Frontiers in Earth Science | New and Recent Articles

Snow is a critical component of the Andean hydrological system, supporting water supply for drinking, irrigation, hydropower, and industry. Persistent cloud cover and limited in situ observations have hindered long-term assessments of snow dynamics across the Andes, the world’s longest mountain range. Here, we present a continent-scale analysis of snow persistence (SP) and snowline elevation from…

In view of the structural bearing performance issues of buried water diversion tunnels, the paper conducted a series of numerical simulation study on the joint bearing mechanism of steel lining-concrete lining-surrounding rock. Based on the actual background of a power station project in the western area of China, macroscopic and mesoscopic finite element models were established by using ABAQUS s…

The Late Oligocene Huagang Formation in the Xihu Depression, East China Sea Shelf Basin, records typical braided river delta deposits. However, the influence of astronomical forcing on sand-body distribution remains unclear. Based on core, logging, and seismic data, subaqueous distributary channels of braided river deltas were identified and multi-scale lake-level fluctuations were reconstructed.…

Western China faces significant seismic risks and has a relatively weak socioeconomic foundation, making systematic evaluation of its comprehensive seismic resilience strategically vital for regional sustainable development and national security. Existing studies show clear limitations in dynamic assessment and analysis of associated factors. This research constructs a comprehensive evaluation in…

This study reports LA-ICP-MS U–Pb ages and Lu–Hf isotope data of detrital zircons from sedimentary rocks of the Nanduan Formation in the Changning–Menglian tectonic belt. The U–Pb age spectra display three dominant populations: Pan-African (530–680 Ma), Late Grenvillian (900–980 Ma), and Early Grenvillian (1100–1300 Ma), with subordinate peaks at ∼350 Ma and 1550–1700 Ma. Among the eight analyzed…

The Late Quaternary North Sea basin represents a highly dynamic shelf system, altered by glaciations, deglaciations, and the recent Early Holocene marine transgression. However, detailed studies on the timing of the marine transgression and the paleoenvironmental development of the Danish North Sea are lacking. In this article, we present a Late Glacial–Holocene paleoenvironmental reconstruction …

Severe convective weather (SCW) forecasting has emerged as a cutting-edge research focus due to its complex dynamical characteristics and significant socioeconomic impacts. However, the advent of deep learning (DL), with its capacity for extracting massive information and modeling non-linear relationships, offers a promising alternative for enhancing the accuracy of SCW forecasts. This study revi…

Pore volume compressibility (PVC) is a key petrophysical parameter controlling the mechanical response and production performance of reservoir rocks. However, the complex and heterogeneous pore systems of carbonate reservoirs make it difficult for traditional empirical models developed for sandstone to accurately predict PVC. In this study, an interpretable PVC prediction framework based on XGBoo…

The Upper Permian Changxing Formation at the southern margin of the Kaijiang-Liangping Trough (NE Sichuan Basin) is characterized by small-scale, thin, and scattered reef-shoal complexes, resulting in strong stratigraphic heterogeneity. Conventional qualitative methods struggle to achieve accurate high-frequency sequence division due to limited core data. To address this, we integrate INPEFA (Int…

Astronomical cycles have long been proposed as potential modulators of seismicity, yet their influence remains controversial due to inconsistent results and methodological limitations. In this study it was tested whether the 18.6-year lunar nodal cycle, expressed in Earth rotation through length-of-day (LOD) variations, is detectable in global seismicity using independent earthquake catalogs (ISC…

The dynamic response characteristics of stress redistribution in roadway surrounding rock and the distribution patterns of plastic zones during different stages are pivotal to controlling rock mass stability. Addressing the vulnerability of retained roadways to repeated mining impacts from adjacent working faces under dual- or multi-roadway layouts, this study examines the 22,104 auxiliary transp…

This paper addresses the technical problem that prestressed anchor cables on highway slopes often become too short during operation due to steel strand reservation and the failure of traditional compensation tensioning equipment. To solve this issue, a contact mechanics‑based calculation method for slip fixture parameters is proposed. The approach converts the three‑dimensional frictional contact…

Geothermal heat flow is an important control on the dynamics of glaciers and ice sheets. In Greenland however, the exact magnitude and distribution of geothermal heat flow under the ice sheet is largely unknown as only few direct measurements exist at the locations of the deep ice cores. For this reason, several studies have attempted to constrain geothermal heat flow under the ice sheet through …

Rock failure modes are a key factor for assessing the stability of geological structures and predicting crack propagation, and are critical to ensuring the safety of rock engineering. To address the identification of rock fracture modes, an automatic recognition method for rock mass fracture modes integrating Digital Image Correlation (DIC) with deep learning is proposed. Original image data were…

Wettability significantly controls fluid distribution and mobility in shale reservoirs. Accurate characterization enables better reservoir management and improves shale oil recovery. This review systematically summarizes wettability characterization methods across four sample scales: core thin sections, core plugs, crushed rock samples, and digital cores. It aims to compare their advantages, limi…

Depositional patterns of submarine lobes are driven by a combination of allogenic (e.g., climate, tectonics) and autogenic processes (e.g., avulsion, bifurcation). However, the impact of autogenic processes and their influence on the formation and evolution of submarine lobes remain poorly understood. Studying these internal dynamics in the outcrop or in the deep sea is challenging due to natural…

Groundwater protection is critical for sustainable water resource management, particularly in arid regions. However, current zoning methods show challenges such as data bias of expert-driven models and limited interpretability of machine learning models. To address these issues, using 16 hydrological datasets from Yulin City in northwest China, two methodological frameworks were constructed: one …

The claystone in the Guide area of the Qaidam Basin on the northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau contains lithium resources. This paper adopts geochemical and isotopic geochemical approaches to analyze the paleoenvironment, tectonic setting, sediment provenance, weathering processes, and lithium sources of the lithium-bearing claystones in the study area, and summarizes the genetic me…