Nature Geoscience contents: February 2012 Volume 5 Number 2 pp81-156

TABLE OF CONTENTS February 2012 Volume 5, Issue 2 Editorial Correspondence In the press Feature Books and Arts Research Highlights News and Views Review Letters Article Erratum Subscribe   Facebook   RSS   Recommend to library   Twitter   We're hiring wells, drilling and subsurface professionals now At BP, we're committed to America's economy and energy security. Our operations in the Gulf of Mexico are key to this. It's here that deepwater experts like you are working to drive industry standards forward and applying their invaluable experience to achieve operational excellence. Our you up for the challenge?   Advertisement Planet Under Pressure 2012: New Knowledge Towards Solutions 26-29 March 2012, London, UK REGISTER NOW Join more than 2500 delegates and renowned plenary speakers at this major international conference. More than 100 sessions and side events will provide a state of the planet assessment for Rio +20. Final programme now available at www.planetunderpressure2012.net   Editorial Top One and only Earth p81 doi:10.1038/ngeo1400 Reports from the Kepler mission have raised hopes for finding an Earth-like planet. Nevertheless, our Earth is probably unique — not just because of its distance from the Sun, but also because it has co-evolved with the life forms it has hosted. Full Text | PDF Correspondence Top Isostasy can't be ignored p83 Peter Molnar doi:10.1038/ngeo1383 Full Text | PDF See also: Correspondence by Densmore et al. Reply to 'Isostasy can't be ignored' pp83 - 84 Alexander L. Densmore, Robert N. Parker, Nicholas J. Rosser, Marcello de Michele, Li Yong, Huang Runqiu, Siobhan Whadcoat & David N. Petley doi:10.1038/ngeo1385 Full Text | PDF See also: Correspondence by Molnar In the press Top Not algae, not embryos, but cysts? p85 Alexandra Witze doi:10.1038/ngeo1388 Full Text | PDF Feature Top First plants cooled the Ordovician pp86 - 89 Timothy M. Lenton, Michael Crouch, Martin Johnson, Nuno Pires & Liam Dolan doi:10.1038/ngeo1390 The Late Ordovician period, ending 444 million years ago, was marked by the onset of glaciations. The expansion of non-vascular land plants accelerated chemical weathering and may have drawn down enough atmospheric carbon dioxide to trigger the growth of ice sheets. Full Text | PDF Books and Arts Top Invasion of the metaphors p90 Gregory J. Retallack reviews The Terrestrialization Process: Modelling Complex Interactions at the Biosphere-Geosphere Interface edited by Marco Vecoli, Gaël Clément and Brigitte Meyer-Berthaud doi:10.1038/ngeo1384 Full Text | PDF Research Highlights Top Oil and air | Shaky Mars | Magma on ice | Polygon preservation | Dusty transition News and Views Top Fluvial Geomorphology: Wood and river landscapes pp93 - 94 Angela Gurnell doi:10.1038/ngeo1382 The influence of trees and dead wood on river dynamics has long been overlooked. Recent work suggests that large wood pieces can stabilize the land surface, contributing to a large-wood cycle that profoundly affects floodplain morphology and ecology. Full Text | PDF Ecology: Plants on the edge p94 Alicia Newton doi:10.1038/ngeo1393 Full Text | PDF Atmospheric chemistry: Quick cycling of quicksilver pp95 - 96 Christopher D. Holmes doi:10.1038/ngeo1389 Models predict that mercury undergoes rapid oxidation in the upper atmosphere. Aircraft measurements support this prediction and provide evidence for a previously unrecognized sink for stratospheric mercury. Full Text | PDF See also: Letter by Lyman & Jaffe Economic geology: Uranium-ore giants pp96 - 97 Enikő Bali doi:10.1038/ngeo1386 Toxic heavy metals can accumulate in Earth's near surface to form ore deposits. Experimental and direct measurements of ore fluids reveal the efficient mobilization and deposition of uranium, implying potentially rapid formation of economic-grade ore. Full Text | PDF See also: Letter by Richard et al. Hydrology: Himalayan groundwater pp97 - 98 Bodo Bookhagen doi:10.1038/ngeo1366 Rivers draining the Himalaya provide vital resources for almost half of the world's population. A combined model–data analysis suggests that the contribution of groundwater to the annual water budget in the central Himalaya may be substantial. Full Text | PDF See also: Letter by Andermann et al. Geoscience JOBS of the week Doktorandin / Doktoranden Helmholtz Centre Potsdam - GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences - Helmholtz Association Integrated Science Faculty Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Jackson Postdoctoral Fellows Program Jackson School of Geosciences, the University of Texas at Austin President DOSECC PhD studentship in surface and subsurface geology (Salamanca) University of Bristol More Science jobs from Geoscience EVENT 12th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference & EXPO SGEM2012 17.-23.06.12 Albena, Bulgaria More science events from Review Top Palaeozoic landscapes shaped by plant evolution pp99 - 105 Martin R. Gibling & Neil S. Davies doi:10.1038/ngeo1376 Throughout the Palaeozoic era, about 540 to 250 million years ago, plants colonized land and rapidly diversified. An analysis of the palaeontologic record shows that this diversification irrevocably altered the shape and form of fluvial systems. Abstract | Full Text | PDF Letters Top Two boundary layers in Titan's lower troposphere inferred from a climate model pp106 - 109 Benjamin Charnay & Sébastien Lebonnois doi:10.1038/ngeo1374 Saturn's moon Titan has a dense atmosphere, but its thermal structure is poorly understood. Simulations with a three-dimensional general circulation model suggest that Titan has a lower atmospheric structure with two boundary layers: a seasonal deep layer, and a shallower one that develops during the course of each day. First paragraph | Full Text | PDF Observed changes in top-of-the-atmosphere radiation and upper-ocean heating consistent within uncertainty pp110 - 113 Norman G. Loeb, John M. Lyman, Gregory C. Johnson, Richard P. Allan, David R. Doelling, Takmeng Wong, Brian J. Soden & Graeme L. Stephens doi:10.1038/ngeo1375 Global climate change results from a small yet persistent imbalance between the amount of sunlight absorbed by the Earth and the thermal radiation emitted back to space. A revised analysis of measured changes in the net radiation imbalance at the top of the atmosphere, and the ocean heat content to a depth of 1,800 m, suggests that these two sets of observations are consistent within error margins. First paragraph | Full Text | PDF Formation and fate of oxidized mercury in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere pp114 - 117 Seth N. Lyman & Daniel A. Jaffe doi:10.1038/ngeo1353 Mercury contamination affects many aquatic ecosystems. Measurements of mercury concentrations in air of stratospheric origin suggest that mercury is oxidized in the stratosphere and subsequently lost to the troposphere, most likely following attachment to stratospheric particles. First paragraph | Full Text | PDF See also: News and Views by Holmes Aerosol-induced intensification of rain from the tropics to the mid-latitudes pp118 - 122 Ilan Koren, Orit Altaratz, Lorraine A. Remer, Graham Feingold, J. Vanderlei Martins & Reuven H. Heiblum doi:10.1038/ngeo1364 Atmospheric aerosols affect cloud properties, and thereby the radiative balance of the planet and the water cycle. An analysis of satellite data suggests that increases in aerosol abundance are associated with local intensification of rain rates over land and ocean. First paragraph | Full Text | PDF Sustained losses of bioavailable nitrogen from montane tropical forests pp123 - 126 E. N. Jack Brookshire, Lars O. Hedin, J. Denis Newbold, Daniel M. Sigman & John K. Jackson doi:10.1038/ngeo1372 Humid montane tropical forests are often thought to contain low levels of bioavailable nitrogen. An analysis of the concentration and isotopic signature of nitrate in tropical montane forest streams suggests that these ecosystems may be rich in nitrogen. First paragraph | Full Text | PDF Impact of transient groundwater storage on the discharge of Himalayan rivers pp127 - 132 Christoff Andermann, Laurent Longuevergne, Stéphane Bonnet, Alain Crave, Philippe Davy & Richard Gloaguen doi:10.1038/ngeo1356 In the course of the transfer of precipitation into rivers, water is temporarily stored in reservoirs with different residence times. Analyses of precipitation and discharge records from Nepal suggest that in addition to snow and glacier melt and evapotranspiration, groundwater storage in a fractured basement aquifer also affects the annual discharge cycle of Himalayan rivers. First paragraph | Full Text | PDF See also: News and Views by Bookhagen Life in the hydrated suboceanic mantle pp133 - 137 Bénédicte Ménez, Valerio Pasini & Daniele Brunelli doi:10.1038/ngeo1359 In the roots of the ocean crust, mantle-derived rocks are progressively hydrated by hydrothermal circulation. Raman spectroscopic analyses of hydrated rocks sampled from the ocean floor reveal accumulations of organic matter, which point to the hydration process as a possible energy source. First paragraph | Full Text | PDF Determining the natural length of the current interglacial pp138 - 141 P. C. Tzedakis, J. E. T. Channell, D. A. Hodell, H. F. Kleiven & L. C. Skinner doi:10.1038/ngeo1358 The length of time the present interglacial would last in the absence of anthropogenic forcing is debated. An alignment of the Holocene and MIS 19c on the basis of the occurrence of the bipolar seesaw suggests that the present interglacial would last another 1,500 years, provided atmospheric CO2 concentrations fell below 240 parts per million by volume. First paragraph | Full Text | PDF See also: Erratum by Tzedakis et al. Giant uranium deposits formed from exceptionally uranium-rich acidic brines pp142 - 146 Antonin Richard, Christophe Rozsypal, Julien Mercadier, David A. Banks, Michel Cuney, Marie-Christine Boiron & Michel Cathelineau doi:10.1038/ngeo1338 The Athabasca Basin, Canada, is home to some of the world's largest uranium deposits. Analysis of preserved ore-forming fluids and experimental measurement of uranium solubility in analogous solutions show that the giant deposits could have formed relatively rapidly from extremely uranium-rich brines under acidic conditions. First paragraph | Full Text | PDF See also: News and Views by Bali Stick-slip advance of the Kohat Plateau in Pakistan pp147 - 150 S. P. Satyabala, Zhaohui Yang & Roger Bilham doi:10.1038/ngeo1373 In the westernmost Himalaya, the Indian Plate is thought to slip beneath the Potwar and Kohat plateaux on a layer of viscous material in an entirely aseismic manner. Analysis of InSAR data from 1992 shows that slip occurred during a rare Mw 6.0 earthquake, implying that the Kohat Plateau is locally grounded. First paragraph | Full Text | PDF Article Top Large climate-driven changes of oceanic oxygen concentrations during the last deglaciation pp151 - 156 Samuel L. Jaccard & Eric D. Galbraith doi:10.1038/ngeo1352 Ocean warming during the last deglaciation decreased the solubility of oxygen. A global compilation of marine sediment records shows that the deglacial trend of deoxygenation was overprinted by changes in ocean circulation and marine productivity. Abstract | Full Text | PDF Erratum Top Determining the natural length of the current interglacial  P. C. Tzedakis, J. E. T. Channell, D. A. Hodell, H. F. Kleiven & L. C. Skinner doi:10.1038/ngeo1392 Full Text | PDF See also: Letter by Tzedakis et al. 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