NATURE
1. Robust twenty-first-century projections of El Niño and
related precipitation variability
Scott
Power, François Delage, Christine Chung, Greg Kociuba & Kevin Keay
Nature 502, 541–545 (24 October 2013)
doi:10.1038/nature12580
Received 05 April 2013
Accepted 16 August 2013 Published online 13 October 2013
The
future of El Niño and its impact on precipitation in a warming world is clearer
than previously appreciated.
SCIENCE
2. Who's Afraid of Peer Review?
John
Bohannon
Science 4 October 2013:
Vol. 342 no. 6154 pp. 60-65, DOI: 10.1126/science.342.6154.60
More than 50% of
scientific journals accepted a paper based on experiments that are so
hopelessly flawed that the results are meaningless.
3. Ancient DNA Links
Native Americans With Europe
Michael
Balter
Science 25 October 2013:
Vol. 342 no. 6157 pp. 409-410
The genome of a Siberian
boy who died 24,000 years ago offers clues to the identity of the people who
first settled the Americas. But the boy apparently descended from people who
had lived in Europe or western Asia.
4. The New Core Paradox
Peter Olson
Science 25 October 2013:
431-432.[DOI:10.1126/science.1243477]
Recent results show that
Earth's core has a large thermal conductivity, raising questions over how the
geodynamo evolved.
5. Biodiversity Risks
from Fossil Fuel Extraction
N. Butt, H. L. Beyer, J.
R. Bennett, D. Biggs, R. Maggini, M. Mills, A. R. Renwick, L. M. Seabrook, and
H. P. Possingham
Science 25 October 2013:
425-426.
6. Mass-Independent
Oxygen Isotopic Partitioning During Gas-Phase SiO2 Formation
Subrata Chakraborty, Petia
Yanchulova, and Mark H. Thiemens
Science 25 October 2013:
463-466.[DOI:10.1126/science.1242237]
7. Strong Premelting
Effect in the Elastic Properties of hcp-Fe Under Inner-Core Conditions
Benjamí Martorell, Lidunka
Vočadlo, John Brodholt, and Ian G. Wood
Science 25 October 2013:
466-468.
Published online 10
October 2013 [DOI:10.1126/science.1243651]
The
observed shear-wave velocity VS in Earth’s core is much lower than
expected from mineralogical models derived from both calculations and
experiments. Elastic weakening of iron
just before melting explains variations in the seismic structure of Earth’s
inner core.
8. 2000 Years of
Parallel Societies in Stone Age Central Europe
Ruth Bollongino, Olaf
Nehlich, Michael P. Richards, Jörg Orschiedt, Mark G. Thomas, Christian Sell,
Zuzana Fajkošová, Adam Powell, and Joachim Burger
Science 25 October 2013:
479-481.
Published online 10
October 2013 [DOI:10.1126/science.1245049]
Genetic and isotopic
evidence document changes occurring in Europe during the Neolithic era.
PNAS
9. Holocene dynamics of
the Florida Everglades with respect to climate, dustfall, and tropical storms
Paul H. Glaser, Barbara C.
S. Hansen, Joe J. Donovan, Thomas J. Givnish, Craig A. Stricker, and John C.
Volin
PNAS 2013 110 (43)
17211-17216; published ahead of print October 7, 2013,
doi:10.1073/pnas.1222239110
A multiproxy sedimentary
record indicates that changes in atmospheric circulation patterns produced an
abrupt shift in the hydrology and dust deposition in South Florida wetlands over
the past 4,600 y.
10. Molecular
understanding of atmospheric particle formation from sulfuric acid and large
oxidized organic molecules
Siegfried Schobesberger,
Heikki Junninen, Federico Bianchi, Gustaf Lönn, Mikael Ehn, Katrianne
Lehtipalo, Josef Dommen, Sebastian Ehrhart, Ismael K. Ortega, Alessandro
Franchin, Tuomo Nieminen, Francesco Riccobono, Manuel Hutterli, Jonathan
Duplissy, João Almeida, Antonio Amorim, Martin Breitenlechner, Andrew J.
Downard, Eimear M. Dunne, Richard C. Flagan, Maija Kajos, Helmi Keskinen,
Jasper Kirkby, Agnieszka Kupc, Andreas Kürten, Theo Kurtén, Ari Laaksonen,
Serge Mathot, Antti Onnela, Arnaud P. Praplan, Linda Rondo, Filipe D. Santos,
Simon Schallhart, Ralf Schnitzhofer, Mikko Sipilä, António Tomé, Georgios
Tsagkogeorgas, Hanna Vehkamäki, Daniela Wimmer, Urs Baltensperger, Kenneth S.
Carslaw, Joachim Curtius, Armin Hansel, Tuukka Petäjä, Markku Kulmala, Neil M.
Donahue, and Douglas R. Worsnop
PNAS 2013 110 (43) 17223-17228;
published ahead of print October 7, 2013, doi:10.1073/pnas.1306973110
Atmospheric aerosols
formed by nucleation of vapors affect radiative forcing and therefore climate.
Here, we present high-resolution mass spectra of ion clusters observed during
new particle formation experiments.
11. Delayed detection
of climate mitigation benefits due to climate inertia and variability
Claudia Tebaldi and Pierre
Friedlingstein
PNAS 2013 110 (43)
17229-17234; published ahead of print October 7, 2013,
doi:10.1073/pnas.1300005110
Because of the inertia and
internal variability affecting the climate system and the global carbon cycle,
it is unlikely that a reduction in warming would be immediately discernible.
Here we use 21st century simulations from the latest ensemble of Earth System
Model experiments to investigate and quantify when mitigation becomes clearly
discernible.
12. Human and natural
influences on the changing thermal structure of the atmosphere
Benjamin D. Santer, Jeffrey
F. Painter, Céline Bonfils, Carl A. Mears, Susan Solomon, Tom M. L. Wigley,
Peter J. Gleckler, Gavin A. Schmidt, Charles Doutriaux, Nathan P. Gillett, Karl
E. Taylor, Peter W. Thorne, and Frank J. Wentz
PNAS 2013 110 (43)
17235-17240; published ahead of print September 16, 2013,
doi:10.1073/pnas.1305332110
Here, we present evidence
that a human-caused signal can also be identified relative to the larger
“total” natural variability arising from sources internal to the climate
system, solar irradiance changes, and volcanic forcing.
13. Vegetation controls
on the maximum size of coastal dunes
Orencio Durán and Laura J.
Moore
PNAS 2013 110 (43)
17217-17222; published ahead of print October 7, 2013,
doi:10.1073/pnas.1307580110
Here, we study foredune
development using an ecomorphodynamic model that resolves the coevolution of
topography and vegetation in response to both physical and ecological factors.
We find that foredune growth is eventually limited by a negative feedback
between wind flow and topography.
14. Changes in
ecosystem resilience detected in automated measures of ecosystem metabolism
during a whole-lake manipulation
Ryan D. Batt, Stephen R.
Carpenter, Jonathan J. Cole, Michael L. Pace, and Robert A. Johnson
PNAS 2013 110 (43)
17398-17403; published ahead of print October 7, 2013,
doi:10.1073/pnas.1316721110
We examined the capacity
of environmental sensors to assess resilience during an experimentally induced
transition in a whole-lake manipulation. A trophic cascade was induced in a
planktivore-dominated lake by slowly adding piscivorous bass, whereas a nearby
bass-dominated lake remained unmanipulated and served as a reference ecosystem
during the 4-y experiment.
15. Sleep spindles in
midday naps enhance learning in preschool children
Laura Kurdziel, Kasey
Duclos, and Rebecca M. C. Spencer
PNAS 2013 110 (43)
17267-17272; published ahead of print September 23, 2013,
doi:10.1073/pnas.1306418110
Given that sleep benefits
memory in young adults, it is possible that naps serve a similar function for
young children. Here we show evidence that classroom naps support learning in
preschool children by enhancing memories acquired earlier in the day compared
with equivalent intervals spent awake.
GEOLOGY
16. Localized
tsunamigenic earthquakes inferred from preferential distribution of coastal
boulders on the Ryukyu Islands, Japan
Kazuhisa Goto, Kunimasa
Miyagi, and Fumihiko Imamura
Geology, November 2013, v.
41, p. 1139-1142, first published on September 6, 2013, doi:10.1130/G34823.1
The occurrence of large
earthquakes and tsunamis along the Ryukyu Trench is a subject of continuing
interest, the key to which is the long-term geological record. Here we describe
the clast size and spatial distributions of ∼2900
boulders on the reefs of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, as markers of paleotsunamis
and causative tsunamigenic earthquakes.
17. Multidecadal
rainfall variability in South Pacific Convergence Zone as revealed by
stalagmite geochemistry
J.W. Partin, T.M. Quinn,
C-C Shen, J. Emile-Geay, F.W. Taylor, C.R. Maupin, K. Lin, C.S. Jackson, J.L.
Banner, D.J. Sinclair, and C.-A. Huh
Geology, November 2013, v.
41, p. 1143-1146, first published on September 6, 2013, doi:10.1130/G34718.1
Here we present an
absolutely dated, subannually resolved, 446 yr stable oxygen isotope (δ18O)
cave record of rainfall variability in Vanuatu (southern Pacific Ocean). The δ18O-based
proxy rainfall record is dominated by changes in stalagmite δ18O
that are large (∼1‰),
quasi-periodic (∼50
yr period), and generally abrupt (within 5–10 yr).
18. Iron formation
carbonates: Paleoceanographic proxy or recorder of microbial diagenesis?
Clark M. Johnson, James M.
Ludois, Brian L. Beard, Nicolas J. Beukes, and Adriana Heimann
Geology, November 2013, v.
41, p. 1147-1150, first published on September 6, 2013, doi:10.1130/G34698.1
The chemical and isotopic
compositions of carbonates are commonly used as proxies for ancient seawater or
paleoenvironments. Here were use an isotope tracer that is not affected by
biological processes or isotopic fractionation, the radiogenic 87Rb-87Sr
system, to test the applicability of iron fromation (IF) carbonates as a
paleoenvironmental proxy. These results question the use of IF carbonates to
infer seawater compositions and paleoenvironmental conditions, including
estimates for atmospheric CO2 contents.
19. Estuaries beneath
ice sheets
Huw J. Horgan, Richard B.
Alley, Knut Christianson, Robert W. Jacobel, Sridhar Anandakrishnan, Atsuhiro
Muto, Lucas H. Beem, and Matthew R. Siegfried
Geology, November 2013, v.
41, p. 1159-1162, first published on September 6, 2013, doi:10.1130/G34654.1
Interactions between
subglacial hydrology and the ocean make the existence of estuaries at the
grounding zones of ice sheets likely. Here we present geophysical observations
of an estuary at the downstream end of the hydrologic system that links the
active subglacial lakes in Antarctica.
20. Carbon dioxide
emission to Earth’s surface by deep-sea volcanism
Satoshi Okumura and Naoto
Hirano
Geology, November 2013, v.
41, p. 1167-1170, first published on September 6, 2013, doi:10.1130/G34620.1
Large amounts of CO2
are transferred from Earth’s interior to the surface by volcanism.
Here, we measure the CO2
and H2O contents of glassy basalts produced by petit-spot volcanism.
Based on the measured values and magma flux of petit-spot volcanism, we show
that the rate of CO2 emission from petit-spot volcanoes contribute
to the carbon cycle on Earth more that has been recognized.
21. Shaping
post-orogenic landscapes by climate and chemical weathering
Oliver A. Chadwick, Josh
J. Roering, Arjun M. Heimsath, Shaun R. Levick, Gregory P. Asner, and Lesego
Khomo
Geology, November 2013, v.
41, p. 1171-1174, first published on September 6, 2013, doi:10.1130/G34721.1
Here, we measure
geochemical and geomorphic properties of catchments in Kruger National Park,
South Africa, where granitic lithology and erosion rates are invariant,
enabling us to evaluate how varying mean annual precipitation impacts
hill-valley spacing or landscape dissection. Catchment-averaged erosion rates,
based on 10Be concentrations in river sands, are low (3–6 m/m.y.)
and vary minimally across the three sites.
22. Rapid
high-amplitude variability in Baltic Sea hypoxia during the Holocene
Tom Jilbert and Caroline
P. Slomp
Geology, November 2013, v.
41, p. 1183-1186, first published on September 6, 2013, doi:10.1130/G34804.1
Here we present bulk sediment
geochemical records from the deep basins of the Baltic Sea that show
multicentennial oscillations during intervals of past hypoxia, suggesting rapid
alternations between hypoxic and relatively oxic conditions.
The results confirm the
role of anthropogenic nutrient loading in driving this system into its current
hypoxic state.
23. High-flying
diatoms: Widespread dispersal of microorganisms in an explosive volcanic
eruption
Alexa R. Van Eaton,
Margaret A. Harper, and Colin J.N. Wilson
Geology, November 2013, v.
41, p. 1187-1190, first published on September 6, 2013, doi:10.1130/G34829.1
This study documents
abundant freshwater diatoms in widespread tephra from the 25.4 ka Oruanui
eruption of Taupo volcano, New Zealand.
Our results suggest that
dispersal of microorganisms may be an overlooked feature of a number of ancient
and modern eruptions, and indicate a novel pathway of microbe transport in
airborne volcanic plumes
24. Abundant bacterial
magnetite occurrence in oxic red clay
Toshitsugu Yamazaki and
Takaya Shimono
Geology, November 2013, v.
41, p. 1191-1194, first published on September 6, 2013, doi:10.1130/G34782.1
We demonstrate that
bacterial magnetites (magnetofossils) dominate magnetic mineral assemblages
throughout a 76 m thickness of red clay at IODP site in the South Pacific Gyre,
as well as in subsurface red clay of the North Pacific Gyre.
25. Tsunami-generated
turbidity current of the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake
Kazuno Arai, Hajime
Naruse, Ryo Miura, Kiichiro Kawamura, Ryota Hino, Yoshihiro Ito, Daisuke Inazu,
Miwa Yokokawa, Norihiro Izumi, Masafumi Murayama, and Takafumi Kasaya
Geology, November 2013, v.
41, p. 1195-1198, first published on September 6, 2013, doi:10.1130/G34777.1
We show the first
real-time record of a turbidity current associated with a great earthquake, the
Tohoku-Oki earthquake offshore Japan. Our discovery can be a starting point for
more detailed characterization of modern tsunamigenic turbidites, and for the
identification of tsunamigenic turbidites in geologic records.can live at
decimeter depths within red clay.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
26. Sequestration of Martian CO2 by
mineral carbonation
Tim
Tomkinson, Martin R. Lee, Darren F. Mark & Caroline L. Smith
Nature Communications 4, Article number: 2662
doi:10.1038/ncomms3662
Received 11 June 2013
Accepted 24 September 2013 Published 22 October 2013
Carbonation is the
water-mediated replacement of silicate minerals, such as olivine, by carbonate,
and is commonplace in the Earth’s crust. This reaction can remove significant
quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere and store it over geological timescales.
Here we present the first direct evidence for CO2 sequestration and storage on
Mars by mineral carbonation.
