British Geological Survey

The dynamics of flow-type landslides, including earthflows and debris flows, are still not fully understood, primarily due to the complexity of the physical processes that govern the flow and the challenges in acquiring direct field measurements. In modern monitoring stations, cameras represent cost-effective data sources, providing essential information for characterising documented reactivation events. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) algorithms have been extensively employed in the literature to reconstruct velocity fields and rheological behaviour of laboratory physical models under ideal conditions. However, the resolution of camera footage in the field typically falls short of being optimal due to lighting and weather conditions, as well as non-zenithal recording geometry, hindering a straightforward application of PIV. This study presents two primary sets of laboratory flume tests conducted to explore a broad range of recording conditions, bridging the gap between ideal laboratory settings and actual field acquisitions. The experiments enabled the evaluation of PIV performance for each image quality scenario, detailing and quantifying the main uncertainties as well as their impact on the resulting velocity fields while discussing underlying reasons and mitigation measures. The experimental results reveal that, with due adjustments, suboptimal-quality footage can be used to estimate the actual flow velocity field and infer the rheological behaviour of the flow. Furthermore, distortions related to non-zenithal perspectives can be reliably minimised through suitable orthorectification algorithms. These findings support the potential for broader application of the tested PIV-based methodological approach in field scenarios to investigate the dynamics of flow-type landslides.

The Carrington event of September 1859 is the best known example of an extreme geomagnetic storm, often cited when discussing space weather risks for modern infrastructure. Historic observations including auroral sightings, magnetometer records and anecdotes of impacts on telegraph systems have been widely shared before, but none of these have included observations from the Netherlands. Geomagnetic observations taken in Utrecht and Den Helder during the Carrington event were digitised from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute’s (KNMI) yearbook of 1859, and compared to much more detailed magnetograms from London. This combined analysis, beyond its application in communication with Dutch stakeholders, contributes to a better understanding of the interpretation, limitations, and uses of such archived measurements, of which more examples might be available in archives internationally. The observations consist of spot measurements taken three times per day. The Den Helder data only partially record the Carrington storm. Conversion factors from Den Helder have been used to estimate missing conversion factors of the Utrecht data. The correlation between the Dutch declination measurements and those made in London is strong with correlation coefficients larger than 0.7 for the Utrecht data and larger than 0.9 for the Den Helder data. However, there is very little correlation between the Dutch and British inclination measurements. The London horizontal intensity measurements compared to Den Helder data give correlation values larger than 0.8 but the observations from Utrecht match less well. There is a significant deviation between the British data and the Utrecht declination and horizontal intensity measurements during the quiet period between 30 August and 2 September. It is unclear what causes this deviation. Given the proximity of the locations and similarity in latitude, and based on the coherent registration of the measurements, it is reasonable to assume that the magnetic traces captured in London provide a good approximation of the magnetic field variations in the Netherlands during the storm, indicating that these may be used for impact assessment studies for Dutch vital infrastructure.

The Editors and Staff of Earth and Space Science thank the reviewers whose selfless work has significantly contributed to the publication process of papers highlighting the best research in geophysics, planetary, and space science in 2024. Peer‐reviewing is a demanding and thankless job. It is however an essential component of the scientific process, requiring the highest standards of integrity and rigor. Reviewers check data and procedures and test reproducibility of methods and results; they share their expertise to verify that the interpretations and conclusions of a paper are consistent with assumptions and existing knowledge. Without this essential work, it would not be possible to trust in the scientific process. Publication of papers in a multidisciplinary journal such as Earth and Space Science, that highlights methods, instruments, data and algorithms, relies directly on the expertise of its reviewers to verify and vouch for the quality of the papers that are published. We are indebted to all our reviewers and are delighted to acknowledge them publicly in this Editorial.

Volcanic eruptions can inject ash into the atmosphere, which is then advected by meteorological winds, potentially affecting large volumes of airspace. Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres (VAACs) issue volcanic ash advisories (VAAs) when airspace is likely to contain ash above a concentration threshold. Much research has been done to improve operational ash forecasts of volcanic ash location in the atmosphere, but until now the paths of aircraft around erupting volcanoes and when VAAs have been issued, and the impact these routes have on flight schedules and diverted aircraft’s fuel consumption, have not been closely examined. Here, we investigate the behaviour of commercial aircraft during times of volcanic ash emissions as reported in VAAs. We use publicly available flight trajectory data during several ash-rich eruptions at Etna, Sakurajima, Marapi, Sheveluch, Klyuchevskoy and Ubinas volcanoes in 2022 and 2023. We examine a range of geographic locations and eruption sizes. Flight trajectories during periods when VAAs were issued are compared with flight trajectories during periods when no VAAs were issued. We find that the aircraft largely avoided the air space shown to be affected by ash by VAAs, indicating that they adopt a range of strategies to avoid ash. We also find that, in general, by avoiding ash aircraft also avoided volcanic SO2 plumes. Our results confirm that the greater the volume of airspace affected by volcanic ash the greater the deviation of aircraft from their usual flight paths. Rerouted aircraft may travel significantly further distances to avoid ash, which results in longer air travel time and delays, suggesting greater fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Further long-term systematic studies of the impact of volcanic eruptions on flight routes and timing would help to characterise ash-related aircraft disruption over time. Air traffic is likely to grow in the coming years and VAAC advisory strategies will also evolve so understanding how such changes affect disruption trends may be useful.

In Kenya, less than 10% of the land is arable, out of which 30% suffers severe soil degradation. This study investigates impact of various agricultural land use management practices (on the concentration and distribution of essential nutrients in different soil particle size fractions (SPSF) within Oroba Valley, Nandi County. Two agricultural plots were selected: Plot 1 (non-terraced) and Plot 2 (terraced cultivation), with topsoil (0–20 cm) sampled using a stratified method. Soil particles were separated by sieving (2000–500 µm, 500–100 µm, 100–50 µm, 50–25 µm) and sedimentation (25–10 µm and < 10 µm). Organic matter (OM), soil pH, and nutrient concentrations were quantified using loss on ignition (LOI), a pH meter in CaCl2, and ICP-QQQ analysis, respectively. Median soil pH was 5.6 for Plot 1 and 5.9 for Plot 2, with OM concentrated at 40% in smaller particles (< 25 µm) and 24% in larger particles (100–2000 µm). Nutrients such as I, Se, Zn, Mg, P, Al, Mn, Fe, Co, Mo, and Cu were concentrated in SPSF of < 10 µm, while Na, K, and Ca were concentrated in medium particle sizes (25 µm–100 µm). Terraced plot (Plot 2) experience greater nutrient loss down the slope compared to Plot 1, that showed nutrient accumulation at lower elevations. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that soil pH did not significantly influence element adsorption within SPSFs. Differences in land use management between plots directly impacted nutrient distribution. Optimising agricultural land management can improve soil health, contributing to attaining the United Nations sustainable development goals 1, 2, 6, and 8.

Plain Language Summary Rapid changes in the magnetic field of the Earth can lead to electrical currents that flow at the Earth's surface and can cause problems for grounded infrastructure such as pipelines and high voltage power grids. These rapid changes are called geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs), and have been previously shown to predominately occur within the dawn and pre‐midnight locations. The pre‐midnight GMDs have been related to a nightside phenomenon called substorms. The morning population has been shown to occur during periods of strong periodic variations of the magnetic field called multiple intensifications. We adapt an existing list of substorms occurrence to identify periods of multiple intensifications. Recent research has suggested that during a geomagnetic storm, where the magnetic field is compressed, current flows form at dawn, called the “dawnside current wedge” (DCW), that could lead to GMDs. We investigate the local time measurements of the magnetic field at low latitudes using the SuperMAG SMR‐LT indices, which is a measure of the Earth's ring current. Statistical analysis of the SMR‐LT values during the dawn and pre‐midnight GMDs supports the hypothesis of a dawn current wedge. This finding suggests that dawn and pre‐midnight GMDs form through different processes but can occur at the same time.

Assessing landslide risk is a fundamental requirement to plan suitable prevention actions. To date, most risk studies focus on individual slopes or catchments. Whereas regional, national or continental scale assessments are hardly available because of methodological and/or data limitations. In this contribution, we present an overview of all requirements and limitations in landslide risk studies across all spatial scales, by means of a hybrid form that combines elements of original research with the comprehensive characteristics of a review study. The review critically analyses each component in the landslide risk analysis providing a detailed explanation of their state‐of‐the‐art, with dedicated sections on susceptibility, hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. To put the theoretical framework to test, we also dive into a case study, expressed at the continental scale. Specifically, we take the main European mountain ranges and provide the reader with a textbook example of risk assessment for such a large territory. In doing so, we take into account issues associated with cross‐national differences in landslide mapping. As a result, we identify landslide‐prone European landscape and explore the associated possible economic consequences (human settlements and agricultural areas). We also analyze the population at risk during daytime and nighttime. Moreover, a modern view of the problem is explored in the form of how risk outcomes should be delivered to master planners and geoscientific personnel alike. Specifically, we convert our output into an interactive Web Application (https://pan‐european‐landslide‐risk.github.io/) to include notions of scientific communication both to a large public as well as to a technical audience.

The rapid migration from rural to urban areas is leading to overpopulation in cities, posing significant challenges for urban planners. By 2050, it is estimated that 70% of the global population will reside in urban areas. Governments are striving to expand cities to accommodate this growth while preserving green spaces and ensuring a high quality of life. This task is complicated by the limited availability of space. Underground space, often perceived solely as a domain for tunnels, utilities, and mining, offers immense potential for urban environments. This misconception neglects the evolution of underground space into more complex and diverse applications. One innovative application of underground space is shallow geothermal energy schemes utilising abandoned mine workings. This approach offers a low-carbon heating solution crucial for the UK's goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. It is particularly relevant in historical industrial cities with extensive coal mining voids. This study examines the geothermal potential of coalfield mine workings in Greater Leeds, providing a methodology for establishing geothermal energy opportunities in similar geological settings. The insights and methods derived from this study are applicable not only in the UK but also internationally, showcasing the transformative potential of underground space in addressing contemporary urban challenges.

Bear baiting was a popular form of entertainment in Shakespearean England that was staged across the country but formalised in the Early Modern entertainment hub on Bankside, London. Here, the authors bring together zooarchaeological, stable isotope and archival evidence in the examination of faunal assemblages from nine archaeological sites on Bankside to elucidate characteristics indicative of bear baiting. In doing so, they present criteria for identifying bear-baiting assemblages in the archaeological record of England and beyond, even in the absence of associated documentary evidence.

Quantifying inorganic carbon fluxes to and from freshwater environments is essential for the accurate determination of the total amount of carbon exported to both the atmosphere and oceans. However, understanding of how anthropogenic freshwater withdrawals perturb land-freshwater-ocean and freshwater-atmosphere inorganic carbon fluxes is limited. Using the United States (US) as an exemplar, we estimate that fresh surface water withdrawals across the country during the year 2015 resulted in a median gross dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) retention flux of 8.2 (uncertainty range: 6.7–9.9) Tg C yr–1, equivalent to 28.3% of the total export of DIC to the oceans from US rivers. The median gross retention flux due to fresh groundwater withdrawals was 6.9 (uncertainty range: 5.3–8.8) Tg C yr–1, over eight times the magnitude of the DIC flux to the oceans by US subterranean groundwater discharge. The degassing of CO2 supersaturated groundwater following withdrawal emitted 3.6 (uncertainty range: 2.2–5.5) Tg of CO2 yr–1, 112% larger than previous estimates. On a county level, these CO2 emissions exceeded CO2 emissions from major emitting facilities across 45% of US counties. Reported results and a data analysis framework have important implications for the accurate development of carbon budgets across the US and around the world.

Granite-related mineral deposits are major primary sources of the critical metals tin (Sn) and lithium (Li). The utility of accessory minerals such as zircon and apatite as pathfinders to these ore deposits has been a subject of great interest in recent years, with a number of geochemical discriminants having been developed to distinguish barren from metal-fertile and mineralised intrusions. Here, we study the potential of apatite as an indicator mineral for tin and lithium mineralisation using a compilation of published apatite trace element data as well as new data for the mineralised Cornubian batholith and barren Bhutanese leucogranites. Critical examination of common geochemical discriminants tracing magma fractionation and redox conditions (Mn, Eu/Eu*, La/YbN and Sr/Y) reveals large and overlapping data scatter for both barren and Sn-fertile intrusions. This calls into question the utility of these petrogenetic indicators to pinpoint tin metallogeny. Instead, prima facie metal concentrations directly related to tin mineralisation (i.e., Sn and Li) are consistently elevated in apatite from fertile and mineralised intrusions. Based on our data compilation, Li and Sn concentrations in apatite are the most robust indicators for Sn (and Li) mineralisation, and we encourage the community to include Li and Sn in their analytical routines to further test these observations and explore their implications for tin metallogeny.

Massive injection of ¹³C depleted carbon to the ocean and atmosphere coincided with major environmental upheaval multiple times in the geological record. For several events, the source of carbon has been attributed to explosive venting of gas produced when magmatic sills intruded organic-rich sediment. The concept mostly derives from studies of a few ancient sedimentary basins with numerous hydrothermal vent complexes (HTVCs) where craters appear to have formed across large areas of the seafloor at the same time, but good examples remain rare in strata younger than the Early Eocene. We present geophysical data documenting at least 150 large (km-scale) craters on the modern seafloor across ∼148,000 km² of Scan Basin in the southern Scotia Sea, a remote region offshore Antarctica. Seismic and bathymetric information reveals the craters relate to vertical fluid pipes extending above dome-shaped forced folds and saucer-shaped igneous sills. Presumably, magmatic intrusions deform overlying sediment and produce thermogenic gas, where buoyant hydrothermal fluids migrate upwards from sill flanks through V-shaped gas chimneys to the seafloor. Fluid expulsion, driven by excess pore pressure, enhances vertical conduits and creates collapse structures on the seafloor. Age estimates for sill emplacement and crater formation come from correlations of seismic reflectors with bore hole data collected on IODP Expedition 382. Sills intruded into sediment at least two times, first about 12–13 Ma (Middle Miocene), which occurred with deep intrusions of stacked composite sills, and once about 0.9 Ma and associated with volcanism along Discovery Bank, which may have reactivated previous fluid venting. Crater reactivation has occurred since 0.9 Ma, although probably episodically. Importantly, at present-day, numerous craters related to sills and fluid pipes populate the seafloor above a young sedimentary basin, and the ocean and atmosphere are receiving massive quantities of ¹³C depleted carbon. The two phenomena are unrelated but, with changes in global climate and sedimentation, the craters could be filled simultaneously and give an impression in the rock record of rapid and coeval formation coincident with carbon emission. Interpretations of ancient HTVCs and their significance to global carbon cycling needs revision with consideration of modern seafloor regions with HTVCs, notably Scan Basin.

Saline lakes are hypersensitive to changes in their water balance and therefore show amplified responses to climatic and land-use changes in their catchment. However, despite the resulting, often dramatic ecological consequences, saline lakes rank low on policy agendas as they are assumed to support few ecosystem services and low levels of biodiversity. Here, we challenge this view and evaluate ecosystem services and threatened species in 84 saline lakes distributed across the globe. We found that saline lakes harbour not only threatened aquatic biota but also a diverse range of red-listed terrestrial species that critically rely on the lakes’ existence. Further, our results highlight that saline lakes support, irrespective of their salinity, a number of culturally and economically important ecosystem services. We conclude our analysis with best-practice recommendations for sustainable management of saline lakes. Their local adaptation and implementation will be key for safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystem services of these valuable but highly sensitive ecosystems.

Loess profiles along the Danube River provide a record of long-term Quaternary dust (loess) deposition in central-eastern Europe. Here, Sr–Nd isotopic data from four loess-palaeosol profiles (47 samples) spanning the last two-glacial-interglacial cycles are presented. The isotopic compositions generated by this study are compared with bedrock and sedimentary samples from Europe and North Africa to decipher the sources of sediment. The results demonstrate that over the last 300 ka the alluvial plains of the Danube (which are themselves sourced from surrounding mountain belts) are a local source of material and consequently sediment experiences aeolian transport over relatively short distances. The results dispute the commonly held assumption that the Sahara was a sediment contributor to loess in central-eastern Europe as North African contributions are not needed to explain loess signatures. Consequently, the findings suggest a suppressed southerly wind direction and dominance of the westerly and north-westerly wind systems over the entirety of the record.

Stakeholders in decision-making roles require that data are available, accessible and useable to ensure evidence-informed design, implementation and evaluation of programs and policies to alleviate micronutrient deficiencies in India. This study determined the typical uses, data sources, priority and unmet needs, common challenges, and aspirations of key Indian food system stakeholders in relation to usage and interpretation of publicly available micronutrient data from health, nutrition, agriculture, and program domains. A qualitative, descriptive study was conducted, with purposive sampling of stakeholders from state and national-level government, development agencies, non-governmental organisations, research institutes, private organisations, and academia. Data were generated through focus group discussions and semi-structured key informant interviews. Themes and sub-themes were identified using framework analysis with a deductive approach. Stakeholders emphasized the pressing need for consolidated, harmonized district-level data from health, nutrition, and agriculture sources to better understand the causes and sources of variation in micronutrient deficiencies, and to inform decision-making on supplementation and fortification program planning, and policy evaluation. Biomarker data, nutrition dashboards and food consumption data were most used; data on food composition, program cost, and soil/crop micronutrient composition were not typically used, despite their relevance. A need for district-level data with further geographical and temporal (including seasonal) disaggregation, with improved accessibility was also identified. Current challenges include limited district-level data, outdated surveys, and data accessibility, while there is demand for customisable tools that integrate varied datasets, reflecting a shared vision for evidence-based decision-making and policy formulation.

Global nickel demand is projected to double by 2050 to support low-carbon technologies and renewable energy production. However, biomass carbon emissions from clearing vegetation for nickel mining are rarely included in corporate sustainability reports or considered in mineral sourcing decisions. Here, we compiled data for 481 nickel mines and undeveloped deposits to show that the footprint of nickel mining could be 4 to 500 times greater than previously reported (depending on the mine site), and thus the environmental impacts of nickel products, including batteries, have been underestimated to date. We found large variation in biomass losses among mines, and, in many cases, these unaccounted carbon emissions were significant relative to other Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions from nickel extraction and processing. Reporting emissions from biomass losses from mining is key for strategic decision making on where to source nickel needed for effective climate action.