Solid Earth sciences articles from across Nature Portfolio

Drill cores from the mid-ocean ridge in the South Atlantic suggest that mass-wasting deposits formed against ridge faults host abundant calcite and so may store substantial amounts of carbon dioxide.

Geochemical heterogeneity in near-continent oceanic volcanism hints at overlooked mantle enrichment processes. Models and data from the Indian Ocean suggest that rift-related convective instabilities can disturb the ancient roots of continents. This process sweeps geochemically enriched domains into the oceanic asthenosphere over tens of millions of years, explaining the observed longevity of geochemical mantle anomalies.

The building blocks that formed the Earth remain enigmatic. The potassium isotopic composition of some ancient and modern rocks suggests the composition of the early Earth was modified by the Moon-forming impact, but that traces of its original composition survived mixing and are sampled by some extant mantle plumes.

Mass-wasting deposits that accumulated against mid-ocean ridge faults have high porosity in which calcium carbonate precipitated, storing seawater carbon dioxide, as revealed by cores of a 61-million-year-old seafloor talus deposit.

This study uses numerical models to classify six tectonic regimes on rocky planets, including an episodic-squishy lid regime. We map regime transitions during planetary cooling, thus contributing to the understanding of Earth and Venus evolution.

Drill cores from the mid-ocean ridge in the South Atlantic suggest that mass-wasting deposits formed against ridge faults host abundant calcite and so may store substantial amounts of carbon dioxide.

Skin-permeable polymer shows promise at insulin delivery in animal experiments — plus, how the brain responds to unfamiliar languages.

Geochemical heterogeneity in near-continent oceanic volcanism hints at overlooked mantle enrichment processes. Models and data from the Indian Ocean suggest that rift-related convective instabilities can disturb the ancient roots of continents. This process sweeps geochemically enriched domains into the oceanic asthenosphere over tens of millions of years, explaining the observed longevity of geochemical mantle anomalies.

Global cooling is not the only — or even the most consequential — effect of the biggest volcanic outbursts.

Characteristic radio burst is evidence of a coronal mass ejection from outside our Solar System — plus, understanding the complex genetics of ADHD.

Oceanographers hope to find otherworldly ecosystems at hydrothermal vents on the sea floor.