Biocrusts are photosynthetic communities that extensively cover Earth's exposed soil surfaces, occupying the critical interface between the atmosphere and the pedosphere. Here, we present a comprehensive review of the definition, distribution, composition, structure, and function of biocrusts, emphasizing their relevance to the Earth sciences through influences on pedogenesis, landscape evolution, hydrological processes, surface energy balance, and biogeochemical cycles, both in the present and throughout Earth's history. We summarize both the established understanding and existing knowledge gaps regarding the complex interactions between biocrusts and the Earth system. Through this review, we demonstrate that biocrusts are a crucial linkage among various subdisciplines of Earth sciences and adjacent fields, thereby contributing to the refinement and advancement of Earth sciences to keep pace with global changes. As a lever to support vital Earth system processes, biocrust research helps find transdisciplinary solutions to combat climate change, conserve biodiversity, and promote sustainable land use. ▪ Biocrusts are photosynthetic communities inhabiting the interface between atmosphere and pedosphere, covering about 12% of Earth's terrestrial surface. ▪ Biocrusts influence the Earth system by mediating pedogenesis, landscape evolution, surface energy balance, and hydrological and biogeochemical cycles. ▪ Biocrusts form a link among geology, geomorphology, climatology, hydrology, soil science, environmental science, cryosphere science, and geospatial science. ▪ Biocrust research provides potential solutions to combat climate change, conserve biodiversity, and promote sustainable land use.
The search for life beyond Earth has long been a scientific goal, but as this quest expands, astrobiologists must grapple not only with where life may be but also with what life can be. Researchers now realize that our descriptions of biosignatures—the physical and chemical clues used to discern the presence of life—must expand to reflect fundamental features of living systems, not just analog expressions that assume a common heritage with Earth. These new biosignatures are thus agnostic in their relationship to life on Earth. New interdisciplinary endeavors now design generalized biosignatures that first consider the criteria and functions of life in any physical setting. These frameworks challenge the way we both seek and define life. Here we summarize the history of these efforts from their disciplinary roots and provide the conceptual foundations of the pursuit to sufficiently describe life without relying on definitions or familiar features. ▪ Agnostic biosignatures are indications of past or present biology that are not based on molecular or metabolic signs of life on Earth. ▪ The generalized search for life is rooted in both paleobiology and physics, where life is discerned from context and fundamental first principles. ▪ This work summarizes universal features and theories of life that recognize how biological systems differ from abiotic chemical systems. ▪ Proposed frameworks for a generalized search for life are described, as well as systematic needs for effective extraplanetary deployment.
The Famatinian arc provides an extensive cross section through an ancient magmatic arc, elucidating the evolution of subduction-related magmatism and the generation of the continental crust. Although the mantle-crust transition is not exposed, integrated field observations and laboratory analyses allow the reconstruction of a spatiotemporal model for the arc's thermal structure and magmatic evolution. The resulting cross section demonstrates that depth-dependent petrological processes govern igneous differentiation. At greater depths, crystallization-driven fractionation and melt-mush interactions produce variations within mafic-ultramafic complexes. From the middle crust to volcanic levels, crystal fractionation, partial melting, and the reactive assimilation of prearc host crust drive the evolution toward intermediate and silicic compositions. Comparative analysis with other ancient arcs indicates that subduction-related plutonic-volcanic columns are density filtered and organized as vertically interconnected systems. Within these trans-lithospheric magmatic columns, the influx of mantle-derived melts, multi-level crystal-melt-fluid fractionation, and assimilation of preexisting crust occur simultaneously in space and time from source to surface. ▪ The Famatinian arc represents a 30-km-thick segment of Ordovician arc crust that has undergone differential uplift along several hundred kilometers of its paleo-axis. ▪ Mantle melt input, polybaric igneous fractionation, and intracrustal melting controlled lithological and chemical diversification across the magmatic column. ▪ Extensive igneous columns transition from melt-dominated magmatic systems in the middle crust to crystal-rich mushy reservoirs in the upper crust. ▪ Comparable lithological architectures in ancient arc sections allow assessment of how the building blocks of continental crust develop over convergent plate margins.
The mechanism of rupture nucleation, the process by which ruptures are formed, is still not well-understood in the friction, fracture, and earthquake mechanics fields. Rupture propagation is relatively well-understood, as it can be described by the framework of fracture mechanics. Rupture nucleation, which is inherently unpredictable, remains elusive. Nucleation is observed to be a slow process relative to the propagation of the rupture that follows it. Numerous unique features that characterize the nucleation process elude existing models. Here, we first review recent experimental studies that have revealed intriguing characteristic properties of frictional rupture nucleation. We then describe a recently derived theoretical formulation that extends fracture mechanics (utilizing energy balance) to provide a full quantitative description of both extremely slow (aseismic) nucleation dynamics and their consequent transition to rapid (seismic) rupture. This approach highlights the importance of geometry—both interface confinement and the 2D shape of the rupture patch itself—in the rupture process. This framework provides a seamless transition between these seemingly disparate regimes, providing a new and fundamental understanding of both frictional and earthquake nucleation. These ideas may also be relevant for understanding material creep, which generally precedes catastrophic failure. ▪ Nucleation, the slow initial process of rupture formation, is qualitatively different than the rapid propagation of ruptures once formed. ▪ The transition from slow expansion to rapid propagation of frictional ruptures is related to the finite width of a frictional interface. ▪ A new model extends fracture mechanics to provide a mechanical description of slow rupture expansion during nucleation. ▪ This framework provides understanding of earthquake nucleation along natural faults and creep processes preceding catastrophic failure.
Roman architectural and marine concrete structures, caementiciae structurae , have remained intact and functional for two millennia. A mortar fabricated with scoriaceous or pumiceous volcanic tephra aggregate ( harenae fossiciae , pulvis ) binds cobble-sized volcanic or carbonate rock and/or ceramic coarse aggregate ( caementa ). These clasts form a conglomeratic framework that reinforces the concrete. An early pozzolanic cementitious system, in which aggregates react with lime ( calyx ) hydrated with freshwater or seawater, binds the concrete. The components of this system then react with pore fluids to produce post-pozzolanic hydrated silicate phases, mainly strätlingite, Al-tobermorite, and phillipsite crystals, which remodel and toughen the concrete. A heterogeneous permeability structure facilitates these beneficial fluid-concrete interactions. The Ses Llumetes shipwreck provides a window into transport of pulvis pumiceous tephra as aggregate in marine structures. Roman natural scientists recorded accurate empirical observations and hypotheses for these dynamic cementitious processes, which have great relevance to self-sustaining marine concrete infrastructure and alternatives to cement-based concrete. ▪ Advanced analytical methods validate Roman hypotheses for mechanisms of self-sustaining resilience in ancient architectural and marine concrete. ▪ An early pozzolanic system consolidates and strengthens the concrete, mainly through production of C-A-S-H (calcium-aluminum-silicate-hydrate) binding phase in a cementing matrix. ▪ Post-pozzolanic reactions with pore fluids produce silicate mineral cements and remodel the cementing matrix, toughening the concrete. ▪ A heterogeneous permeability structure derived from reactive aggregates, mainly volcanic tephra and cobble-sized caementa , aids these processes. ▪ Roman designs in modern marine concrete could produce beneficial interactions with saltwater, improving structural functionality and resilience.
Paleoclimatologists have long recognized that H and O isotopes of materials in lake sediments can help reconstruct past climate and environmental change. Here, a global synthesis of O isotopes in lab-cultured or core-top carbonates and organic macrofossils and of H isotopes in core-top sedimentary plant waxes confirms their strong correlations with source water isotopes. New proxies, such as H isotopes of microbial lipids, are also emerging. Given the prevalence of lakes around the world, these methods show immense promise for generating networks of water-isotope reconstructions needed to characterize past climates. This review summarizes current knowledge of these proxies, their relationships to modern water isotopes, and challenges in their interpretation. Future progress in applying water-isotope proxies would benefit from collecting relevant site environmental and ecological data, generating calibrated water-isotope reconstructions for direct comparison with observational data, and cross-validating reconstructions across multiple proxies or sites. ▪ Reconstructions of past water isotopes promise rich insight into paleoclimate dynamics and have support from a range of modern calibration studies. ▪ Multiple water-isotope proxies, including carbonate minerals, aquatic organism remains, and leaf waxes, reliably track meteoric water isotopes. ▪ Newly emerging water-isotope proxies, such as archaeal and bacterial glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers, promise to expand the range of settings and questions available for investigation. ▪ Expanding modern calibration datasets can clarify the limitations on water-isotope reconstructions while enhancing interpretations.
The geological record provides us with absolute ages of past events and organisms, but it also contains information about what occurred within time intervals ranging from seconds to eons. Within this huge range of time samples, intervals that span days to tens of thousands of years can be the hardest to calibrate in convincing ways, yet knowing how much time is recorded in fossil samples is essential for reconstructing terrestrial and marine paleoecology. A career of field research in sedimentology, stratigraphy, paleontology, observations and experiments in modern land ecosystems (neo-taphonomy), and comparisons of fossil preservation across the Phanerozoic record has convinced me that we can make credible estimates of time intervals represented by different types of fossil assemblages. The examples in this autobiographical review trace the development of my understanding of time-averaging in the fossil record and suggest how future research can unlock new information about ancient ecosystems and their inhabitants.
Understanding the composition of metallic cores in planetary bodies is crucial for unraveling planetary formation, differentiation, and evolution. On Earth, early seismic and density data suggested iron-dominated interiors alloyed with lighter elements such as sulfur, silicon, oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen. These elements influence core density, thermal conductivity, magnetic field generation, and surface habitability, and their incorporation depends on each planet's unique pressure, temperature, and redox conditions during differentiation. Experimental investigations of metal-silicate partitioning under extreme conditions show that many light elements are strongly siderophile at high pressures, contributing to the diversity of core compositions across the Solar System and beyond. This review synthesizes current knowledge on core compositions beyond Earth—spanning asteroids to exoplanets—and explores how laboratory experiments, cosmochemical evidence, and astrophysical observations collectivelyinform our understanding of core formation. By decoding core compositions, studies can better constrain the thermal histories and potential habitability of planetary bodies. ▪ Planetary core compositions reveal how planets form, differentiate, and evolve, shaping the density, heat flow, magnetic fields, and habitability of a planet. ▪ Experiments, cosmochemical abundances, and theoretical calculations explain the light element compositions of planetary cores from asteroids to exoplanets.
Geoethics is an evolving interdisciplinary field that provides ethical guidance for how humanity interacts with the Earth system. Originating in professional geoscience ethics, it has expanded to include the ethical, social, and cultural aspects of geoscientific practice. Today, it is proposed as a foundation for developing a global ethics. This review traces the evolution of geoethics through key milestones, such as international organizations and foundational documents, and outlines its core principles. It also highlights the wide-ranging applicability of geoethics across diverse and pressing issues. The practical relevance of geoethics extends to fields such as disaster risk reduction, geo-resource management, the protection of geodiversity and geoheritage, geoeducation, and geoscience communication. Geoethics also provides ethical reflections in emerging and controversial domains, including deep-sea mining and the use of artificial intelligence in geosciences. By fostering ethical awareness, responsibility, and reflexivity in geoscientific practice, geoethics contributes to shaping a more sustainable, inclusive, and just future. ▪ Geoethics integrates geoscience, ethics, and society to guide responsible human-Earth interactions. ▪ It provides a framework for addressing global challenges such as climate change and resource management. ▪ Geoethics promotes scientific integrity, sustainability, and planetary stewardship across disciplines. ▪ Its principles foster ethical awareness, shaping policy, education, and societal engagement worldwide.
It is currently debated whether Earth system models (ESMs) can reproduce observation-based long-term changes in global and regional deoxygenation rates. Both models and observations include uncertainties, which must be considered when evaluating their consistency. Based on 14 ESMs and 6 observational datasets, the models’ climatological annual mean oxygen matches observations well near the surface. However, significant biases remain in the tropics and in the thermocline. Based on the same set of models and three time-varying observation-based datasets, the models tend to underestimate deoxygenation trends from 1965 to 2014, except for the North Atlantic basin. However, the small number of observational datasets limits this conclusion. One dataset appears to significantly underestimate deoxygenation due to sparse data coverage. This review highlights the need for improvements in model process representations and the development of more observation-based, quality-controlled datasets to better constrain and interpret oxygen changes in the ocean. ▪ Uncertainties of dissolved oxygen field in CMIP6 ESMs and observational reconstructions are quantified. ▪ The ESMs can skillfully reproduce long-term average oxygen near the surface, but challenges remain in the thermocline and tropics. ▪ The ESMs underestimates the deoxygenation trends except for the North Atlantic basin.
Magnetic storms induce geoelectric fields at Earth's surface that can interfere with grounded long-line systems. The September 1859 storm disrupted global telegraph operations, the March 1989 storm caused a blackout in Canada and interfered with electric-power-transmission systems in the United States, and other storms have had related impacts. The geographic and temporal dependence of geoelectric fields are functions of both geomagnetic variation and local surface impedance, which differ considerably across different geological regions. These dependencies can be mapped across the contiguous United States by combining magnetotelluric impedance tensors with ground magnetometer time series. This review illustrates such mapping for the 1989 storm and shows that power-system interference was experienced where surface impedance is high, and when and where geoelectric fields were intense. Statistical analyses indicate that storms comparable to that of March 1989 occur roughly once every four solar cycles. Ongoing developments in numerical modeling and real-time monitoring are anticipated to enable prediction of geoelectric hazards. ▪ Magnetic storms can induced electric fields in the solid Earth that interfere with electric-power-transmission systems. ▪ Geoelectric hazards depend on the storm-time geomagnetic disturbance and the electrical conductivity structure of Earth. ▪ Historically, impacts on telecommunication and power-transmission systems in the United States have been concentrated in the East and Midwest. ▪ The future occurrence of a magnetic superstorm could cause widespread disruption of electric-power-transmission systems.
The concept of the bio-inorganic bridge links the evolution of Earth's biosphere to the broad-scale changes in trace metal availability driven by shifts in ocean redox conditions. This framework connects the acquisition of metal enzyme cofactors to evolving environmental conditions over geological time. Various approaches have been taken to building this bridge, integrating insights from microbiology, phylogenomics, ecophysiology, and geochemistry. Much of this work has been framed around a model of Earth's oceans evolving from an Archean anoxic state, through an intermediate sulfidic phase, to the well-oxygenated conditions of the modern world. This perspective predicts corresponding changes in the abundance of key trace elements and highlights their roles in governing primary productivity and the emergence of eukaryotes. That said, geological proxy studies in the intervening years revealed much more complexity to ocean redox evolution, while novel phylogenomic analyses reveal a deeper evolutionary antiquity for several redox-sensitive metalloenzymes. These discoveries require that geobiologists pay close attention to environmental variations in space as well as time. Moreover, increasing awareness that Precambrian trace metal abundances reflect large changes in sources and sinks, as well as in redox conditions, urges closer attention to tectonically influenced fluxes of major nutrients, especially phosphorus, as well as changing weathering fluxes through time. A new understanding of the relationships between Earth's physical history and metalloenzymes awaits. ▪ The bio-inorganic bridge connects biological and geological evolution through changes in trace metal availability over Earth's history. ▪ Combining sedimentary geochemistry and phylogenetics has revealed novel insights into metal utilization by the biosphere. ▪ Interdisciplinary approaches are increasingly used to link biosphere evolution with Earth's surface environments.
Volcanic eruptions exert a profound influence on tropical hydroclimate, including interannual variability associated with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. This review synthesizes recent advances in understanding these impacts through an energy framework that links radiative forcing to shifts in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and global monsoon systems. While global responses are robust in climate models, regional expressions remain uncertain due to biases and limitations in both simulations and paleoclimate reconstructions. Nonetheless, consistent patterns emerge—such as ITCZ displacement and reduced monsoon precipitation—that align with energetic theory, offering a physically grounded explanation for observed hydroclimatic anomalies following eruptions. This framework also provides a basis for estimating potential hydroclimate impacts of future volcanic events. ▪ Volcanic eruptions strongly influence tropical hydroclimate, but the mechanisms linking radiative forcing to large-scale responses are not fully understood. ▪ We assess evidence from climate models and paleoclimate reconstructions, noting robust global responses but regional differences due to model biases and data limitations. ▪ The energy framework provides a physically based foundation for anticipating tropical hydroclimate responses to future volcanic eruptions. ▪ Consistent patterns emerge such as ITCZ shifts and weakened monsoons, explained by energy theory and underpinned by observed posteruption climate anomalies.
Vertical land motion (VLM) is an underrecognized hazard in susceptible coastal cities, especially those experiencing rapid urbanization. Human-induced VLM often causes elevation loss (subsidence) at rates that exceed, sometimes by an order of magnitude or more, those of climate-driven sea-level rise. Local land subsidence (LLS) also damages infrastructure, disrupts drainage, and alters flood dynamics, yet its broader impacts remain poorly quantified and systematically assessed. This review synthesizes the scientific, technical, and policy dimensions of VLM, with particular focus on LLS, highlighting how natural processes and human activities interact to amplify coastal hazards. We examine the geophysical drivers of VLM, advances in monitoring and modeling, and their integration into hazard assessment frameworks. We consider socioeconomic and infrastructural vulnerabilities of city residents, especially where limited observational capacity and governance gaps intensify risk. VLM acts as both a physical amplifier and a socio-institutional blind spot within coastal adaptation planning, requiring real-time data integration, scenario testing, and inclusive policy development. Finally, we identify key research frontiers—including subsidence mitigation strategies, dynamic VLM projections, and equitable, high-resolution risk assessment—to support more resilient, adaptive, and just coastal futures. ▪ Tectonics, sediment compaction, groundwater extraction, and urban loading combine to produce complex, nonlinear patterns of vertical land motion that shape local hazard dynamics. ▪ Local land subsidence, often exceeding the rate of global sea-level rise, is the dominant and least understood driver of coastal flooding and infrastructure risk in many urban regions worldwide. ▪ Subsidence disproportionately affects marginalized communities, exacerbating social inequities, driving displacement, and eroding cultural heritage, underscoring the need for inclusive, justice-centered adaptation frameworks. ▪ Closing critical data and policy gaps through coordinated vertical land motion observation, open-access standards, and equitable governance is essential to safeguard coastal populations and sustain long-term urban resilience.
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was NASA's first planetary defense test mission, designed to validate the technologies and methods associated with using a kinetic impactor to deflect asteroids that pose a threat to Earth. On September 26, 2022, DART intentionally collided with Dimorphos, the moonlet of the near-Earth asteroid Didymos. Observations over the following weeks and months confirmed that DART's impact changed Dimorphos's orbit around Didymos, reducing its speed by 2.6 mm $/$ s. In addition, the DART impact provided the opportunity to observe the creation and evolution of the resulting ejecta, to investigate the dynamics within a perturbed binary system, and to study a natural-scale asteroid impact experiment. Additionally, the Didymos-Dimorphos system was the first binary near-Earth asteroid system investigated by spacecraft, and Dimorphos is the smallest asteroid visited by spacecraft to date. We detail the science and planetary defense findings of DART and look to future advancements. ▪ NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission was the first to demonstrate asteroid deflection, autonomously navigating to impact the asteroid Dimorphos on September 26, 2022. ▪ DART's successful planetary defense test validated that the kinetic impactor (KI) technique is a viable means to alter an asteroid's future path, which could potentially be used to prevent a future Earth impact. ▪ Analysis of the DART impact event and the resulting aftermath showed that the efficiency of the deflection achieved by the KI technique depended on the asteroid's properties. ▪ Prior information about the asteroid and its properties, such as by a reconnaissance mission, has the potential to allow optimization of the KI technique for asteroid deflection. ▪ Warning time is key for utilizing the KI technique to prevent a potential Earth impact, stressing the need for a planetary defense strategy that includes searching for asteroids and characterizing them in addition to developing mitigation approaches. ▪ In addition to advancing planetary defense objectives, the DART mission provided the first close-up visit to a binary asteroid system and measurements on the smallest asteroid visited by a spacecraft to date. ▪ The success of the DART mission relied on an interdisciplinary and international team, demonstrating the value of wide-ranging cooperation for planetary defense efforts.
Geoscience remains one of the least diverse science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines, despite investment in diversity initiatives. Obstacles such as insufficient funding, paucity of geoscience offerings, and lack of information continue to promote a culture of exclusion. This review critically examines the evolution of belonging, accessibility, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (BAJEDI) programs in the geosciences, focusing on efforts to increase participation and retention of minoritized people of color. We explore the philosophical foundations that have shaped BAJEDI efforts and the challenges they face despite realistic gains. This review identifies institutional and political limitations and offers recommendations to support positive, long-term institutional and systemic change. We underscore the need to move beyond symbolic gestures and argue for ethic of care practices that center authentic, relational interactions and systemic accountability. Understanding what truly works and the conditions under which it works for minoritized people of color is critical to building a more inclusive and innovative geoscience community. ▪ Increasing racial diversity in geoscience requires sustained, resilient, and evidence-based strategies rather than short-term or ad hoc efforts. ▪ Efforts to increase racial diversity and improve the experiences of people of color in geoscience must attend to relational dynamics within the field. ▪ Learning from past missteps and evaluating what works are essential to strengthening existing efforts and advancing racial diversity in geoscience. ▪ Including an ethic of care, rather than relying primarily on deontological or utilitarian frameworks, within diversity programs and policies is key to meaningful, lasting transformation in geoscience.
The Black Sea, characterized by its unique oceanographic and biogeochemical gradients and oxygen-depleted (anoxic) waters, serves as a natural analogue of past planetary-scale geological events as well as more recent human-induced changes. In this review, based on a synthesis of the most recent research, we demonstrate how the extreme ecosystems of the Black Sea provide valuable insights into ecological resilience and adaptation in a changing global ocean. We also elaborate on how the Black Sea's biogeochemical oceanographic extremities parallel conditions found in some of the most extreme environments of our planet as well as newly discovered oceans of the Solar System, offering a crucial analogue for astrobiological and extreme environment research. As such, the Black Sea holds significant relevance not only for understanding Earth's past oceans and present ecological dynamics but also for advancing the exploration of life's potential beyond our planet. ▪ The Black Sea is shaped by oceanographic gradients with Earth's largest volume of oxygen-depleted and sulfide-rich waters. ▪ The habitats of the Black Sea host not only unique bacterial and archaeal lineages but also eukaryotic organisms adapted to extreme conditions. ▪ It is also an excellent laboratory environment to study the geological past of Earth's ocean and for future studies of the Solar System's ocean worlds. ▪ Managing the Black Sea's environmental challenges should be a priority as well to keep this unique natural laboratory stable and accessible for future generations.
Landscapes are shaped by the interaction of tectonics, climate, and rock erosion dynamics. Active incision in bedrock rivers sets the pace of landscape evolution because river incision cuts deep valleys and canyons into bedrock, transporting that material to the sea. This unburdens Earth's surface, allowing uplift of majestic mountain peaks in tectonically active settings. Bedrock-bound rivers, where the banks and bed are mostly bedrock, are hard points in the landscape that set the upstream base level of drainage basins and that must be vertically incised to lower landscape elevation and balance erosion against tectonic uplift. There are four distinct bedrock-bound channel morphologies that do not occur in alluvial channels—constriction-pool-widenings, rapids, overfalls, and waterfalls—each of which has a distinct flow structure. Our ability to predict bedrock-bound channel morphodynamics is nascent, but the discovery of mechanistic lateral bedrock erosion models, coupled with existing vertical incision models, allow prediction of bedrock river geometry and adjustments due to changes in water flux, sediment supply, and regional uplift. ▪ Coupled lateral and vertical erosion models reveal that the geometry of bedrock rivers is dominantly controlled by sediment supply, not discharge. ▪ Coupling observations of nonuniform flow structures and erosion models confirm that bedrock-bound channels are loci of intense erosion along a river's profile. ▪ Prediction of the 3D shape of bedrock-bound rivers is possible by combining models for flow, sediment transport, and bedrock erosion. ▪ Morphodynamic predictions are limited by poor understanding of nonuniform flow structures, flow resistance, and sediment transport in bedrock-bound channels.
The interplay between melt, crystals, andvolatile bubbles controls the physical properties of magmas in Earth's crust, the rate of phase separation, and, by extension, chemical differentiation. The mechanical processes that couple crystals, bubbles, and melt are nonlinear, and their expression in magmatic systems can vary greatly with the relative phase proportions in the magma. In this review we propose a multiscale perspective on multiphase magmas under crustal storage conditions, with a specific focus on phase separation mechanisms. We start with an inventory of forces acting on a single crystal or volatile bubble in a silicate melt. We follow with a discussion of different upscaling strategies to simplify the description of the dynamics at greater scales, relevant to the evolution of magma reservoirs.We discuss recent progress in the development of models to study the internal dynamics of magma reservoirs, highlight current challenges, and propose possible paths for further progress. ▪ The mechanical interaction between the constituents (melt, crystals, and bubbles) at the scale of crystals controls the properties of magmas. ▪ The choice of upscaling strategy is controlled by the processes that are considered. ▪ Melt-crystal separation processes and their efficiency vary with the relative proportion of the phases involved. ▪ Melt extraction by repacking is fast compared to compaction but stalls as the mush reaches the maximum packing.
The burgeoning field of phylogenetic paleoecology combines paleoecological data with hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships to tease apart the roles that ecology and relatedness both play in the evolution and function of an organism. The purpose of this review is to make phylogenetic paleontology more accessible to a wider array of scientists and attract new researchers to the discipline. Herein, we use recently published analyses of a diverse array of fossil animals (e.g., arthropods, echinoderms, and carnivorans) to better illustrate the breadth of research questions that can be studied using phylogenetic paleoecology. Phylogenetic paleoecology has been used to discern drivers of morphological change and variations in evolutionary rates, along with the relationship between phylogeny, biogeography, and ecology. Additional avenues of research could focus on modularity and mosaicism in evolution, as well as the impact of mass extinctions and adaptive radiations. By encouraging a greater diversity of scientific backgrounds and plurality of thought, and by incorporating new perspectives from different areas of both geology and biology, the field of phylogenetic paleoecology will lead to the consideration of new questions, avenues, and possibilities that would otherwise go unexplored.
