Nature Geoscience contents: March 2013 Volume 6 Number 3 pp153-240

TABLE OF CONTENTS March 2013 Volume 6, Issue 3 Editorial Correspondence Commentary In the press Research Highlights News and Views Correction Review Letters Articles Subscribe   Facebook   RSS   Recommend to library   Twitter   Advertisement We know you're busy, so let the research come to you Scientific Reports is an open access journal that publishes research across all areas of the natural sciences. New papers are published daily. Stay updated with our latest content. Choose to receive a weekly round-up of all content published in the last seven days or monthly subject specific alerts. Sign up today.   Editorial Top Up and down   p153 doi:10.1038/ngeo1768 The upper atmosphere is not at the focus of public attention. Yet it is becoming clear that human-induced changes reach high above Earth's surface, with potential repercussions down below. Correspondence Top Biodiversity from mountain building   p154 Carina Hoorn, Volker Mosbrugger, Andreas Mulch & Alexandre Antonelli doi:10.1038/ngeo1742 See also: Article by Castelltort et al. Commentary Top Abandoned frontier   pp155 - 156 Paul O. Hayne doi:10.1038/ngeo1753 Over the past fifty years, NASA has pushed the frontiers of science and exploration to the edges of our Solar System. Declining funding for research and robotic missions may leave planetary exploration unfinished and young scientists stranded. In the press Top Black cloud with a silver lining   p157 Nicola Jones doi:10.1038/ngeo1747 Research Highlights Top Archaean geology: Earth bombarded | Hydrogeology: Conduit complications | Palaeoclimate: Miocene carbon | Climate science: Northern warming News and Views Top Planetary science: Traces of ancient lunar water   pp159 - 160 Erik H. Hauri doi:10.1038/ngeo1752 The presence of water in lunar volcanic rocks has been attributed to delivery after the Moon formed. Water detected in rocks from the ancient lunar highlands suggests that the Moon already contained water early in its history, and poses more challenges for the giant impact theory of Moon formation. See also: Letter by Hui et al. Oceanography: Coastal oceanic nitrogen loss   pp160 - 161 Bo Thamdrup doi:10.1038/ngeo1749 Oxygen minimum zones crop up along the eastern boundaries of ocean basins in the low latitudes. A survey of the oxygen minimum zone in the eastern South Pacific points to the coastal zone as a hotspot for anammox-driven marine nitrogen loss. See also: Article by Kalvelage et al. Geomorphology: Antarctica's lost landscape   pp162 - 163 Darrel A. Swift doi:10.1038/ngeo1751 The evolution of Earth's largest hidden landscape beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is poorly understood. Analyses of offshore sediments confirm that the ice incised deep troughs that host fast-flowing ice streams today, while older landscape features have been preserved. See also: Letter by Thomson et al. Climate science: Tropical carbon constraint   p163 Anna Armstrong doi:10.1038/ngeo1755 Palaeontology: Plankton in a greenhouse world   pp164 - 165 Gerald Langer doi:10.1038/ngeo1750 The Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum was marked by global warming and ocean acidification. Fossil and experimental analyses show that different species of marine calcifying algae responded very differently to the environmental upheavals. See also: Letter by Gibbs et al. Plate tectonics: Calling card of a ghost continent   pp165 - 166 Conall Mac Niocaill doi:10.1038/ngeo1748 Where continents break apart, new ocean basins are formed. The discovery of ancient continental minerals on a young, volcanic island suggests that parts of the Indian Ocean floor may be underlain by fragments of a long-lost continent. See also: Letter by Torsvik et al. Oceanography: Replenishing the abyss   pp166 - 167 Michael P. Meredith doi:10.1038/ngeo1743 Antarctic Bottom Water is formed along the fringes of Antarctica and fills much of the abyssal oceans. Data from moored instruments and tagged marine mammals confirm an unexpected site of bottom water formation at Cape Darnley, west of the Amery Ice Shelf. See also: Article by Ohshima et al. Geoscience JOBS of the week Organic Geochemist ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Ocean Technology Systems Dalhousie University, Department of Oceanography Junior Group Leader in Ecology & Evolution University of Fribourg, Department of Biology, Unit of Ecology & Evolution Postdoc in Ecological Networks University of Canterbury, New Zealand Associate professor in metamorphic petrology / structural geology Aarhus University, Department of Geoscience More Science jobs from Geoscience EVENT 13th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference & EXPO SGEM2013 16.-22.06.13 Albena, Bulgaria More science events from Correction Top Climate science: The heat is on in Antarctica   p167 doi:10.1038/ngeo1754 See also: News & Views by Steig & Orsi Review Top Physical processes in the tropical tropopause layer and their roles in a changing climate   pp169 - 176 William J. Randel & Eric J. Jensen doi:10.1038/ngeo1733 Tropical climate and the composition of the global upper atmosphere are affected by the tropical tropopause layer. A synthesis report concludes that transport and mixing in the tropopause region are closely linked with the Asian monsoon and other tropical circulation systems, with possible implications for the impacts of climate change on this important layer. Letters Top Water in lunar anorthosites and evidence for a wet early Moon   pp177 - 180 Hejiu Hui, Anne H. Peslier, Youxue Zhang & Clive R. Neal doi:10.1038/ngeo1735 Water has been detected on the lunar surface and attributed to delivery by impacts and the solar wind to a dry early Moon. Spectroscopic detections of water in lunar anorthosites from the Apollo collection suggest that a significant amount of water is indigenous to the Moon. See also: News and Views by Hauri Strong increase in convective precipitation in response to higher temperatures   pp181 - 185 Peter Berg, Christopher Moseley & Jan O. Haerter doi:10.1038/ngeo1731 The intensity of extreme precipitation rises faster than the rate of increase in the atmosphere's water-holding capacity. A combination of radar and rain gauge measurements over Germany with synoptic observations and temperature records reveals that convective precipitation, for example from thunderstorms, dominates events of extreme precipitation. Ecosystem photosynthesis inferred from measurements of carbonyl sulphide flux   pp186 - 190 David Asaf, Eyal Rotenberg, Fyodor Tatarinov, Uri Dicken, Stephen A. Montzka & Dan Yakir doi:10.1038/ngeo1730 Carbonyl sulphide is taken up by plants, and could potentially serve as a powerful proxy for photosynthetic carbon dioxide uptake. Field measurements in Israel suggest that carbonyl sulphide fluxes provide an independent constraint on indirect estimates of ecosystem photosynthesis. Predator-induced reduction of freshwater carbon dioxide emissions   pp191 - 194 Trisha B. Atwood, Edd Hammill, Hamish S. Greig, Pavel Kratina, Jonathan B. Shurin, Diane S. Srivastava & John S. Richardson doi:10.1038/ngeo1734 Predators can potentially influence the exchange of carbon dioxide between ecosystems and the atmosphere. Predator manipulation experiments with fish and invertebrates in a range of freshwater systems suggest that freshwater carbon dioxide emissions are reduced in the presence of predators. Evolution of the subglacial drainage system beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet revealed by tracers   pp195 - 198 D. M. Chandler, J. L. Wadham, G. P. Lis, T. Cowton, A. Sole, I. Bartholomew, J. Telling, P. Nienow, E. B. Bagshaw, D. Mair, S. Vinen & A. Hubbard doi:10.1038/ngeo1737 The fast flow of glaciers in Greenland during the summer season has been attributed to seasonal increases in subglacial melt water. Tracking the flow of subglacial water using geochemical tracers reveals the establishment of an increasingly efficient drainage network as the melt season progresses. Glacial discharge along the west Antarctic Peninsula during the Holocene   pp199 - 202 Jennifer Pike, George E. A. Swann, Melanie J. Leng & Andrea M. Snelling doi:10.1038/ngeo1703 The causes for rising temperatures along the Antarctic Peninsula over the past few thousand years have been debated. Analyses of diatom geochemistry and assemblage ecology from Palmer Deep off the western margin of the Antarctic Peninsula reveal that atmospheric processes have dominated glacial ice discharge during the late Holocene. The contribution of glacial erosion to shaping the hidden landscape of East Antarctica   pp203 - 207 Stuart N. Thomson, Peter W. Reiners, Sidney R. Hemming & George E. Gehrels doi:10.1038/ngeo1722 The topography hidden beneath the East Antarctic ice sheet has been unveiled by airborne surveys. Dating of detrital mineral grains reveals that, in contrast to low pre-glacial erosion rates, strong localized erosion has occurred since the expansion of the ice sheet, suggesting a dynamic early ice sheet. See also: News and Views by Swift Estimated strength of the Atlantic overturning circulation during the last deglaciation   pp208 - 212 Stefan P. Ritz, Thomas F. Stocker, Joan O. Grimalt, Laurie Menviel & Axel Timmermann doi:10.1038/ngeo1723 The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation is a key component of the climate system. Data and climate model reconstructions reveal a decline in the strength of the overturning circulation during the Heinrich1 and Younger Dryas cold events of the last glacial period. Links between tropical rainfall and North Atlantic climate during the last glacial period   pp213 - 217 Gaudenz Deplazes, Andreas Lückge, Larry C. Peterson, Axel Timmermann, Yvonne Hamann, Konrad A. Hughen, Ursula Röhl, Carlo Laj, Mark A. Cane, Daniel M. Sigman & Gerald H. Haug doi:10.1038/ngeo1712 The last glacial period was marked by dramatic climate fluctuations. Sediment records from the Cariaco Basin and the Arabian Sea suggest that cooling in the North Atlantic region was tightly coupled with a southward displacement of the intertropical convergence zone and a weakening of the Indian summer monsoon. Species-specific growth response of coccolithophores to Palaeocene-Eocene environmental change   pp218 - 222 Samantha J. Gibbs, Alex J. Poulton, Paul R. Bown, Chris J. Daniels, Jason Hopkins, Jeremy R. Young, Heather L. Jones, Geoff J. Thiemann, Sarah A. O'Dea & Cherry Newsam doi:10.1038/ngeo1719 Coccolithophores are a key component of the oceanic food web, and may be sensitive to environmental changes. Modern experiments and an assessment of the fossil record suggest that the response of individual species to a period of ocean acidification in the past may have affected the evolutionary success of these species' lineages. See also: News and Views by Langer A Precambrian microcontinent in the Indian Ocean   pp223 - 227 Trond H. Torsvik, Hans Amundsen, Ebbe H. Hartz, Fernando Corfu, Nick Kusznir, Carmen Gaina, Pavel V. Doubrovine, Bernhard Steinberger, Lewis D. Ashwal & Bjørn Jamtveit doi:10.1038/ngeo1736 Ridges of thick, raised crust on the Indian Ocean floor were thought to be mostly volcanic seamounts formed above the Reunion mantle plume. Dating of zircon minerals in Mauritian lavas, however, indicates that fragments of an ancient microcontinent may be preserved beneath the seamounts, contributing to the thickened crust. See also: News and Views by Mac Niocaill Articles Top Nitrogen cycling driven by organic matter export in the South Pacific oxygen minimum zone   pp228 - 234 Tim Kalvelage, Gaute Lavik, Phyllis Lam, Sergio Contreras, Lionel Arteaga, Carolin R. Löscher, Andreas Oschlies, Aurélien Paulmier, Lothar Stramma & Marcel M. M. Kuypers doi:10.1038/ngeo1739 Oxygen minimum zones account for a significant fraction of oceanic nitrogen loss. Observational and experimental data suggest that marine nitrogen loss is strongly tied to organic matter export in the South Pacific oxygen minimum zone. See also: News and Views by Thamdrup Antarctic Bottom Water production by intense sea-ice formation in the Cape Darnley polynya   pp235 - 240 Kay I. Ohshima, Yasushi Fukamachi, Guy D. Williams, Sohey Nihashi, Fabien Roquet, Yujiro Kitade, Takeshi Tamura, Daisuke Hirano, Laura Herraiz-Borreguero, Iain Field, Mark Hindell, Shigeru Aoki & Masaaki Wakatsuchi doi:10.1038/ngeo1738 Antarctic Bottom Water fills much of the global abyssal ocean, and is known to form in three main sites in the Southern Ocean. Data from instrumented elephant seals and moorings suggest an additional source of bottom-water formation in the Cape Darnley polynya that is driven by sea-ice production. See also: News and Views by Meredith Top Advertisement Nature Geoscience: call for papers The Nature Geoscience Editorial team is now accepting manuscripts from researchers who are active at the frontiers of this diverse and multidisciplinary field. Articles for Nature Geoscience will be selected and edited to have the maximum appeal to the global geosciences community. Manuscripts should be submitted through the online submission system The complete Guide for Authors can be viewed online   Natureevents is a fully searchable, multi-disciplinary database designed to maximise exposure for events organisers. The contents of the Natureevents Directory are now live. The digital version is available here. Find the latest scientific conferences, courses, meetings and symposia on natureevents.com. For event advertising opportunities across the Nature Publishing Group portfolio please contact natureevents@nature.com More Nature Events

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