Although deuterium (D) on Mars has received substantial attention, the deuterated ionosphere remains relatively unstudied. This means that we also know very little about non-thermal D escape from Mars, since it is primarily driven by excess energy imparted to atoms produced in ion-neutral reactions. Most D escape from Mars is expected to be non-thermal, highlighting a gap in our understanding of water loss from Mars. In this work, we set out to fill this knowledge gap. To accomplish our goals, we use an upgraded 1D photochemical model that fully couples ions and neutrals and does not assume photochemical equilibrium. To our knowledge, such a model has not been applied to Mars previously. We model the atmosphere during solar minimum, mean, and maximum, and find that the deuterated ionosphere behaves similarly to the H-bearing ionosphere, but that non-thermal escape on the order of 8000-9000 cm-2s-1 dominates atomic D loss under all solar conditions. The total fractionation factor, f, is 0.04–0.07, and integrated water loss is 147–158 m GEL. This is still less than geomorphological estimates. Deuterated ions at Mars are likely difficult to measure with current techniques due to low densities and mass degeneracies with more abundant H ions. Future missions wishing to measure the deuterated ionosphere in situ will need to develop innovative techniques to do so.

The thickness of the outer ice shell plays an important role in several geodynamical processes at ocean worlds. Here we show that observations of tidally-driven diurnal surface displacements can constrain the mean effective elastic thickness, ˜del, of the ice shell. Such estimates are sensitive to any significant structural features that break spherical symmetry such as faults and lateral variation in ice shell thickness and structure. We develop a finite-element model of Enceladus to calculate diurnal tidal displacements for a range of ˜del values in the presence of such structural heterogeneities. We find that the presence of variations in ice shell thickness can significantly amplify deformation in thinned regions. If major faults are also activated by tidal forcing—such as Tiger Stripes on Enceladus—their characteristic surface displacement patterns could easily be measured using modern geodetic methods. Within the family of Enceladus models explored, estimates of ˜del that assume spherical symmetry a priori can deviate from the true value by as much as ~ 20% when structural heterogeneities are present. Such uncertainty is smaller than that found with approaches that rely on static gravity and topography (~ 250%) or analyzing diurnal libration amplitudes (~ 25%) to infer ˜del at Enceladus. As such, despite the impact of structural heterogeneities, we find that analysis of diurnal tidal deformation is a relatively robust approach to inferring ˜del.

\justify Several methods have been developed to quantify the oceanic accumulation of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO$_2$) in response to rising atmospheric CO$_2$. Yet, we still lack a corresponding estimate of the changes in the total oceanic dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). In addition to the increase in anthropogenic CO$_2$, changes in DIC also include alterations of natural CO$_2$. Once integrated globally, changes in DIC reflect the net oceanic sink for atmospheric CO$_2$, complementary to estimates of the air-sea CO$_2$ exchange based on surface measurements. Here, we extend the MOBO-DIC machine learning approach by \citeA{keppler_mapped_2020} to estimate global monthly fields of DIC at 1$^{\circ}$ resolution over the top 1500 m from 2004 through 2019. We find that over these 16 years and extrapolated to cover the whole global ocean down to 4000 m, the oceanic DIC pool increased close to linearly at an average rate of 3.2$\pm$0.7 Pg C yr$^{-1}$. This trend is statistically indistinguishable from current estimates of the oceanic uptake of anthropogenic CO$_2$ over the same period. Thus, our study implies no detectable net loss or gain of natural CO$_2$ by the ocean, albeit the large uncertainties could be masking it. Our reconstructions suggest substantial internal redistributions of natural oceanic CO$_2$, with a shift from the mid-latitudes to the tropics and from the surface to below $\sim$200 m. Such redistributions correspond with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. The interannual variability of DIC is strongest in the tropical Western Pacific, consistent with the El Ni$\tilde{n}$o Southern Oscillation.

Oceanic emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) account for roughly one-third of all natural sources to the atmosphere. Hot-spots of N2O outgassing occur over oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), where the presence of steep oxygen gradients surrounding anoxic waters leads to enhanced N2O production from both nitrification and denitrification. However, the relative contributions from these pathways to N2O production and outgassing in these regions remains poorly constrained, in part due to shared intermediary nitrogen tracers, and the tight coupling of denitrification sources and sinks. To shed light on this problem, we embed a new, mechanistic model of the OMZ nitrogen cycle within a three-dimensional eddy-resolving physical-biogeochemical model of the ETSP, tracking contributions from remote advection, atmospheric exchange, and local nitrification and denitrification. Our results indicate that net N2O production from denitrification is approximately one order of magnitude greater than nitrification within the ETSP OMZ. However, only ~30% of denitrification-derived N2O production ultimately outgasses to the atmosphere in this region (contributing ~34% of the air-sea N2O flux on an annual basis), while the remaining is exported out of the domain. Instead, remotely-produced N2O advected into the OMZ region accounts for roughly half (~56%) of the total N2O outgassing, with smaller contributions from nitrification (~7%). Our results suggests that, together with enhanced production by denitrification, upwelling of remotely-derived N2O (likely produced via nitrification in the oxygenated ocean) contributes the most to N2O outgassing over the ETSP OMZ.

Atmospheric gravity waves (GWs) span a broad range of length scales. As a result, the un-resolved and under-resolved GWs have to be represented using a sub-grid scale (SGS) parameterization in general circulation models (GCMs). In recent years, machine learning (ML) techniques have emerged as novel methods for SGS modeling of climate processes. In the widely-used approach of supervised (offline) learning, the true representation of the SGS terms have to be properly extracted from high-fidelity data (e.g., GW-resolving simulations). However, this is a non-trivial task, and the quality of the ML-based parameterization significantly hinges on the quality of these SGS terms. Here, we compare three methods to extract 3D GW fluxes and the resulting drag (GWD) from high-resolution simulations: Helmholtz decomposition, and spatial filtering to compute the Reynolds stress and the full SGS stress. In addition to previous studies that focused only on vertical fluxes by GWs, we also quantify the SGS GWD due to lateral momentum fluxes. We build and utilize a library of tropical high-resolution ($\Delta x =3~km$) simulations using weather research and forecasting model (WRF). Results show that the SGS lateral momentum fluxes could have a significant contribution to the total GWD. Moreover, when estimating GWD due to lateral effects, interactions between the SGS and the resolved large-scale flow need to be considered. The sensitivity of the results to different filter type and length scale (dependent on GCM resolution) is also explored to inform the scale-awareness in the development of data-driven parameterizations.

A three-dimensional (3D) P-wave seismic velocity (Vp) model of the crust at the northern South China Sea margin drilled by IODP Expeditions 367/368/368X has been obtained with first-arrival travel-time tomography using wide-angle seismic data from a network of 49 OBSs and 11 air-gun shot lines. The 3D Vp distribution constrains the extent, structure and nature of the continental, continent to ocean transition (COT), and oceanic domains. Continental crust laterally ranges in thickness from ~8 to 20 km, a ~20 km-width COT contains no evidence of exhumed mantle, and crust with clear oceanic seismic structure ranges in thickness from ~4.5 to 9 km. A high-velocity (7.0-7.5 km/s) lower crust (HVLC) ranges in thickness from ~1 to 9 km across the continental and COT domains, which is interpreted as a proxy of syn-rift and syn-breakup magma associated to underplating and/or intrusions. Continental crust thinning style is abrupter in the NE segment and gradual in the SW segment. Abrupter continental thinning exhibits thicker HVLC at stretching factor (β) <~3, whereas gentler thinning associates to thinner HVLC at β>~4. Opening of the NE segment thus occurred by comparatively increased magmatism, whereas tectonic extension was more important in the SW segment. The Vp distribution shows the changes in deformation and magmatism are abrupt along the strike of the margin, with the segments possibly bounded by a transfer fault system. No conventional model explains the structure and segmentation of tectonic and magmatic processes. Local inherited lithospheric heterogeneities during rifting may have modulated the contrasting opening styles.

Winter cold spells over North America have been correlated with European wind extremes, but the physical mechanisms behind such “pan-Atlantic” compound extremes have not been clarified yet. In this study, we propose that pan–Atlantic cold and windy extremes occur following two possible dynamical pathways. The first one involves the propagation of a Rossby wave train from the Pacific Ocean, associated with windstorms over north-western Europe in the 5-10 days after the cold spell peak. The second is associated with a high-latitude anticyclone over the North Atlantic and an equatorward-shifted jet, leading to windstorms over south-western Europe already in the days preceding the cold spell peak. European windstorms are thus consistently tied to North American cold spells according to the different flow configuration. The analysis underscores that seemingly similar surface extremes may be driven by different processes, and that overlooking these subtleties and conflating them together could lead to misleading conclusions.

Simulating whole atmosphere dynamics, chemistry, and physics is computationally expensive. It can require high vertical resolution throughout the middle and upper atmosphere, as well as a comprehensive chemistry and aerosol scheme coupled to radiation physics. An unintentional outcome of the development of one of the most sophisticated and hence computationally expensive model configurations is that it often excludes a broad community of users with limited computational resources. Here, we analyze two configurations of the Community Earth System Model Version 2, Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model Version 6 (CESM2(WACCM6)) with simplified “middle atmosphere” chemistry at nominal 1 and 2 degree horizontal resolutions. Using observations, a reanalysis, and direct model comparisons, we find that these configurations generally reproduce the climate, variability, and climate sensitivity of the 1 degree nominal horizontal resolution configuration with comprehensive chemistry. While the background stratospheric aerosol optical depth is elevated in the middle atmosphere configurations as compared to the comprehensive chemistry configuration, it is comparable between all configurations during volcanic eruptions. For any purposes other than those needing an accurate representation of tropospheric organic chemistry and secondary organic aerosols, these simplified chemistry configurations deliver reliable simulations of the whole atmosphere that require 35% to 86% fewer computational resources at nominal 1 and 2 degree horizontal resolution, respectively.

Changes in vegetation in North America indicate Holocene shifts in the latitudinal temperature gradient along the western margin of the North Atlantic. The dynamics of tree taxa such as oak (Quercus) and hickory (Carya) showed opposing directions of change across different latitudes, consistent with changes in temperature gradients. Pollen-inferred temperatures from 34 sites quantify the changes and reconstruct a long-term southward shift of the sharpest temperature gradient in winter and a northward shift in summer. During the mid-Holocene, however, an oscillation in tree distributions interrupted the trends indicating that the steepest portion of the seasonal temperature gradients migrated rapidly northward at 5.8-3.2 ka. The shift produced an unusually late summer thermal maxima at 42-43.5°N where oak abundance peaked both in the early and mid-Holocene. The changes appear consistent with orbital and ice sheet forcing as well as millennial variability in the North Atlantic pressure field during the mid-Holocene.

The wetting properties of pore walls have a strong effect on multiphase flow through porous media. However, the fluid flow behaviour in porous materials with both complex pore structures and non-uniform wettability are still unclear. Here, we performed unsteady-state quasi-static oil- and waterflooding experiments to study multiphase flow in two sister heterogeneous sandstones with variable wettability conditions (i.e. one natively water-wet and one chemically treated to be mixed-wet). The pore-scale fluid distributions during this process were imaged by laboratory-based X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). In the mixed-wet case, we observed pore filling events where the fluid interface appeared to be at quasi-equilibrium at every position along the pore body (13% by volume), in contrast to capillary instabilities typically associated with slow drainage or imbibition. These events corresponded to slow displacements previously observed in unsteady-state experiments, explaining the wide range of displacement time scales in mixed-wet samples. Our new data allowed us to quantify the fluid saturations below the image resolution, indicating that slow events were caused by the presence of microporosity and the wetting heterogeneity. Finally, we investigated the sensitivity of the multi-phase flow properties to the slow filling events using a state-of-the-art multi-scale pore network model. This indicated that pores where such events took place contributed up to 19% of the sample’s total absolute permeability, but that the impact on the relative permeability may be smaller. Our study sheds new light on poorly understood multiphase fluid dynamics in complex rocks, of interest to e.g. groundwater remediation and subsurface CO2 storage.

Comets are active geological worlds with primitive surfaces that have been shaped to varying degrees by sublimation-driven sediment transport processes. Rosetta’s rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P) in 2014 provided data with the necessary spatial and temporal resolutions to observe how micro-gravity worlds evolve. Rosetta’s observations have thus far revealed that the majority of changes to the surface occurred within 67P’s smooth terrains, vast sedimentary deposits that blanket a significant fraction of the nucleus. Understanding the global context of these changes, and therefore the sediment transport pathways that govern the evolution of 67P’s surface requires a thorough description of their changing morphologies, and an evaluation of existing global-scale spatial and temporal trends. Accordingly, we present a time-resolved synthesis of erosion and deposition activity on comet 67P as it passed through its August 13, 2015 perihelion from September, 2014 to August, 2016. Our mapping results indicate that, around perihelion, sediment is globally redistributed inter-regionally from 67P’s more active south to the north. Equally important, however, are local, topographically-influenced sediment transport processes, with large volumes of sediment moving intra-regionally over sub-kilometer scales. We also show evidence for regions of near-zero net erosion/deposition between approximately 30–60° latitude, which may act as terminal sedimentary sinks, with remobilization of these materials hindered by multiple factors. This work provides a complete mapping of the sediment transport processes and pathways across 67P observed by the Rosetta misison, and represents a critical step toward understanding the global landscape evolution of cometary surfaces.

We use seismic ambient noise correlation and coda wave interferometry to estimate velocity variations at high temporal resolution, during the pre-eruptive period and the onset of the 2018 eruption of Kilauea volcano. A progressive velocity increase is observed from March to the end of April. It is followed by rapid decrease starting a few days before the onset of the East Rift Zone (ERZ) eruption and then by sharp velocity drop when the eruption started. The change of trend from velocity increase to decrease is progressively delayed by a few days from the summit caldera toward the ERZ. The location of the velocity perturbations shows a migration of the sources of velocity changes from the summit caldera toward the ERZ before the eruption. Using a model of pressure source, we show that the simultaneous caldera inflation and velocity increase probably result from an anisotropic distribution of fault and crack orientations. The velocity decrease could be due to damaging processes above the shallow reservoir and to plastic deformations around the caldera. We introduce a forward model of rock damage associated with the volcano-tectonic seismicity to calculate the velocity decrease. The good agreement between the calculated and the observed velocity variations shows that a large part of the velocity decrease results from damage of the medium. The delayed onsets of velocity decrease and the source migration of velocity perturbations are probably related to progressive fault openings in the Southern and Eastern parts of the caldera and to magma transfer toward the ERZ.

The strength of CO2 fertilisation is a major uncertainty across terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs) and is suggested to be overestimated without a representation of nitrogen (N) limitation. Here, we compare TBM projections with and without coupled C and N cycling over alternative future scenarios (the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways) to examine how representing N cycling influences CO2 fertilisation as well as the effects of a comprehensive group of physical and socioeconomic global change drivers. Because elevated N deposition and N mineralisation (driven by elevated temperature) have stimulated terrestrial C sequestration over the historical period, a TBM without N cycling must exaggerate the strength of CO2 fertilisation to compensate for these unrepresented N processes and to reproduce the historical terrestrial C sink. As a result, it cannot reliably project the future terrestrial C sink, overestimating CO2 fertilisation as CO2 increases faster than N deposition and temperature in future scenarios.

How are particles being energized by turbulent electromagnetic fields is an outstanding question in plasma physics and astrophysics. This paper investigates the electron acceleration mechanism in strong turbulence (δB/B0 ~ 1) in the Earth’s magnetosheath based on the novel observations of the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission. We find that electrons are magnetized in turbulent fields for the majority of the time. By directly calculating the electron acceleration rate from Fermi, betatron mechanism, and parallel electric field, it is found that electrons are primarily accelerated by the parallel electric field within coherent structures. Moreover, the acceleration rate by parallel electric fields increases as the spatial scale reduces, with the most intense acceleration occurring over about one ion inertial length. This study is an important step towards fully understanding the turbulent energy dissipation in weakly collisional plasmas.

Ambiguity over the Eocene opening times of the Tasman Gateway and Drake Passage makes it difficult to determine the initiation time of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). If the Tasman Gateway opened later than Drake Passage, then Australia may have prevented the proto-ACC from forming. Recent modelling results have shown that only a relatively weak circumpolar transport results under Eocene surface forcing. This leads to warm and buoyant coastal water around Antarctica, which may impede the formation of deep waters and convective processes. This suggests that a change in deep water formation might be required to increase the density contrast across the Southern Ocean and increase circumpolar transport. Here we use a simple reduced gravity model with two basins, to represent the Atlantic and the Pacific. This fixes the density difference between surface and deep water and allows us to isolate the impact of deep water formation on circumpolar transport. With no obstacle on the southern boundary the circumpolar current increases its transport from 82.3 to 270.0 Sv with deep water formation. Placing an Antipodean landmass on the southern boundary reduces this transport as the landmass increases in size. However, circumpolar flow north of this landmass remains a possibility even without deep water formation. Weak circumpolar transport continues until the basin is completely blocked by the Antipodes. When the Antipodes is instead allowed to split from the southern boundary, circumpolar transport recovers to its unobstructed value. Flow rapidly switches to south of the Antipodes when the gateway is narrow.

Tectonic tremors occurring on subducting plate boundaries are known to migrate at various timescales and migration speeds. Spatiotemporal patterns of tremor migration are key to investigating the rupture growth of slow earthquakes. However, spatiotemporal patterns are not sufficiently simple to visually define tremor migrations. This study developed a space-time Hough transform to objectively extract tremor migrations. The space-time Hough transform enables the extraction of multiple tremor migrations with various durations, migration directions, and migration speeds. We applied this method to a catalog of tremors for the period from 2012 to 2014, which was determined from the data analysis of a dense seismic array deployed in the Kii Peninsula, Southwest Japan. We successfully extracted 1,010 tremor migrations with durations ranging from 10 min to 24 h. Along-strike migrations propagating southwestward were predominant in the northeastern part of the Kii Peninsula, whereas those propagating northeastward were principal in the southwestern part. Regarding the along-dip direction, tremor migrations propagating in the up-dip directions were predominant in the deep part, and those propagating in the down-dip directions were principal in the shallow part. The patterns of along-strike migrations were related to the distribution of tremor energies, suggesting that tremor migrations may be controlled by heterogeneous structures of frictional properties on the plate interface. We further found that the migration speed is proportional to the inverse of the square root of the duration. This relation implies that a diffusion process controls the growth of fault ruptures behind tremor migrations.

Using the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS) on the Mars Atmosphere Volatile and Evolution spacecraft (MAVEN) we analyzed data from Mars Year (MY) 32, 34, and 35 to examine the He bulge during the northern winter solstice (Ls ~180-240) specifically focusing on the effects from the planet encircling dust event (PEDE-2018). He collects on the dawn/nightside winter polar hemisphere of the terrestrial planets (Earth, Mars, and Venus). The seasonal migration of the Martian He bulge has been observed and modeled (Elrod et al., 2017, Gupta et al., 2021). The MAVEN orbit precesses around Mars allowing for a variety of latitude and local time observations throughout the Martian year. MY32, 34 and 35 had the best possible opportunities to observe the He bulge during northern winter (Ls ~180-240). NGIMS observations during MY 32 and MY 35 revealed a He bulge on the nightside to dawn in alignment with modeling and previous publications. However, in MY 34, during the PEDE, the He bulge was not present indicating the PEDE directly impacted upper atmospheric circulation. Updates in modeling indicate changes in circulation and winds can cause He to shift further north and dawn-ward than MAVEN was able to observe. The temperature increases in the thermosphere on the nightside during the dust storm along with changes in gravity waves and eddy diffusion occurring during this event could account for this circulation change.

The quantitative and objective characterization of dissolution intensity in fossil planktonic foraminiferal shells could be used to reconstruct past changes in bottom water carbonate ion concentration. Among proxies measuring the degree of dissolution of planktonic foraminiferal shells, X-ray micro-Computed Tomography (CT) based characterization of apparent shell density appears to have good potential to facilitate quantitative reconstruction of carbonate chemistry. However, unlike the well-established benthic foraminiferal B/Ca ratio-based proxy, only a regional calibration of the CT-based proxy exists based on a limited number of data points covering mainly low-saturation state waters. Here we determined by CT-based proxy the shell dissolution intensity of planktonic foraminifera Globigerina bulloides, Globorotalia inflata, Globigerinoides ruber, and Trilobatus sacculifer from a collection of core top samples in the Southern Atlantic covering higher saturation states, and assessed the characteristics and reliability of CT-based proxy. We observed that the CT-based proxy is generally controlled by deep-water Δ[CO32–] like the B/Ca proxy, but its effective range of Δ[CO32–] is between –20 to 10 µmolkg–1. In this range, the CT-based proxy appears directly and strongly related to deep-water Δ[CO32–], whereas the B/Ca of benthic foraminifera appears to be affected by porewater saturation in carbonate-rich substrates. On the other hand, the CT-based proxy is affected by supralysoclinal dissolution in areas with high productivity. Like the B/Ca proxy, the CT-based proxy requires species-specific calibration, but the effect of species-specific shell difference in susceptibility to dissolution on the proxy is small.