Nature Geoscience contents: July 2016 Volume 9 Number 7 pp471-560

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TABLE OF CONTENTS July 2016 Volume 9, Issue 7 Editorial Commentary News and Views Review Letters Articles Subscribe   Facebook   RSS   Recommend to library   Twitter   Advertisement Celebrating 10,000 articles published On the 20th April 2016, Nature Communications celebrated publishing its 10,000 article. To celebrate this milestone our editors have selected a sample of articles from each subject area published in the last five years. Access the highlights here and sign up for free article e-alerts to stay up-to-date on all the latest content as it is published.   Advertisement npj Clean Water: open for submissions  An open access, online-only journal, dedicated to publishing high-quality papers that describe the significant and cutting-edge research that continues to ensure the supply of clean water to populations. Explore the benefits of submitting your next manuscript.   Editorial Top Subtle signals at sea   p471 doi:10.1038/ngeo2762 The ocean overturning circulation is potentially sensitive to climate change. In the north and south alike, human influence is less pronounced than we thought, but that is no reason to relax our watchfulness. Commentary Top Cassini's Grand Finale   pp472 - 473 Scott G. Edgington & Linda J. Spilker doi:10.1038/ngeo2753 After more than a decade exploring Saturn and its moons, the Cassini mission is in its closing act. Cassini's last year is an encore performance stuffed with science, including a final plunge into Saturn's atmosphere. News and Views Top Atmospheric chemistry: The return of ethane   pp475 - 476 Hannele Hakola & Heidi Hellén doi:10.1038/ngeo2736 Ethane emissions can lead to ozone pollution. Measurements at 49 sites show that long-declining atmospheric ethane concentrations started rising in 2010 in the Northern Hemisphere, largely due to greater oil and gas production in the USA. See also: Letter by Helmig et al. Planetary science: Salty Ceres   pp476 - 477 Mikhail Zolotov doi:10.1038/ngeo2756 Anomalously bright spots are seen on the dark cratered surface of the dwarf planet Ceres. The Dawn spacecraft's detection of sodium carbonates in bright areas is consistent with aqueous activity in an ice-poor and salty regolith. See also: Article by Bland et al. Climate change: Carbon losses in the Alps   pp478 - 479 Guy Kirk doi:10.1038/ngeo2747 Soil carbon stocks depend on inputs from decomposing vegetation and return to the atmosphere as CO2. Monitoring of carbon stocks in German alpine soils has shown large losses linked to climate change and a possible positive feedback loop. See also: Article by Prietzel et al. Ocean science: Vagaries of Atlantic overturning   pp479 - 480 Thomas W. N. Haine doi:10.1038/ngeo2748 A weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation has emerged from noise after years of painstaking measurements. Three independent lines of evidence suggest that an anthropogenic influence on this overturning is not yet detectable. See also: Letter by Böning et al. | Letter by Robson et al. | Letter by Jackson et al. Geoscience JOBS of the week 32 PhD and 14 Research Associate positions TRR 181 "Energy transfers in Atmosphere and Ocean" More Science jobs from Geoscience EVENT ICCGE 2017 6th International Conference on Clean and Green Energy_EI 08.02.17 Frankfurt, Germany More science events from Review Top Continent-sized anomalous zones with low seismic velocity at the base of Earth's mantle   pp481 - 489 Edward J. Garnero, Allen K. McNamara & Sang-Heon Shim doi:10.1038/ngeo2733 Two large zones through which seismic waves travel unusually slowly are found at the base of Earth's mantle. These zones are thermally and chemically distinct from the surrounding mantle and may be a source for mantle plumes. Letters Top Reversal of global atmospheric ethane and propane trends largely due to US oil and natural gas production   pp490 - 495 Detlev Helmig, Samuel Rossabi, Jacques Hueber, Pieter Tans, Stephen A. Montzka et al. doi:10.1038/ngeo2721 Atmospheric non-methane hydrocarbon concentrations began declining in the 1970s. Surface and column measurements show that Northern Hemisphere ethane concentrations are now rising, probably due to North American oil and natural gas emissions. See also: News and Views by Hakola & Hellén Space-based detection of missing sulfur dioxide sources of global air pollution   pp496 - 500 Chris A. McLinden, Vitali Fioletov, Mark W. Shephard, Nick Krotkov, Can Li et al. doi:10.1038/ngeo2724 Sulfur dioxide is a key air contaminant. A satellite-based emissions inventory reveals a number of hitherto unknown sources, with a cluster around the Persian Gulf, and identifies large discrepancies with conventional inventories in some regions. Organic carbon decomposition rates controlled by water retention time across inland waters   pp501 - 504 Núria Catalán, Rafael Marcé, Dolly N. Kothawala & Lars. J. Tranvik doi:10.1038/ngeo2720 Organic carbon decays as it travels through inland waters from soils to the sea. Analysis of data from across the continuum of inland and marine aquatic systems reveals that the rate of organic carbon decay depends on water retention time. Partial decoupling of primary productivity from upwelling in the California Current system   pp505 - 508 Lionel Renault, Curtis Deutsch, James C. McWilliams, Hartmut Frenzel, Jun-Hong Liang et al. doi:10.1038/ngeo2722 Eastern boundary coastal upwelling systems are locations of high ocean productivity. Numerical simulations reveal that wind alters current- and eddy-driven nutrient supply, which affects net primary productivity in the California Current system. The North Atlantic Oscillation as a driver of rapid climate change in the Northern Hemisphere   pp509 - 512 Thomas L. Delworth, Fanrong Zeng, Gabriel A. Vecchi, Xiaosong Yang, Liping Zhang et al. doi:10.1038/ngeo2738 The North Atlantic Oscillation has varied markedly on multidecadal timescales. Analyses of climate simulations show that these variations have contributed to Arctic sea ice loss, Northern Hemisphere warming and tropical storm activity. A reversal of climatic trends in the North Atlantic since 2005   pp513 - 517 Jon Robson, Pablo Ortega & Rowan Sutton doi:10.1038/ngeo2727 The mid-1990s' warming of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre was probably related to strengthened overturning. Observations and numerical models suggest that a climate reversal to a cooling trend occurred around 2005. See also: News and Views by Haine Recent slowing of Atlantic overturning circulation as a recovery from earlier strengthening   pp518 - 522 Laura C. Jackson, K. Andrew Peterson, Chris D. Roberts & Richard A. Wood doi:10.1038/ngeo2715 The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation has weakened over the past decade. Examination of a global reanalysis that matches independent observations shows that the decline is consistent with recovery from an earlier invigoration. See also: News and Views by Haine Emerging impact of Greenland meltwater on deepwater formation in the North Atlantic Ocean   pp523 - 527 Claus W. Böning, Erik Behrens, Arne Biastoch, Klaus Getzlaff & Jonathan L. Bamber doi:10.1038/ngeo2740 Freshwater release from melting polar ice could weaken the Atlantic overturning circulation. Eddy-resolving ocean simulations reveal that the freshening has not yet significantly affected meridional overturning, but an effect may emerge soon. See also: News and Views by Haine Oceanic transport of surface meltwater from the southern Greenland ice sheet   pp528 - 532 Hao Luo, Renato M. Castelao, Asa K. Rennermalm, Marco Tedesco, Annalisa Bracco et al. doi:10.1038/ngeo2708 Meltwater runoff from the Greenland ice sheet alters ocean surface salinity. Numerical simulations show that meltwater from southeastern Greenland is transported to the Labrador Sea more efficiently than that from southwestern Greenland. Himalayan strain reservoir inferred from limited afterslip following the Gorkha earthquake   pp533 - 537 David Mencin, Rebecca Bendick, Bishal Nath Upreti, Danda Pani Adhikari, Ananta Prasad Gajurel et al. doi:10.1038/ngeo2734 Great Himalayan earthquakes are rare. Analysis of surface motions in the months after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake reveals negligible aseismic slip, implying that stress may be stored in the crust to be tapped during future great earthquakes. Articles Top Composition and structure of the shallow subsurface of Ceres revealed by crater morphology   pp538 - 542 Michael T. Bland, Carol A. Raymond, Paul M. Schenk, Roger R. Fu, Thomas Kneissl et al. doi:10.1038/ngeo2743 The dwarf planet Ceres is thought to have an ice-rich layer in its shallow subsurface. The morphologies of craters, however, suggest little relaxation by viscous flow has occurred and instead indicate a subsurface that is less than 40% ice. See also: News and Views by Zolotov Organic matter losses in German Alps forest soils since the 1970s most likely caused by warming   pp543 - 548 Jörg Prietzel, Lothar Zimmermann, Alfred Schubert & Dominik Christophel doi:10.1038/ngeo2732 Soil carbon concentrations are sensitive to climate warming. Pairs of measurements of forest soil carbon stocks in the German Alps reveal that topsoil carbon concentrations declined as air temperatures rose between 1976 and 2011. See also: News and Views by Kirk Southern Ocean warming delayed by circumpolar upwelling and equatorward transport   pp549 - 554 Kyle C. Armour, John Marshall, Jeffery R. Scott, Aaron Donohoe & Emily R. Newsom doi:10.1038/ngeo2731 Unlike the Arctic, the Southern Ocean has shown little warming. An analysis of observations and numerical simulations suggests that Southern Ocean warming patterns are shaped by meridional overturning more than surface heating. Crustal-scale duplexing beneath the Yarlung Zangbo suture in the western Himalaya   pp555 - 560 Rui Gao, Zhanwu Lu, Simon L. Klemperer, Haiyan Wang, Shuwen Dong et al. doi:10.1038/ngeo2730 The fate of the Indian plate during collision with Asia is debated. Seismic images of the western Himalaya reveal large-scale thrust faults that transfer Indian crust upwards, into the overriding Asian plate. Top Advertisement npj Pollution Control is a new open access journal that is now open for submissions. 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