Due to the continuous reworking of the continental crust and the limited rock record associated with the early Earth, the long-term evolution of the Earth's continental crust is mostly studied using the physically- and chemically-resistant mineral zircon. In particular, the europium anomaly [Eu/Eu* = EuN/(SmN x GdN)0.5; where the subscript N denotes chondrite-normalized] of detrital zircon populations

Soil bulk density (BD) is a macroscopic indicator frequently used to infer the soils' pore system, a fundamental attribute of terrestrial environments that significantly affects processes such as infiltration, water retention and plant root development. Additionally, BD is essential for assessing the storage of various materials in soils and sediments, including carbon and nutrients. High bulk density

The Nama Group of southern Namibia and northwestern South Africa hosts the best-dated mixed carbonate-siliciclastic foreland basin succession of the terminal Ediacaran [ca. 551 million years (Ma) ago to <538 Ma] and is key for resolving the chronology of early metazoan evolution. Numerous silicified volcanic tuff interbeds are present, but differing interpretations regarding the fidelity of their ages

CO2 geo-storage in saline aquifers offers significant potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, salt precipitation resulting from mineral crystallization during gas-liquid percolation affects CO2 injectivity and storage efficiency. This review synthesizes recent field data, experiments, numerical simulations, and theoretical studies to identify knowledge gaps and improve understanding

The Pannonian Basin (PB), in Central-Eastern Europe, is a continental area characterized by widespread presence of natural resources, high heat fluxes and outgassing of deep-sourced fluids (i.e. mantle-magma and/or crustal-derived). Moreover, the region is interested by ascent of the asthenosphere and a thin lithosphere (≈75 km). Here, we review 40 years of geochemical studies on natural gas emissions

Shoreface nourishments have become a popular management option to mitigate coastal retreat for sites with abundant sand supplies. With shoreface nourishments, relatively large volumes of off-site sand are placed under water in typical water depths of 4–10 m. This part of the nearshore zone has a high bed level variability and contains a myriad of (rhythmic) morphological features. As a result, understanding

Mid-ocean ridge jumps (RJs) are key reorganization events in mid-ocean ridge (MOR) systems when a MOR segment shifts to a neighboring location, leaving the old segment inactive. Despite their global significance, current research predominantly concentrates on individual RJs or large jumps, lacking a systematic examination of RJ events. While many studies emphasize hotspot-ridge interactions as a primary

Sea-level change over Earth's history reflects the interplay of water volume and the ever-shifting architecture of ocean basins. While short-term fluctuations (103–105 yr) often trace the advance and retreat of glaciers and ice caps, multi-million-year trends (107–109 yr) arise from deep-Earth processes – seafloor spreading, subduction, intraplate deformation, mantle plume upwelling, and the emplacement

Light hydrocarbons are key components of petroleum and contain a wealth of geochemical information. This review provides a comprehensive summary and comments on the research that has been carried out on light hydrocarbons over the past 50 years. It evaluates the applicability and reliability of the various parameters and diagrams that relate to the light hydrocarbons in petroleum from basins worldwide

The northeastern Tibetan Plateau (NETP) is an ideal laboratory for investigating the interplay between tectonics, climate and biotic evolution. Cenozoic sedimentary basins in this region have recorded ecological shifts linked to the evolution from a wetter monsoonal to an arid climate, in response to the formation of the Tibetan Plateau and to global climate variations. Through decades of intense investigations

Cretaceous-Miocene sedimentary rocks of northern Borneo contain a record of sediment routing linked to subduction of the paleo-Pacific and closure of the proto-South China Sea. How the sediment routing system responded to these changes continues to be debated, hindered by limited datasets. New Sr isotope data, combined with previous geochemical and chronological data, to determine the provenance of

Following the Permian-Triassic Boundary mass extinction (PTBME), the Early Triassic biotic recovery witnessed several failed recoveries of the nekton and marked changes in the ecological associations of terrestrial plants during its 5 my time span. This period is characterized by a series of profound fluctuations of the global carbon cycle, associated with changes in global climate and closely related

The West Junggar, a key segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, lies between the ranges of the Tianshan and Altai Orogenic Belts, providing an opportunity to investigate the complexities of an orogenic system that records long-term intracontinental deformation. Although the West Junggar Orogenic Belt has been reactivated multiple times since the late Paleozoic, the timing and driving forces behind

Drainage reorganization is generally associated with the coupling of crustal movements and climatic influences, although, in terms of landscape evolution, the responses of river systems to these competing roles remain elusive. Here, we focus on patterns of drainage reorganization in relation to rivers interacting with uplifting mountains, aiming to establish processes and patterns of drainage reorganization

Total organic carbon (TOC) content, a classic indicator of rock organic richness, is widely used in geological archives for paleoenvironmental interpretation and petroleum system modeling. However, organic carbon (OC) undergoes significant alteration and loss upon burial, rendering present-day TOC measurements inadequate for reflecting original OC levels. Many approaches have been developed to restore

Fluid inclusions of evaporitic brines within halite deposits are one of our most valuable records for reconstructing seawater composition over geological timescales. They have been used to generate estimates of major element and even some trace element concentrations in seawater over time; these reconstructions are widely used as constraints for a variety of applications. The uncertainties in this

According to classical literature, two Paleogene platforms developed along the northern and southern margins of the Neo-Tethys Ocean. Similar platforms have been recognized on the southern margin of a “lost domain” consisting of an independent microplate known as the “Mesomediterranean Microplate” (MM) in the westernmost Neo-Tethys Ocean. This microplate underwent tectonic dismantling and drifting

Mangrove forests are found in intertidal zones of tropical and subtropical regions, playing crucial roles in coastal protection. They serve as natural buffers against wave dynamics, effectively mitigating coastal erosion. Despite covering a small fraction of coastal areas, mangrove forests sequester more carbon dioxide compared to terrestrial vegetation. However, they face significant pressures from

Buried paleosols are important reservoirs of paleoenvironmental information, yet there is no unified system to taxonomicallyclassify them on geological timescales. Here we present the first approximation of a soil-paleosol taxonomy modified from properties in the Soil Taxonomy thatcan be reasonably and reliably described, measured, and interpreted. The rationale for this approach follows theconcept

Thrust systems are important components of orogenic belts as they reflect the dynamics of thrust belt evolution and record information about crustal shortening processes in accretionary prisms. The current knowledge on this subject is the result of three centuries of research. Here, we review the evolution of thrust systems and related mountain-building processes from early field-based observations

Coastal lagoons are critical ecosystems providing essential habitats and ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, and fisheries support. Yet, many coastal lagoons face growing threats from salinisation and eutrophication driven by climate change and human activities. Climate-induced salinisation arises from multiple factors, including elevated temperatures, enhanced evaporation

Is peer-reviewed geoscience research literature, with its extensive quantitative, semi-quantitative, and qualitative information, fit for use for artificial intelligence (AI) applications – both as potential training datasets for machine learning, and as a tool to help researchers keep up to date with the latest research? We address this question by examining data collection and reporting philosophies

The application of crushed rock powders to terrestrial or marine ecosystems (termed enhanced rock weathering, ERW) is regarded as an effective carbon dioxide removal (CDR) mechanism for mitigating ongoing climate change. As a potential ERW material, carbonate is characterized by rapid dissolution kinetics and is environmentally friendly. However, the CDR potential, cost, and effectiveness of carbonate-based

The character of sediments generated in the uphill catchments is markedly variable and exert a primary control on the sediment cascade and the evolution of source-to-sink systems. Understanding these processes is therefore critical to better understand how these systems function in both modern and deep-time settigns. This study aims to understand and quantify the processes regulating sediment generation

This paper reviews the state of knowledge on past and present storms and marine coastal flooding (MCF) events of various origins within the Baltic Sea, which is an economically and environmentally important part of northwestern Europe. We show that the combination of sedimentary, historical and instrumental records provides the most comprehensive insight into the history of storms and MCF. The frequency

The reconstruction of orogenic terranes across conjugate margins separated by oceanic formation requires the integration of complementary geological records from both regions. A major challenge lies in the loss of geological evidence following orogenic events, particularly processes associated with later continental break-up, such as those in southwestern Gondwana. In southeastern Brazil, Uruguay,

Blue carbon ecosystems (BCEs), which include seagrass meadows, tidal marshes and mangrove and supratidal forests, hold large reservoirs of organic carbon. Despite the impact of BCEs as natural climate solutions, the mechanisms responsible for carbon retention have not been clearly summarised, limiting our chance to manage BCEs for maximum carbon storage. Here, we explore a great mystery of the blue

Inherited fabrics in all rifts can be broadly viewed as affecting different scales of features in particular: regional rift location, rift mode, boundary faults and secondary faults. In rifts developed in relatively cold lithosphere (e.g. East African Rift) inherited fabrics are predominantly old (Precambrian), widely separated in time from rifting. Rift location is strongly linked to where lithospheric

High‑iodine groundwater poses a severe threat to the health of millions of people worldwide, especially in China. Understanding iodine mobilization in aquifers is crucial for sustainable exploitation of groundwater resources. In this Review, we summarize the spatial distribution characteristics of high‑iodine groundwater across China, elucidate the sources and hosts of iodine, and discuss the hydrogeological

The European Ground Motion Service (EGMS), a component of the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, offers a valuable tool for investigating vertical ground motion in coastal regions that are subject to different natural and anthropogenic processes. To conduct effective coastal assessments, it is essential to consider the multiscale interactions of these processes. This review presents a methodology

Evaporite-prone, dryland continental basin-fills, such as the UK Triassic, lack abundant fossil control on their chronostratigraphy and tend to rely on other techniques, such as heavy mineral correlation and magnetostratigraphy, for correlation and age dating. Here we report on the novel use of evaporite-based sulfur isotope (δ34Sevap) profiles for the Sherwood Sandstone and Mercia Mudstone groups

During rifting, the continental crust is usually thinned from its initial thickness to ca. 10 km over only a few million years. The mechanisms of this so-called necking phase are incompletely understood, and yet they have major implications on the structural, thermal and isostatic evolution of rift systems. One major difficulty in studying the necking phase arises from its transient character in the

The Tekturmas Fold-and-Thrust Belt (TFTB) is an important structure of the Kazakhstan Orocline in the western Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), which formation is linked with the early-middle Paleozoic evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (PAO). The TFTB includes accreted oceanic sediments and magmatic rocks, supra-subduction ophiolites and fore-arc and back-arc siliciclastic rocks of Cambrian to Silurian

The 4.2 ka event (∼4300–3900 yr BP), marking the boundary of the middle-late Holocene and the onset of the Meghalayan stage, is traditionally associated with global megadroughts and significant social changes. However, debates continue with respect to its spatial distribution (worldwide versus regional), hydroclimatic change (drying versus wetting), and driving mechanism (North Atlantic versus Pacific

Microbial mineralization of calcium carbonate is a significant geological and environmental process that provides insights into the evolution of life, ancient environments, and biogeochemical cycling of elements. This manuscript thoroughly examines the factors influencing the formation of different calcium carbonate polymorphs induced by bacteria and their implications in various engineering applications

The Bangong-Nujiang suture zone (BNSZ) is located in the central Tibetan Plateau and represents the remnants of the Permian-Cretaceous Bangong-Nujiang Neo-Tethyan ocean (BNTO). Reconstructing the BNTO's evolution is crucial for understanding the accretionary history of the constituent blocks of the Tibetan Plateau prior to Cenozoic India-Asia collision. This paper reviews Mesozoic magmatism in the

Gold-rich magmatic-hydrothermal deposits form in atypical convergent plate-margin tectonic settings conducive to melting lithospheric mantle. Deposits tend to be associated with K2O-enriched arc magmas, but ultrapotassic magmas are almost never gold-fertile. Our global compilations of chemical compositions of peridotite xenoliths and of near-primary mafic melts reveal that, during mantle-wedge melting

The cause of the Yanshanian movement in eastern China has been highly debated, since its initial proposal one hundred years ago. During the Yanshanian movement, transient, widespread intracontinental contractions (e.g., major regional stratigraphic unconformities, folding and thrusting) occurred at ca. 170 Ma, 140 Ma and 100 Ma. The contractions alternated with 20-30 Myr periods of intense continental

Ground surface vertical deformation in permafrost regions encompasses seasonal fluctuations in hydrothermal properties within the active layer and the long-term ground ice change near the permafrost table, serving as a crucial “window” for permafrost observation. This review summarizes research progress regarding deformation in the permafrost region on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), highlighting

Microplastics (MPs) in terrestrial environments are an emerging contaminant of high concern to ecosystems and human health. However, our understanding of the MPs' fate, particularly their transport within soils, remains elusive. This knowledge gap arises from the multiplicity of coupled physical, chemical and biological processes and parameters affecting MPs transport, together with the scarcity of

Phytoliths are plant born opal-A amorphous silica bodies that form in living foliar tissues. They return to soil within plant debris and are considered by biogeochemists and soil scientists as an important source of dissolved silicon (DSi) in the soil-plant system due to their relatively high dissolution rate. However, they are also used in other disciplines as microfossils to reconstruct paleoenvironments

Leaf cuticle is the waxy envelope that protects leaves from desiccation, UV damage, and abrasion. The cuticle encodes information about a plant's chemistry and leaf epidermal and stomatal cell morphology. Fossil leaf cuticle has been used to determine taxonomic affinities for almost two centuries and recognized in recent decades for its value in reconstructing paleoenvironments and paleoclimates, especially

Understanding soil chronology and evolution processes is fundamental for forecasting soil development and implementing effective conservation and management strategies. However, traditional quantitative methods that rely on radiogenic isotopic dating of secondary soil components (such as humus and pedogenic carbonates) often yield unreliable results due to soil's nature as an open system, where elemental

Identification of ecologic diversification patterns and their correlation with relevant ecologic models is a major challenge in paleobiology. In part, this difficulty reflects that different evolutionary groups followed varying diversity trajectories through time; more specifically, the rate and timing of taxonomic and ecological diversification vary considerably when comparing the evolutionary histories

The Cambrian Series 2–Miaolingian boundary interval in Australia—equivalent to the local Ordian and Templetonian stages—has long been a source of controversy, with a practical and consistent subdivision of this interval proving elusive. Recent ratification of the Miaolingian Series and Wuliuan Stage Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) in South China, based primarily on the first appearance

Chronostratigraphic stage boundaries (based primarily on biostratigraphy and radio-isotopic dating) and stratigraphic sequence boundaries (based on changes in global sea level and tectonism) are two major ways of subdividing the Phanerozoic geologic record. We find a close correlation between the ages of 28 sequence boundaries of the last 253 My and the ages of 28 dated chronostratigraphic stage boundaries

Agriculture, a historically crucial sector for Thailand's economy, has been severely impacted in recent years due to global climate change causing widespread alterations in rainfall patterns across the country. Therefore, for developing resilient climate adaptation measures, it is important to understand the inter-annual variability of rainfall and its associated processes. Large-scale oceanic phenomena

Ground motion models (GMMs) are key empirical components in Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering (PBEE) and the assessment of the seismic hazard as they relate seismic intensity measures (IMs) to earthquake features such as source (FE), path (FP), and site (FS) terms. Each term can be divided into sub-terms that are functions of input variables, also known as proxies. Nowadays, GMMs exist to model

Carboniferous-Permian shale deposits around the world are known to contain abundant shale gas resources making them critical for increasing global shale gas reserves and production. Lithofacies analysis is crucial for identifying and predicting “sweet spots” targets. This study employed total organic carbon (TOC) data from 8166 samples, mineral content data from 4524 samples, and major and trace element

Soil erosion is an important driver of land and ecological degradation, with hydraulic erosion in particular leading to widespread impacts and damage. As an important concept and indicator for characterizing the potential and pathways of sediment production and transportation within watersheds or on slopes, sediment connectivity has gained global attention and thus been analysed since its proposal

Orogenic events are not only of importance for the geological evolution of regions and continents but are also significant controls on the formation timing, genesis, and nature of the mineral deposits hosted by the resulting orogen. This study highlights the use of multi-proxy elemental and isotopic mapping of granitoids to advance our understanding of lithospheric architecture and the formation of

The Early Cretaceous opening of the South Atlantic Ocean was accompanied by extensive intrusive and extrusive magmatism collectively grouped in the South Atlantic Igneous Province (SAIP). The SAIP includes the onshore Paraná-Etendeka large igneous province (PELIP), offshore seaward-dipping reflectors sequences, the Rio Grande Rise and Walvis Ridge, and voluminous intrusive magmatism. Nonetheless, the

Australia is the world's lowest and flattest continent with the most negative water balance. Gentle Cenozoic tectonism has formed numerous moderately depressed basins, mostly on the eastern half of the continent, that have accumulated substantial alluvium in diverse climatic zones. While many can be defined as megafans, a minority are not fan-shaped but are confined in axial valleys. Some in Western

Since the early nineteenth century, the Central European Basin (CEB) has been a historically important region for the study of terrestrial tetrapods from the Triassic Period, and continues to yield a wealth of new finds. A review of the fossil evidence permits the recognition of new patterns of diversity for various clades during the recovery period following the end-Permian mass extinction. Unfortunately

Ammonoids are an extinct group of externally-shelled cephalopods that appeared in the Early Devonian. The early evolution of these marine invertebrates occurred against a backdrop of environmental conditions repeatedly disrupted by crises of varying severity. To better understand the genesis of these bioevents and their potential abiotic triggers, this study analyzes the biodiversity fluctuations characterizing

High-Mountain Asia (HMA) hosts the largest concentration of modern glaciers in middle- and low-latitude regions. The widespread glacial landforms in HMA suggest that these glaciers have experienced significant changes in extent over time. The climate of northern HMA is influenced mainly by the Asian monsoons and the mid-latitude westerlies. Changes in the climate system during glacial-interglacial

The India-Asia continental collision and the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau have long been attributed to continuous Cenozoic convergence with two generic assumptions: the ongoing India-Asia collision and the underthrusting of the Indian continent beneath the Tibet hinterland. This study presents a challenge to the two assumptions through an integrative analysis of geological, geophysical and geochemical