Nature Geoscience contents: June 2013 Volume 6 Number 6 pp413-503

TABLE OF CONTENTS June 2013 Volume 6, Issue 6 Editorials Correspondence Commentary In the press Research Highlights News and Views Progress Article Letters Articles Corrigendum Errata Subscribe   Facebook   RSS   Recommend to library   Twitter   Advertisement Nature Geoscience web focus: 5 years after the Wenchuan Earthquake The Wenchuan earthquake of 2008 killed more than 80,000 people and displaced millions. The most recent quake in April 2013 wreaked further havoc in the region. This web focus discusses the mechanisms for the Wenchuan quake and the implications for our understanding of the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, the on-going risk from quake-induced landslides, and the societal impacts. Free online to registered nature.com users until 31 October 2013. Produced with support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.   Editorials Top Plants, clouds and climate   p413 doi:10.1038/ngeo1852 Plant–cloud interactions have the potential to both cool and warm the climate. Ascertaining how these processes balance out at the global scale will require close collaboration between climate scientists and plant biologists. Double-blind peer review   p413 doi:10.1038/ngeo1853 Allowing authors of research papers to be anonymous to referees has long been recommended. We will offer such an option, as a trial, from 10 June 2013. Correspondence Top Energy budget constraints on climate response   pp415 - 416 Alexander Otto, Friederike E. L. Otto, Olivier Boucher, John Church, Gabi Hegerl, Piers M. Forster, Nathan P. Gillett, Jonathan Gregory, Gregory C. Johnson, Reto Knutti, Nicholas Lewis, Ulrike Lohmann, Jochem Marotzke, Gunnar Myhre, Drew Shindell, Bjorn Stevens and Myles R. Allen doi:10.1038/ngeo1836 Commentary Top The fourth food revolution   pp417 - 418 Paolo D'Odorico and Maria Cristina Rulli doi:10.1038/ngeo1842 In areas of the developing world that have benefited only marginally from the intensification of agriculture, foreign investments can enhance productivity. This could represent a step towards greater food security, but only if we ensure that malnourished people in the host countries benefit. In the press Top Plumbing Old Faithful's depths   p419 Nicola Jones doi:10.1038/ngeo1839 Research Highlights Top Atmospheric science: Central Pacific cyclones | Planetary science: Wet martian mantle | Palaeoclimate: Cold and dry | Tectonics: Failed break-up News and Views Top Planetary science: Go and catch a falling star   pp422 - 423 Erik Asphaug doi:10.1038/ngeo1840 Patches of deposits containing unusual mafic minerals are observed in and around some large lunar impact craters. Numerical simulations suggest that in the slowest of these impacts, asteroidal material, alien to the Moon, could have survived. See also: Letter by Yue et al. Palaeoclimate: When the dust settles   pp423 - 424 Eun Young Kwon and Eric D. Galbraith doi:10.1038/ngeo1838 The amount of carbon stored in the deep ocean varied over glacial–interglacial cycles. Southern Ocean sediments from the past 360,000 years show that carbon storage also fluctuated within glacial periods, in concert with the fertilization of the Southern Ocean by wind-borne dust. See also: Letter by Ziegler et al. Earth's inner core: Variable rotation   pp424 - 426 Kenneth C. Creager doi:10.1038/ngeo1831 Different measurements of inner core rotation have delivered inconsistent results. An analysis of seismic data provides a resolution of this discrepancy by suggesting decadal variations in inner core rotation rate. See also: Article by Tkalčić et al. Geochemistry: Subsurface sustenance   pp426 - 427 Steven D'Hondt doi:10.1038/ngeo1843 High-temperature water–rock reactions produce large quantities of hydrogen, which must be transported to cooler settings to sustain life. Lower-temperature hydrogen generation could potentially support life in situ and free subsurface microbes from photosynthetic constraints. See also: Article by Mayhew et al. Geoscience JOBS of the week Two Postdoctoral Fellows Dalhousie University, Department of Oceanography PhD Studentship - In Microbiology And Structural Biology Southampton University More Science jobs from Progress Article Top A middle Eocene carbon cycle conundrum   pp429 - 434 Appy Sluijs, Richard E. Zeebe, Peter K. Bijl and Steven M. Bohaty doi:10.1038/ngeo1807 A 500,000-year-long period of warmth in the middle Eocene was marked by high atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and prolonged dissolution of carbonate in the deep oceans. Numerical simulations attempting to capture these features identify gaps in our understanding of the causes of this and similar perturbations. Letters Top Projectile remnants in central peaks of lunar impact craters   pp435 - 437 Z. Yue, B. C. Johnson, D. A. Minton, H. J. Melosh, K. Di, W. Hu and Y. Liu doi:10.1038/ngeo1828 Unusual minerals observed in lunar craters were thought to originate from beneath the Moon's surface. Numerical simulations show that rather than being vaporized, much of the impactor material can survive in the crater, implying that the unusual minerals come from the impactor and may not be indigenous to the Moon. See also: News and Views by Asphaug Warming-induced increase in aerosol number concentration likely to moderate climate change   pp438 - 442 Pauli Paasonen, Ari Asmi, Tuukka Petäjä, Maija K. Kajos, Mikko Äijälä, Heikki Junninen, Thomas Holst, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, Almut Arneth, Wolfram Birmili, Hugo Denier van der Gon, Amar Hamed, András Hoffer, Lauri Laakso, Ari Laaksonen, W. Richard Leaitch, Christian Plass-Dulmer, Sara C. Pryor, Petri Räisänen, Erik Swietlicki, Alfred Wiedensohler, Douglas R. Worsnop, Veli-Matti Kerminen and Markku Kulmala doi:10.1038/ngeo1800 Atmospheric aerosol particles can significantly influence the climate system. Analyses of observations and observation-based modelling data reveal that biogenic aerosol emissions soar in response to warming, exerting a cooling effect in a negative feedback loop. Cloud droplet number enhanced by co-condensation of organic vapours   pp443 - 446 David Topping, Paul Connolly and Gordon McFiggans doi:10.1038/ngeo1809 The brightness and lifetime of clouds is determined by cloud droplet number concentration, which is in turn dictated by the number of available seed particles. Model simulations suggest that condensation of semi-volatile organic compounds enhances the formation of cloud droplets, with consequences for cloud dynamics. Robust direct effect of carbon dioxide on tropical circulation and regional precipitation   pp447 - 451 Sandrine Bony, Gilles Bellon, Daniel Klocke, Steven Sherwood, Solange Fermepin and Sébastien Denvil doi:10.1038/ngeo1799 Predicting the response of tropical rainfall to climate change remains a challenge. An analysis of climate model simulations suggests that in an emission scenario without mitigation, a large fraction of tropical precipitation change will be independent of global surface warming over the twenty-first century. Boreal carbon loss due to poleward shift in low-carbon ecosystems   pp452 - 456 Charles D. Koven doi:10.1038/ngeo1801 Climate change can be thought of in terms of geographical shifts in climate properties. Tracking the geographical movement of analogous climate conditions between historical and future climate model simulations, and calculating the impact of such shifts on vegetation carbon storage, suggests that boreal forests will lose carbon as low-carbon ecosystems shift in. Millennial-scale changes in atmospheric CO2 levels linked to the Southern Ocean carbon isotope gradient and dust flux   pp457 - 461 Martin Ziegler, Paula Diz, Ian R. Hall and Rainer Zahn doi:10.1038/ngeo1782 In the Southern Ocean, the biological cycling of dissolved CO2 is thought to be influenced by the delivery of iron by dust particles. Reconstructions of nutrient utilization from the South Atlantic Ocean show millennial-scale links between dust flux and the efficiency of the biological pump. See also: News and Views by Kwon & Galbraith Andean structural control on interseismic coupling in the North Chile subduction zone   pp462 - 467 Marta Béjar-Pizarro, Anne Socquet, Rolando Armijo, Daniel Carrizo, Jeff Genrich and Mark Simons doi:10.1038/ngeo1802 Ridges on the down-going plate in a subduction zone can segment the seismogenic zone and influence earthquake occurrence, but the role of the overriding plate is unclear. InSAR and GPS satellite measurements indicate that segmentation of the subduction zone in northern Chile correlates with a 1-km-high coastal scarp, implying that overriding plate structure can influence seismicity. Slip weakening as a mechanism for slow earthquakes   pp468 - 472 Matt J. Ikari, Chris Marone, Demian M. Saffer and Achim J. Kopf doi:10.1038/ngeo1818 Slow earthquakes form part of a spectrum of fault behaviour between steady creep and fast rupture during a normal earthquake. Laboratory simulations of slow slip in rock samples taken from the Nankai subduction zone, Japan, reveal similar characteristics to fast earthquakes, implying that some slow slip events could be prematurely arrested earthquakes. Graphite formation by carbonate reduction during subduction   pp473 - 477 Matthieu E. Galvez, Olivier Beyssac, Isabelle Martinez, Karim Benzerara, Carine Chaduteau, Benjamin Malvoisin and Jacques Malavieille doi:10.1038/ngeo1827 Carbon is carried into the Earth at subduction zones. Geochemical analysis of subducted sediments now exhumed in Alpine Corsica, France, reveal the formation of graphite during shallow subduction, implying that carbonate transformation to graphite aids transport into the deeper Earth. Articles Top Hydrogen generation from low-temperature water–rock reactions   pp478 - 484 L. E. Mayhew, E. T. Ellison, T. M. McCollom, T. P. Trainor and A. S. Templeton doi:10.1038/ngeo1825 Hydrogen is commonly produced during the high-temperature hydration of mafic and ultramafic rocks. Laboratory experiments suggest that water–rock reactions also generate hydrogen at lower temperatures, potentially fuelling microbial life in ultramafic aquifers in oceanic and terrestrial crust. See also: News and Views by D'Hondt The effect of sea level on glacial Indo-Pacific climate   pp485 - 491 Pedro N. DiNezio and Jessica E. Tierney doi:10.1038/ngeo1823 The Indo-Pacific warm pool is the largest source of heat and moisture vapour to the atmosphere. Proxy reconstructions and model simulations suggest that during the Last Glacial Maximum, the exposure of the Sunda Shelf of Southeast Asia weakened deep convection over the warm pool. Permanent deformation caused by subduction earthquakes in northern Chile   pp492 - 496 A. Baker, R. W. Allmendinger, L. A. Owen and J. A. Rech doi:10.1038/ngeo1789 Earth's crust is thought to eventually rebound following an earthquake so that deformation is not permanent. Field analysis in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile, however, identifies numerous large cracks in the crust, implying that the crust here has been permanently deformed by thousands of earthquakes that have occurred over the past million years. The shuffling rotation of the Earth's inner core revealed by earthquake doublets   pp497 - 502 Hrvoje Tkalčić, Mallory Young, Thomas Bodin, Silvie Ngo and Malcolm Sambridge doi:10.1038/ngeo1813 Earth's inner core rotates at a different rate than the mantle, and discrepancies exist between rotation rates derived from geophysical observations and geodynamical simulations. An inverse analysis of seismic data from repeating earthquakes over the past 50[thinsp]years suggests that the rotation rate of the inner core fluctuates on decadal timescales. See also: News and Views by Creager Corrigendum Top Greenland meltwater as a significant and potentially bioavailable source of iron to the ocean   p503 Maya P. Bhatia, Elizabeth B. Kujawinski, Sarah B. Das, Crystaline F. Breier, Paul B. Henderson and Matthew A. Charette doi:10.1038/ngeo1833 Errata Top Continental-scale temperature variability during the past two millennia   p503 PAGES 2k Consortium doi:10.1038/ngeo1834 Continental-scale temperature variability during the past two millennia   p503 PAGES 2k Consortium doi:10.1038/ngeo1849 Top Advertisement Nature proudly sponsors the Imagine Science Film Awards Where science meets cinema Submit your film and compete for the $2,500 Nature Scientific Merit Award and the $1,000 Nature Audience Award www.imaginesciencefilms.org/festival/submit-your-film/   Natureevents is a fully searchable, multi-disciplinary database designed to maximise exposure for events organisers. The contents of the Natureevents Directory are now live. 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