Featured
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| Open AccessLinking the scaling of tremor and slow slip near Parkfield, CA
Huang and Hawthorne present new evidence supporting that tremor and slow slip are linked by the same moment-duration scaling. First-order implications would include that tremor and slow slip are likely generated by the same fault zone process.
- Hui Huang
- & Jessica C. Hawthorne
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Article
| Open AccessCrustal melting in orogenic belts revealed by eclogite thermal properties
By measuring the thermal properties of eclogite at high pressures, the authors found that temperature of orogenic continental crust is sufficient to melt granite and phengite, leading to low-velocity and high-conductivity anomalies in orogenic belts.
- Baohua Zhang
- , Hongzhan Fei
- & Qunke Xia
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Article
| Open AccessSpace-time monitoring of groundwater fluctuations with passive seismic interferometry
Characterization of groundwater systems is important for sustainable freshwater management. Here, the authors map the distribution of groundwater storage changes at several hundred meters below the metropolitan Los Angeles during 2000–2020, by developing a cost-effective method using ambient ground vibrations recorded by seismometers.
- Shujuan Mao
- , Albanne Lecointre
- & Michel Campillo
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| Open AccessCoupled influence of tectonics, climate, and surface processes on landscape evolution in southwestern North America
Cenozoic landscape evolution of southwestern North America remains debated. Here, the authors reconstruct landscape using 4-D numerical models, which can explain extensional collapse and superficial geological record for the Basin and Range Province
- Alireza Bahadori
- , William E. Holt
- & Catherine Badgley
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Article
| Open AccessSeparate luminous structures leading positive leader steps
The lightning's nature is that different-polarity leaders extend in air. Only negative leaders' development was previously associated to floating plasma. We found that the floating plasma could also lead the positive leader stepwise development.
- Shengxin Huang
- , Weijiang Chen
- & Zhiyuan Zhang
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessMultiple induced seismicity mechanisms at Castor underground gas storage illustrate the need for thorough monitoring
- Víctor Vilarrasa
- , Silvia De Simone
- & Antonio Villaseñor
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessReply to: Multiple induced seismicity mechanisms at Castor underground gas storage illustrate the need for thorough monitoring
- Simone Cesca
- , Daniel Stich
- & William L. Ellsworth
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Article
| Open AccessThe cryptic seismic potential of the Pichilemu blind fault in Chile revealed by off-fault geomorphology
Cryptic faults concern earthquake scientists, since they pose a hidden seismic potential which is hard to identify. To address this, the authors here study off-fault deformed geomorphic markers such as marine terraces using high-resolution LiDAR topography, optical dating of sediments and space geodetic observations.
- J. Jara-Muñoz
- , D. Melnick
- & M. R. Strecker
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Article
| Open AccessActive construction of southernmost Tibet revealed by deep seismic imaging
Mechanism driving continental growth on modern Earth has long been debated. By interpreting the long deep seismic reflection data across the ongoing India-Eurasia collision zone, the authors report crustal-scale magma accretion onto the south of central Lhasa terrane produced net continental growth.
- Zhanwu Lu
- , Xiaoyu Guo
- & Bo Xiang
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| Open AccessLow-degree mantle melting controls the deep seismicity and explosive volcanism of the Gakkel Ridge
Joint implementation of seismic tomography and numerical thermo-mechanical modeling sheds light to the causes of explosive submarine volcanic eruptions on the Gakkel Ridge and deeply penetrating seismicity down to 25 km depth.
- Ivan Koulakov
- , Vera Schlindwein
- & Aleksey Ivanov
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Article
| Open AccessAseismic slip and recent ruptures of persistent asperities along the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone
Physically plausible interseismic asperity models determined from GPS velocities suggest that the 2020 Mw 7.8 Simeonof and 2021 Mw 8.2 Chignik earthquakes ruptured distinct persistent asperities on the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone
- Bin Zhao
- , Roland Bürgmann
- & Qi Li
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Article
| Open AccessTransient evolution of permeability and friction in a slowly slipping fault activated by fluid pressurization
The mechanisms of permeability and friction evolution in a natural fault are investigated in situ. The authors conclude that the transient evolution of fault permeability and friction caused by a pressure perturbation exerts a potentially dominant control on fault stability during fluid flow
- Frédéric Cappa
- , Yves Guglielmi
- & Louis De Barros
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Article
| Open AccessTrans-crustal structural control of CO2-rich extensional magmatic systems revealed at Mount Erebus Antarctica
Episodic magma eruption and CO2 release to the atmosphere are controlled where two structural trends meet to cause dilatancy.
- G. J. Hill
- , P. E. Wannamaker
- & P. Kyle
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Article
| Open AccessKilometer-scale structure on the core–mantle boundary near Hawaii
A new paper constrains a high-resolution ultra-low velocity zone (ULVZ) structure at the base of the Hawaiian mantle. The authors further propose this to be a chemically distinct ULVZ with increasing iron content towards the core mantle boundary.
- Zhi Li
- , Kuangdai Leng
- & Sanne Cottaar
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Article
| Open AccessStructural transition and re-emergence of iron's total electron spin in (Mg,Fe)O at ultrahigh pressure
Iron spin transition occurs at ultrahigh pressure. The total electron spin increases from 0 to 1 as the structural transition of (Mg,Fe)O occurs (~0.6 TPa) and drops back to 0 at higher pressure. Its effects on exoplanet interiors are anticipated.
- Han Hsu
- & Koichiro Umemoto
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Article
| Open Access22 years of satellite imagery reveal a major destabilization structure at Piton de la Fournaise
At Piton de la Fournaise volcano, satellite deformation allows to constrain the geometry of 57 magmatic intrusions. Versatile modeling reveals that a major spoon-shaped destabilization structure accommodates intrusions and seaward flank displacement.
- Quentin Dumont
- , Valérie Cayol
- & Aline Peltier
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Article
| Open AccessA strength inversion origin for non-volcanic tremor
Subduction plate boundaries have enigmatic seismic tremor that is often associated with surges in creep across these boundaries. Here, the authors use multiple approaches to show how blocks of weak rocks in a stronger matrix can explain both the occurrence and characteristics of tremor events.
- Paola Vannucchi
- , Alexander Clarke
- & Jason P. Morgan
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Article
| Open AccessStructure and density of silicon carbide to 1.5 TPa and implications for extrasolar planets
Using ramp compression, silicon carbide was compressed to pressures of 1.5 terapascals, more than seven times higher than previous work. The results show that large carbon-rich exoplanets would be ~10% less dense than corresponding rocky planets.
- D. Kim
- , R. F. Smith
- & T. S. Duffy
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Article
| Open AccessSeismic precursors to the Whakaari 2019 phreatic eruption are transferable to other eruptions and volcanoes
Volcanic eruptions that occur without warning can be deadly in touristic and populated areas. Using a machine learning approach, the authors here discover distinctive patterns hidden in the seismic signals of a number of New Zealand and Alaskan volcanoes, that occur before most of the eruptions studied.
- Alberto Ardid
- , David Dempsey
- & Shane Cronin
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Article
| Open AccessProbing the seismic cycle timing with coseismic twisting of subduction margins
Satellite geodesy and downscaled laboratory experiments reveal that great subduction earthquakes trigger step changes in kinematics of neighboring segments. This signal is potentially informative of the timing of the seismic cycle.
- F. Corbi
- , J. Bedford
- & Z. Deng
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Article
| Open AccessFibre optic distributed acoustic sensing of volcanic events
Fibre Optic Distributed Acoustic Sensing on Mount Etna provides new opportunities for monitoring volcanic processes and demonstrates nonlinear interaction of infrasound wave with scoria layer, mapping its thickness and illuminating hidden structures.
- Philippe Jousset
- , Gilda Currenti
- & Charlotte M. Krawczyk
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| Open AccessGrowth of Neogene Andes linked to changes in plate convergence using high-resolution kinematic models
A high-resolution model of the motion between Nazca and South American plates is presented. The work shows rapid changes that help explaining tectono-magmatic events via a balance between kinematic energy and gravitational potential energy stored in the roots of the Andes.
- Felipe Quiero
- , Andrés Tassara
- & Osvaldo Rabbia
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Article
| Open AccessConstraining composition and temperature variations in the mantle transition zone
A new study by @JinZhang_MP models the global distribution of wadsleyite proportion, temperature and water content in the upper mantle transition zone.
- Wen-Yi Zhou
- , Ming Hao
- & Brandon Schmandt
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Article
| Open AccessInner core composition paradox revealed by sound velocities of Fe and Fe-Si alloy
The origin of the observed low shear wave velocity in the solid inner core is unclear. Here, the authors report shear wave velocities of iron and iron-silicon alloy under Earth’s core conditions by shock compression and find that neither the effect of temperature nor incorporation of Si can explain observed low shear wave velocity in the inner core.
- Haijun Huang
- , Lili Fan
- & Yingwei Fei
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Article
| Open AccessNonlinear sensitivity of glacier mass balance to future climate change unveiled by deep learning
Deep learning unveils a nonlinear sensitivity of glacier mass changes to future climate warming, with important implications for water resources and sea-level rise coming from glaciers and particularly ice caps.
- Jordi Bolibar
- , Antoine Rabatel
- & Clovis Galiez
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Article
| Open AccessFault rock heterogeneity can produce fault weakness and reduce fault stability
This paper shows that faults comprised of heterogeneously distributed materials, as is typical for tectonic faults in nature, are weaker and more unstable than equivalent faults where the materials are homogeneously mixed together.
- John D. Bedford
- , Daniel R. Faulkner
- & Nadia Lapusta
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Article
| Open AccessMegaripple mechanics: bimodal transport ingrained in bimodal sands
Megaripples are sand landforms found in wind-blown environments. A newly identified characteristic signature of the underlying bimodal sand transport process is found in the grain-size distribution on megaripples and could lend insight into transport conditions on Earth and other planetary bodies.
- Katharina Tholen
- , Thomas Pähtz
- & Klaus Kroy
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Article
| Open AccessPredicting fault slip via transfer learning
By teaching machine learning models with earthquake fault numerical simulations laboratory fault slip is predictable. Training the model further with a snippet of laboratory data improves predictions suggesting an approach to probing faults in Earth.
- Kun Wang
- , Christopher W. Johnson
- & Paul A. Johnson
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Article
| Open AccessDestructiveness of pyroclastic surges controlled by turbulent fluctuations
The hazards of pyroclastic surges remain poorly mitigated globally. Here, the authors show that their destructiveness is amplified by turbulent excursions of dynamic pressure energy that focusses inside the largest eddies and internal gravity waves.
- Ermanno Brosch
- , Gert Lube
- & Luke Fullard
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Article
| Open AccessUppermost crustal structure regulates the flow of the Greenland Ice Sheet
Anomalously slow seismic velocities in the upper Greenlandic crust reveal soft sedimentary substrates beneath major outlet glaciers. This, together with elevated geothermal heat flux observed at the onset of fast ice flow, has major implications for ice-sheet dynamics.
- G. A. Jones
- , A. M. G. Ferreira
- & A. Morelli
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Article
| Open AccessSouthward expanding plate coupling due to variation in sediment subduction as a cause of Andean growth
Climate and tectonics control the distribution of trench sediments which in turn exerts a strong influence on tectonics by controlling the coupling strength of plate interface. This process could have caused the southward growth of the Andes.
- Jiashun Hu
- , Lijun Liu
- & Michael Gurnis
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Article
| Open AccessSeismic reflections from a lithospheric suture zone below the Archaean Yilgarn Craton
The timing and nature of the first plate tectonic processes on Earth is disputed. Here the authors present a seismic reflection image of a suture zone that extends to 60 km depth beneath the ancient Yilgarn region of western Australia, suggesting that plate subduction occurred as early as 2.8 billion years ago
- Andrew J. Calvert
- , Michael P. Doublier
- & Samantha E. Sellars
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Article
| Open AccessThermochemical anomalies in the upper mantle control Gakkel Ridge accretion
The ultimate driver of ultraslow spreading ridges is unknown. Here the authors use spreading rates derived directly from isotopic ages of seafloor samples to link magmatic and amagmatic segments with thermochemical variations in the upper mantle.
- John M. O’Connor
- , Wilfried Jokat
- & Anthony A. P. Koppers
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Article
| Open AccessFluid-injection-induced earthquakes characterized by hybrid-frequency waveforms manifest the transition from aseismic to seismic slip
Yu et al. report a new type of induced earthquake signal characterized by hybrid-frequency waveforms (EHW). The low-frequency source features of the EHWs suggest they may represent slow ruptures transitioning from aseismic to seismic slip.
- Hongyu Yu
- , Rebecca M. Harrington
- & Bei Wang
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Article
| Open AccessNanometric flow and earthquake instability
Extremely fine-grained fault rocks are intrinsically weak and behave as fluids even at low temperatures and fast deformation rates. Local production of fine-grained material during fault movement can lead to an earthquake instability.
- Hongyu Sun
- & Matej Pec
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Article
| Open AccessLong-lived Paleoproterozoic eclogitic lower crust
The nature of the lower crust and the crust-mantle transition is fundamental to Earth Sciences. Here, the authors provide evidence for long-lasting presence of lower crustal eclogite below the seismic Moho, challenging conventional models.
- Sebastian Buntin
- , Irina M. Artemieva
- & Stefan Buske
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Article
| Open AccessAutonomous extraction of millimeter-scale deformation in InSAR time series using deep learning
A deep neural network is developed to automatically extract ground deformation from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar time series. Applied to data over the North Anatolian Fault, the method can detect 2 mm deformation transients and reveals a slow earthquake twice as extensive as previously recognized.
- Bertrand Rouet-Leduc
- , Romain Jolivet
- & Claudia Hulbert
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Article
| Open AccessProbabilistic tsunami forecasting for early warning
Probabilistic tsunami forecasting (PTF) defines an approach to tsunami early warning based on uncertainty quantification, enhancing forecast accuracy and enabling rational decision making. PTF is here developed for near-source tsunami warning, and tested in hindcasting mode over a wide range of past earthquakes.
- J. Selva
- , S. Lorito
- & A. Amato
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Article
| Open AccessAn intermittent detachment faulting system with a large sulfide deposit revealed by multi-scale magnetic surveys
In ultraslow-spreading ridges intermittent detachment faulting could contribute to discontinuous magmatic accretion supporting the development of massive sulfide deposits. Here the authors using a multi-scale magnetic survey of the Southwest Indian Ridge constrain that an episode of detachment faulting took place 0.7-1.48 Ma, with the present fault active since 0.33 Ma.
- Tao Wu
- , Maurice A. Tivey
- & Yunlong Liu
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Article
| Open AccessThe slow self-arresting nature of low-frequency earthquakes
Low-frequency earthquakes are a series of small earthquakes with lower dominant frequencies than ordinary earthquakes. By comparing the simulated earthquakes with the real data, we find that low-frequency earthquakes represent an earthquake rupture process that arrests spontaneously.
- Xueting Wei
- , Jiankuan Xu
- & Xiaofei Chen
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Article
| Open AccessSeismicity at the Castor gas reservoir driven by pore pressure diffusion and asperities loading
The 2013 Castor seismic sequence, offshore Spain, is a rare example of seismicity induced by gas storage operations. Here we show that early seismicity marked the progressive failure of a fault in response to pore pressure diffusion, while later larger earthquakes resulted by the failure of loaded asperities.
- Simone Cesca
- , Daniel Stich
- & William L. Ellsworth
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Article
| Open AccessDifferentiating induced versus spontaneous subduction initiation using thermomechanical models and metamorphic soles
The mechanism of subduction initiation is a key to modern plate tectonics. Here, using numerical modeling and geological observations, the authors find that the majority of active and paleo subduction zones with metamorphic soles likely formed during induced subduction initiation that involved a young overriding plate.
- Xin Zhou
- & Ikuko Wada
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Article
| Open AccessTwo end-member earthquake preparations illuminated by foreshock activity on a meter-scale laboratory fault
By tuning fault surface heterogeneity, the authors report earthquake preparation processes respectively driven by preslip and cascade-up on a meter-scale laboratory fault. The findings suggest that foreshock activity can be useful for predicting when and how the impending mainshock will occur.
- Futoshi Yamashita
- , Eiichi Fukuyama
- & Shigeru Takizawa
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Article
| Open AccessSubduction history of the Caribbean from upper-mantle seismic imaging and plate reconstruction
Seismic imaging of subducted plates offers a way to improve plate tectonic reconstructions. Here, Braszus et al. use new ocean-bottom seismometer data from the Lesser Antilles to locate subducted spreading centres and faults thus providing a new understanding of the evolution of the Caribbean plate.
- Benedikt Braszus
- , Saskia Goes
- & Marjorie Wilson
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Article
| Open AccessShallow slow earthquakes to decipher future catastrophic earthquakes in the Guerrero seismic gap
New offshore observations in the Guerrero seismic gap discovered shallow slow earthquakes, which suggest that a portion of the plate interface undergoes stable slip. This may explain the long return period of large earthquakes and why have previous large earthquakes not propagated into the gap.
- R. Plata-Martinez
- , S. Ide
- & Y. Ito
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Article
| Open AccessHydraulic transmissivity inferred from ice-sheet relaxation following Greenland supraglacial lake drainages
Hydraulic transmissivity under the 1km-thick Greenland Ice Sheet was inferred by ice-sheet uplift relaxation after rapid lake drainage events. A two-order-of-magnitude increase in hydraulic transmissivity was found throughout the melt season.
- Ching-Yao Lai
- , Laura A. Stevens
- & Howard A. Stone
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Article
| Open AccessThe perpetual fragility of creeping hillslopes
The downhill motion of soils on hillslopes is not well understood. Here, the authors present laboratory experiments and show that hillslopes are made perpetually fragile by environmental perturbations that prevent them from stabilizing.
- Nakul S. Deshpande
- , David J. Furbish
- & Douglas J. Jerolmack
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Article
| Open AccessA Late Cretaceous true polar wander oscillation
The authors present a high-resolution palaeomagnetic record for a Late Cretaceous limestone in Italy. They claim that their record robustly shows a ~12° true polar wander oscillation between 86 and 78 Ma, with the greatest excursion at 84–82 Ma.
- Ross N. Mitchell
- , Christopher J. Thissen
- & Joseph L. Kirschvink
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Article
| Open AccessDislocation interactions in olivine control postseismic creep of the upper mantle
Models of the viscosity evolution of mantle rocks are central to analyses of postseismic deformation but constraints on underlying physical processes are lacking. Here, the authors present measurements of microscale stress heterogeneity in olivine suggesting that long-range dislocation interactions contribute to viscosity evolution.
- David Wallis
- , Lars N. Hansen
- & Ricardo A. Lebensohn