo1072
How the giant sediment-hosted gold deposits of Nevada were formed is disputed. A model linking regional tectonics with magma emplacement and fluid generation at depth suggests that these deposits result from an optimal coincidence of processes.
Full Text - Economic geologyHidden gold | PDF (231 KB) - Economic geologyHidden gold
Subject term: Volcanology, mineralogy and petrology
See also: Article by Muntean et al.
Planetary science: A distinct source for lunar water? - pp74 - 75
François Robert
doi:10.1038/ngeo1066
The origin of water in the Earth–Moon system is an open question. Geochemical analysis of the rocks retrieved by the Apollo missions show that lunar and terrestrial water are isotopically distinct, suggesting acquisition after the Moon's formation.
Full Text - Planetary scienceA distinct source for lunar water? | PDF (142 KB) - Planetary scienceA distinct source for lunar water?
Subject term: Planetary science
See also: Letter by Greenwood et al.
Atmospheric science: Ocean algae and atmospheric ice - pp76 - 77
Ottmar Möhler & Corinna Hoose
doi:10.1038/ngeo1075
Mineral dust and biological particles of terrestrial origin initiate ice formation in the atmosphere. Laboratory experiments suggest that ocean diatoms are another potential source of ice nuclei in clouds.
Full Text - Atmospheric scienceOcean algae and atmospheric ice | PDF (265 KB) - Atmospheric scienceOcean algae and atmospheric ice
Subject term: Climate science
See also: Letter by Knopf et al.
Geomorphology: Landslide boost from entrainment - pp77 - 78
Anne Mangeney
doi:10.1038/ngeo1077
The mechanisms that govern the growth of debris flows are largely unclear, hampering efforts to assess natural hazards in landslide-prone areas. Experiments suggest that high bed-water content increases flow velocity and mass entrainment in landslides.
Full Text - GeomorphologyLandslide boost from entrainment | PDF (173 KB) - GeomorphologyLandslide boost from entrainment
Subject term: Geomorphology
See also: Article by Iverson et al.
Letters
Hydrogen isotope ratios in lunar rocks indicate delivery of cometary water to the Moon - pp79 - 82
James P. Greenwood, Shoichi Itoh, Naoya Sakamoto, Paul Warren, Lawrence Taylor & Hisayoshi Yurimoto
doi:10.1038/ngeo1050
Water has been found in many lunar rock samples, but its sources are unknown. Isotopic analyses of Apollo samples of lunar mare basalts and highlands rocks suggest that a significant volume of water was delivered to the Moon by comets shortly after its formation by giant impact.
First Paragraph - Hydrogen isotope ratios in lunar rocks indicate delivery of cometary water to the Moon | Full Text - Hydrogen isotope ratios in lunar rocks indicate delivery of cometary water to the Moon | PDF (392 KB) - Hydrogen isotope ratios in lunar rocks indicate delivery of cometary water to the Moon | Supplementary information
Subject term: Planetary science
See also: News and Views by Robert
Ongoing climate change following a complete cessation of carbon dioxide emissions - pp83 - 87
Nathan P. Gillett, Vivek K. Arora, Kirsten Zickfeld, Shawn J. Marshall & William J. Merryfield
doi:10.1038/ngeo1047
Following a hypothesized complete cessation of carbon dioxide emissions, global climate models simulate approximately constant global mean temperatures for centuries. Long-term simulations with the Canadian Earth System Model suggest that, on these timescales, regional changes in temperature and precipitation are nevertheless significant, and that Southern Ocean warming at intermediate depths could affect the stability of Antarctic ice.
First Paragraph - Ongoing climate change following a complete cessation of carbon dioxide emissions | Full Text - Ongoing climate change following a complete cessation of carbon dioxide emissions | PDF (1,108 KB) - Ongoing climate change following a complete cessation of carbon dioxide emissions | Supplementary information
Subject term: Climate science
Stimulation of ice nucleation by marine diatoms - pp88 - 90
D. A. Knopf, P. A. Alpert, B. Wang & J. Y. Aller
doi:10.1038/ngeo1037
Biogenic aerosol particles of terrestrial origin, including bacteria and pollen, trigger ice formation in the atmosphere. Laboratory experiments reveal that biogenic particles of marine origin also initiate ice formation under typical tropospheric conditions.
First Paragraph - Stimulation of ice nucleation by marine diatoms | Full Text - Stimulation of ice nucleation by marine diatoms | PDF (318 KB) - Stimulation of ice nucleation by marine diatoms
Subject terms: Atmospheric science | Oceanography
See also: News and Views by Möhler & Hoose
Regionally differentiated contribution of mountain glaciers and ice caps to future sea-level rise - pp91 - 94
Valentina Radić & Regine Hock
doi:10.1038/ngeo1052
The contribution to sea-level rise from mountain glaciers and ice caps has grown over the past decades. A projection of their melting during the twenty-first century based on temperature and precipitation projections from ten climate models suggests that by 2100 these glaciers will lose about 21% of their total global volume.
First Paragraph - Regionally differentiated contribution of mountain glaciers and ice caps to future sea-level rise | Full Text - Regionally differentiated contribution of mountain glaciers and ice caps to future sea-level rise | PDF (395 KB) - Regionally differentiated contribution of mountain glaciers and ice caps to future sea-level rise | Supplementary information
Subject terms: Cryospheric science | Climate science
See also: News and Views by Paul
Formation of manganese oxides by bacterially generated superoxide - pp95 - 98
D. R. Learman, B. M. Voelker, A. I. Vazquez-Rodriguez & C. M. Hansel
doi:10.1038/ngeo1055
Manganese oxide minerals control numerous environmental processes, including the fate of contaminants. Laboratory experiments with a common species of marine bacteria reveal that bacterially generated superoxide can oxidize manganese ions, generating manganese oxides.
First Paragraph - Formation of manganese oxides by bacterially generated superoxide | Full Text - Formation of manganese oxides by bacterially generated superoxide | PDF (363 KB) - Formation of manganese oxides by bacterially generated superoxide | Supplementary information
Subject term: Biogeochemistry
Influence of human and natural forcing on European seasonal temperatures - pp99 - 103
Gabriele Hegerl, Juerg Luterbacher, Fidel González-Rouco, Simon F. B. Tett, Thomas Crowley & Elena Xoplaki
doi:10.1038/ngeo1057
The impact of external influences on European temperatures before 1900 has been thought to be negligible. An analysis of reconstructions of seasonal European land temperatures and simulations from three global climate models instead suggests that external forcing is responsible for a best guess of 75% of the observed winter warming since the late seventeenth century.
First Paragraph - Influence of human and natural forcing on European seasonal temperatures | Full Text - Influence of human and natural forcing on European seasonal temperatures | PDF (2,195 KB) - Influence of human and natural forcing on European seasonal temperatures | Supplementary information
Subject terms: Climate science | Palaeoclimate and palaeoceanography
Catastrophic dispersion of coal fly ash into oceans during the latest Permian extinction - pp104 - 107
Stephen E. Grasby, Hamed Sanei & Benoit Beauchamp
doi:10.1038/ngeo1069
The eruption of the Siberian Trap flood basalts resulted in the heating and combustion of coals and organic-rich sediments at the time of the Permian mass extinction. The presence of char in distant lake sediments linked to the eruption suggests that fly ash could have been generated by the coal combustion, and then dispersed globally, creating toxic marine conditions.
First Paragraph - Catastrophic dispersion of coal fly ash into oceans during the latest Permian extinction | Full Text - Catastrophic dispersion of coal fly ash into oceans during the latest Permian extinction | PDF (856 KB) - Catastrophic dispersion of coal fly ash into oceans during the latest Permian extinction | Supplementary information
Subject term: Planetary science
Magnetotelluric image of the fluid cycle in the Costa Rican subduction zone - pp108 - 111
Tamara Worzewski, Marion Jegen, Heidrun Kopp, Heinrich Brasse & Waldo Taylor Castillo
doi:10.1038/ngeo1041
The amount of fluid delivered to subduction zones by the oceanic crust and penetrating sea water is not matched by that leaving through volcanic emissions or transfer to the deep mantle. Electromagnetic images of the Costa Rican subduction zone reveal an extra reservoir in the crust that may account for some of the missing fluid.
First Paragraph - Magnetotelluric image of the fluid cycle in the Costa Rican subduction zone | Full Text - Magnetotelluric image of the fluid cycle in the Costa Rican subduction zone | PDF (1,169 KB) - Magnetotelluric image of the fluid cycle in the Costa Rican subduction zone | Supplementary information
Subject term: Structural geology, tectonics and geodynamics
High gold concentrations in sulphide-bearing magma under oxidizing conditions - pp112 - 115
Roman E. Botcharnikov, Robert L. Linnen, Max Wilke, Francois Holtz, Pedro J. Jugo & Jasper Berndt
doi:10.1038/ngeo1042
Magma transports metals to the Earth’s surface to form ore deposits, but only sulphide-undersaturated magmas were thought to be capable of generating large amounts of ore. Laboratory experiments indicate that large volumes of gold ore can also be generated by sulphide-saturated magma, if the redox conditions of the magma are suitable.
First Paragraph - High gold concentrations in sulphide-bearing magma under oxidizing conditions | Full Text - High gold concentrations in sulphide-bearing magma under oxidizing conditions | PDF (355 KB) - High gold concentrations in sulphide-bearing magma under oxidizing conditions | Supplementary information
Subject terms: Volcanology, mineralogy and petrology | Structural geology, tectonics and geodynamics
Articles
Positive feedback and momentum growth during debris-flow entrainment of wet bed sediment - pp116 - 121
Richard M. Iverson, Mark E. Reid, Matthew Logan, Richard G. LaHusen, Jonathan W. Godt & Julia P. Griswold
doi:10.1038/ngeo1040
The mechanisms by which debris flows acquire mass and momentum as they entrain material are unclear. Large-scale experiments suggest that the pore pressure of wet bed sediment increases as the flow moves over the bed, leading to reduced friction and progressive scouring of the base.
Abstract - Positive feedback and momentum growth during debris-flow entrainment of wet bed sediment | Full Text - Positive feedback and momentum growth during debris-flow entrainment of wet bed sediment | PDF (906 KB) - Positive feedback and momentum growth during debris-flow entrainment of wet bed sediment | Supplementary information
Subject term: Geomorphology
See also: News and Views by Mangeney | related Backstory
Magmatic–hydrothermal origin of Nevada’s Carlin-type gold deposits - pp122 - 127
John L. Muntean, Jean S. Cline, Adam C. Simon & Anthony A. Longo
doi:10.1038/ngeo1064
During the Eocene, profuse magmatism and hydrothermal activity in the Great Basin of western North America produced Earth’s second largest concentration of gold in Nevada. An integration of mineral analyses, experimental data and age and isotope data suggests a magmatic source for these deposits.
Abstract - Magmatic-hydrothermal origin of Nevada/'s Carlin-type gold deposits | Full Text - Magmatic–hydrothermal origin of Nevada’s Carlin-type gold deposits | PDF (1,587 KB) - Magmatic–hydrothermal origin of Nevada’s Carlin-type gold deposits | Supplementary information
Subject terms: Volcanology, mineralogy and petrology | Structural geology, tectonics and geodynamics | Geochemistry
See also: News and Views by Richards
Backstory
Flume in the forest - p128
doi:10.1038/ngeo1071
Richard Iverson and colleagues made enough of a din to scare the bears when sending large amounts of debris down a 95-m-long flume to find out what difference wet sediments make to an avalanche.
Full Text - Flume in the forest | PDF (322 KB) - Flume in the forest
See also: Article by Iverson et al.