1752-0894
Editorial
Climate change dialogues -p301
doi:10.1038/ngeo1474
Human influence on the planet is undeniable. Making a switch from exploitation to maintenance of natural resources depends on a step change in communication, to convince the Earth's population of the necessity for a fundamental change of course.
Full Text- Climate change dialogues | PDF (149 KB)- Climate change dialogues
In the press
Mercury revealed -p303
Alexandra Witze
doi:10.1038/ngeo1459
Full Text- Mercury revealed | PDF (383 KB)- Mercury revealed
Research Highlights
- Climate change: Agricultural impacts
- Plate tectonics: Immature subduction
- Palaeoclimate: Southern extent
- Core dynamics: History of instability
News and Views
Glaciology: No ice lost in the Karakoram -pp305 - 306
Graham Cogley
doi:10.1038/ngeo1456
The fate of glaciers in the greater Himalaya is widely discussed, but poorly known. A new measurement in the central Karakoram mountain range suggests that glacier mass change in this region contributes to sea-level rise nearly 0.05 mm per year less than has been thought.
Full Text- GlaciologyNo ice lost in the Karakoram | PDF (380 KB)- GlaciologyNo ice lost in the Karakoram
Subject terms: Climate science | Hydrology, hydrogeology and limnology |Cryospheric science
See also: Letter by Gardelle et al.
Palaeoclimate: Hot spells on land -pp306 - 307
Ross Secord
doi:10.1038/ngeo1457
The hothouse climate of the early Eocene epoch was punctuated by a series of transient warming events linked to massive carbon release. Detailed terrestrial records for three of these events indicate that they were caused by similar underlying mechanisms.
Full Text- PalaeoclimateHot spells on land | PDF (302 KB)- PalaeoclimateHot spells on land
Subject terms: Palaeoclimate and palaeoceanography | Biogeochemistry |Palaeontology
Earthquakes: Caught in the act -pp307 - 309
Jochen Braunmiller
doi:10.1038/ngeo1463
Faults break under the stress of plate tectonic forces, but the processes immediately preceding rupture are enigmatic. Monitoring of a remote oceanic fault that breaks regularly indicates that rupture is controlled by physical properties of the fault zone.
Full Text- EarthquakesCaught in the act | PDF (534 KB)- EarthquakesCaught in the act
Subject terms: Seismology | Structural geology, tectonics and geodynamics
See also: Letter by McGuire et al.
Planetary science: Earth's ancient catastrophes -p309
Tamara Goldin
doi:10.1038/ngeo1467
Full Text- Planetary scienceEarth's ancient catastrophes | PDF (176 KB)- Planetary scienceEarth's ancient catastrophes
Subject term: Planetary science
Marine microbiology: Evolution on acid -pp310 - 311
Sinéad Collins
doi:10.1038/ngeo1461
The prediction of marine microbial responses to ocean acidification is a key challenge for marine biologists. Experimental evolution offers a powerful tool for understanding the forces that will shape tomorrow's microbial communities under global change.
Full Text- Marine microbiologyEvolution on acid | PDF (174 KB)- Marine microbiologyEvolution on acid
Subject terms: Oceanography | Ecology
See also: Article by Lohbeck et al.
Sherry Rowland: Ozone and advocacy -p311
Paul Crutzen
doi:10.1038/ngeo1462
Full Text- Sherry RowlandOzone and advocacy | PDF (109 KB)- Sherry RowlandOzone and advocacy
Letters
Response of the North Atlantic storm track to climate change shaped by ocean–atmosphere coupling -pp313 - 317
T. Woollings, J. M. Gregory, J. G. Pinto, M. Reyers & D. J. Brayshaw
doi:10.1038/ngeo1438
In contrast to those in other regions, the North Atlantic storm track responds to anthropogenic greenhouse-gas forcing by strengthening and extending farther east. A regression analysis of an ensemble of coupled climate model simulations shows that this response is, to a large part, shaped by the interaction between ocean and atmosphere.
First Paragraph- | Full Text- Response of the North Atlantic storm track to climate change shaped by ocean–atmosphere coupling | PDF (599 KB)- Response of the North Atlantic storm track to climate change shaped by ocean–atmosphere coupling
Subject terms: Atmospheric science | Climate science | Oceanography
Atmospheric observations of Arctic Ocean methane emissions up to 82° north -pp318 - 321
E. A. Kort, S. C. Wofsy, B. C. Daube, M. Diao, J. W. Elkins, R. S. Gao, E. J. Hintsa, D. F. Hurst, R. Jimenez, F. L. Moore, J. R. Spackman & M. A. Zondlo
doi:10.1038/ngeo1452
Uncertainty in the future atmospheric burden of methane—a potent greenhouse gas—represents an important challenge to the development of realistic climate projections. Airborne observations of methane suggest that the remote Arctic Ocean could prove to be a potentially important methane source.
First Paragraph- | Full Text- Atmospheric observations of Arctic Ocean methane emissions up to 82° north | PDF (500 KB)- Atmospheric observations of Arctic Ocean methane emissions up to 82° north | Supplementary information
Subject terms: Biogeochemistry | Climate science | Cryospheric science |Oceanography
Slight mass gain of Karakoram glaciers in the early twenty-first century-pp322 - 325
Julie Gardelle, Etienne Berthier & Yves Arnaud
doi:10.1038/ngeo1450
The mass balance of Hindu-Kush–Karakoram–Himalaya glaciers has been debated, partly because of a severe lack of observations from the region. An analysis of the regional mass balance of Karakoram glaciers by comparison of digital elevation models from 1999 to 2008 reveals a small glacier mass gain in the area.
First Paragraph- | Full Text- Slight mass gain of Karakoram glaciers in the early twenty-first century | PDF (1,164 KB)- Slight mass gain of Karakoram glaciers in the early twenty-first century | Supplementary information
Subject terms: Climate science | Hydrology, hydrogeology and limnology |Cryospheric science
See also: News and Views by Cogley
Terrestrial carbon isotope excursions and biotic change during Palaeogene hyperthermals -pp326 - 329
Hemmo A. Abels, William C. Clyde, Philip D. Gingerich, Frederik J. Hilgen, Henry C. Fricke, Gabriel J. Bowen & Lucas J. Lourens
doi:10.1038/ngeo1427
The Earth’s climate between 60 and 50 million years ago was punctuated by several abrupt warming events, the largest of these being the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum. Carbon isotope records from the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, document these events in the terrestrial realm, and show a consistent scaling between marine and terrestrial records across the three main events.
First Paragraph- | Full Text- Terrestrial carbon isotope excursions and biotic change during Palaeogene hyperthermals | PDF (348 KB)- Terrestrial carbon isotope excursions and biotic change during Palaeogene hyperthermals | Supplementary information
Subject terms: Palaeoclimate and palaeoceanography | Palaeontology
See also: News and Views by Secord
Penetration of crustal melt beyond the Kunlun Fault into northern Tibet-pp330 - 335
Florian Le Pape, Alan G. Jones, Jan Vozar & Wei Wenbo
doi:10.1038/ngeo1449
The transition between the weak lithosphere of the Tibetan plateau and the surrounding rigid crustal blocks has a key role in the ongoing collision between India and Asia. A reanalysis of existing magnetotelluric data suggests that crustal melt penetrates north from the Tibetan plateau beyond the Kunlun Fault, and weakens the crust beneath the Kunlun Shan.
First Paragraph- | Full Text- Penetration of crustal melt beyond the Kunlun Fault into northern Tibet | PDF (1,880 KB)- Penetration of crustal melt beyond the Kunlun Fault into northern Tibet | Supplementary information
Subject term: Structural geology, tectonics and geodynamics
Variations in earthquake rupture properties along the Gofar transform fault, East Pacific Rise -pp336 - 341
Jeffrey J. McGuire, John A. Collins, Pierre Gouédard, Emily Roland, Dan Lizarralde, Margaret S. Boettcher, Mark D. Behn & Robert D. van der Hilst
doi:10.1038/ngeo1454
Mid-ocean ridge transform faults experience more foreshocks than continental faults, yet the mainshock rarely ruptures the entire fault. Analysis of seismic data from the Gofar transform fault at the East Pacific Rise indicates that the foreshock region has different material properties from the mainshock region, and acts as a barrier to rupture propagation.
First Paragraph- | Full Text- Variations in earthquake rupture properties along the Gofar transform fault, East Pacific Rise | PDF (5,714 KB)- Variations in earthquake rupture properties along the Gofar transform fault, East Pacific Rise | Supplementary information
Subject terms: Structural geology, tectonics and geodynamics | Seismology
See also: News and Views by Braunmiller
Abrupt change in the dip of the subducting plate beneath north Chile-pp342 - 345
E. Contreras-Reyes, J. Jara, I. Grevemeyer, S. Ruiz & D. Carrizo
doi:10.1038/ngeo1447
The Chilean subduction zone, where the oceanic Nazca plate subducts beneath the continental South American plates, is a very active convergent margin. Wide-angle seismic refraction and reflection data, combined with records of aftershocks following the 2007 Tocopilla earthquake, document an abrupt change in the dip of the subducting plate from less than 10° to about 22°.
First Paragraph- | Full Text- Abrupt change in the dip of the subducting plate beneath north Chile | PDF (1,108 KB)- Abrupt change in the dip of the subducting plate beneath north Chile | Supplementary information
Subject terms: Seismology | Structural geology, tectonics and geodynamics
Articles
Adaptive evolution of a key phytoplankton species to ocean acidification -pp346 - 351
Kai T. Lohbeck, Ulf Riebesell & Thorsten B. H. Reusch
doi:10.1038/ngeo1441
Ocean acidification may seriously impair marine calcifying organisms. Emiliania huxleyi, the world’s single most important calcifying organism, may be able to evolve in response to ocean acidification conditions, according to laboratory selection experiments.
Abstract- | Full Text- Adaptive evolution of a key phytoplankton species to ocean acidification | PDF (299 KB)- Adaptive evolution of a key phytoplankton species to ocean acidification | Supplementary information
Subject terms: Oceanography | Ecology
See also: News and Views by Collins
Pulses of carbon dioxide emissions from intracrustal faults following climatic warming -pp352 - 358
Niko Kampman, Neil M. Burnside, Zoe K. Shipton, Hazel J. Chapman, Joe A. Nicholl, Rob M. Ellam & Mike J. Bickle
doi:10.1038/ngeo1451
Carbon capture and geological storage represents a potential means of managing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. An analysis of a 135,000 palaeorecord shows that pulses of carbon dioxide leakage from a natural reservoir in Utah are associated with episodes of glacial unloading.
Abstract- | Full Text- Pulses of carbon dioxide emissions from intracrustal faults following climatic warming | PDF (1,512 KB)- Pulses of carbon dioxide emissions from intracrustal faults following climatic warming | Supplementary information
Subject terms: Geochemistry | Palaeoclimate and palaeoceanography | Structural geology, tectonics and geodynamics
A bistable organic-rich atmosphere on the Neoarchaean Earth -pp359 - 363
Aubrey L. Zerkle, Mark W. Claire, Shawn D. Domagal-Goldman, James Farquhar & Simon W. Poulton
doi:10.1038/ngeo1425
Before the rise of oxygen, the atmosphere of the early Earth may have consisted of an organic haze. Geochemical data and modelling suggest that from 2.65 to 2.5 Gyr ago, several transitions between hazy and haze-free atmospheric conditions occurred, potentially linked to variations in biogenic methane production.
Abstract- | Full Text- A bistable organic-rich atmosphere on the Neoarchaean Earth | PDF (326 KB)- A bistable organic-rich atmosphere on the Neoarchaean Earth | Supplementary information
Subject terms: Palaeoclimate and palaeoceanography | Atmospheric science |Geochemistry | Biogeochemistry