Articles in 2022

An article in Geomorphology examines the relationship between wildfires and post-fire debris flows in Southern California.

Heatwaves are occurring with increasing frequency and intensity, necessitating prediction so as to minimize loss of life and other impacts. This Review outlines heatwave predictive capabilities at daily to decadal timescales, and discusses heatwave projections with anthropogenic warming.

Compound heat and moisture extremes influence crop yield, threatening food security. This Review outlines the mechanisms, projections and adaptation options for compound extreme–crop yield relationships, highlighting an urgency to better understand the impact of joint stresses.

Representation and discrimination of those with mobility and sensory impairments is a serious problem in academia, especially in the Earth sciences. Non-disabled academics must fight prejudice and increase the support to, and visibility of, physically impaired colleagues, states Paul Upchurch.

GeoSPACE is addressing the barrier of inaccessible field courses with a planetary mission approach, combining online participation with accessible in-person field work.

Chronic illnesses, mental health issues, and other hidden disabilities can be debilitating, especially in combination with stigmatization and lack of proper accommodations. Breaking barriers in academic systems for those with hidden disabilities demands that personal, institutional and organizational ableist biases are overcome, writes Isabel Carrera Zamanillo.

The history of Earth’s formation can be unravelled from the compositions of meteorites, terrestrial and lunar rocks, and observations from space-based telescopes. This Review discusses advances in theories and evidence concerning the dynamical mechanisms and timescales for Earth’s accretion in the Solar System.

Soil structure, the soil microbiome and ecosystem functioning are intimately linked. This Review describes these connections in agroecosystems and the impact of management strategies on them.

Oceanic spreading centres are sites of extensive tectonic, magmatic and hydrothermal activity that provide nutrients to the ocean and multifaceted habitats for life. This Review explores processes governing variations in hydrothermal vents, microbial ecosystems and global fluxes from ocean ridges.

Earth is polluted with plastic waste, with impacts on ecosystems and health. This Issue and online Collection bring together research on plastic in the environment and discussion on how to combat this growing problem.

Monitoring marine plastic pollution requires repeated, long-term, global and harmonised observations of plastic presence, quantity and type, which satellites can provide. To convince space agencies to take action, coordinated activities are urgently needed to agree on target environments and to integrate in situ and satellite-derived measurements.

Environmental cycling of microplastics and nanoplastics is complex; fully understanding these pollutants is hindered by inconsistent methodologies and experimentation within a narrow scope. Consistent methods are needed to advance plastic research and policy within the context of global environmental change.

Solving the plastic waste problem requires pre- and post-consumption actions. Behaviour change interventions — including nudges, norm messages and education — offer opportunities to reduce demand for single-use plastic while industry-wide solutions and governmental policies are developed and expanded.

Floating plastic is accumulating in the five subtropical oceanic gyres, but little is known about their composition, sources, and fate. Monitoring has provided insight into persistence and accumulation processes in the North Pacific Ocean, but their relevance in other gyres is unknown. Identifying the sources of plastics, in all subtropical gyres, is necessary for cleanup efforts to be effective.

The large quantities of plastics stored in landfills and dumpsites are often overlooked when discussing plastic pollution. Improperly managed waste disposal sites can leak plastics to the environment, requiring immediate action. Mitigation must be supported by research to quantify the scale of the problem and prioritize efforts.

The development of a global legally binding treaty by the UN to end plastic pollution is underway. To be effective, the global treaty requires new levels of transparency, disclosure and cooperation to support evidence-based policymaking that avoids the fragmented and reactionary policies of the past.

Plastic pollution is widely presented as a waste problem, resulting in proposed solutions that target end-of-life waste management and consumer behaviour. This framing misrepresents the entangled global social and ecological challenges of the plastic crisis, which must be recognised for effective, equitable and sustainable responses.

Large quantities of plastics flow from rivers to estuaries, where they potentially converge in frontal zones. This Perspective describes the occurrence, transformation and impact of these processes, highlighting their importance in mitigating plastic pollution.

Anthropogenic warming is causing cryosphere degradation, which is increasing erosion and sediment transport. This Review describes changes in sediment fluxes and explains how peak sediment will be reached as a result of deglaciation and permafrost thaw.