Developing world articles within Nature Geoscience

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  • News & Views |

    Megathrust earthquakes along subduction zones present significant hazards. Evidence from the South Chile subduction zone suggests that the structure and fluid distribution of the megathrust interface governs the size and timing of large earthquakes.

    • Mohamed Chlieh

  • Article |

    A large, slow-moving landslide underlying the city of Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has accelerated in recent decades due to hydrological modifications related to urbanization, according to an analysis of aerial photographs and remote-sensing data.

    • Antoine Dille
    • , Olivier Dewitte
    •  & François Kervyn

  • Article |

    Observations suggest early twentieth-century human activities, in the form of canal construction, increased groundwater availability in northwest India and Pakistan, in contrast to recent depletion driven by tubewell development and low rainfall.

    • D. J. MacAllister
    • , G. Krishan
    •  & A. M. MacDonald

  • News & Views |

    Chloride-rich particulate matter has been identified as a major contributor to air-quality deterioration in cities across India. Identification and reduction of chloride emissions could therefore improve visibility and human health across the region.

    • Gufran Beig

  • News & Views |

    Large-scale land acquisitions accelerate tropical deforestation, suggests an analysis of two decades of land-deal and forest-cover data. Such exploitation will threaten the future of these globally crucial carbon sinks and biodiversity hotspots.

    • Andreas Neef

  • Article |

    Tropical deforestation rates are linked to large-scale land investments, according to georeferenced land deal records and remote sensing of forest loss over the past two decades.

    • Kyle Frankel Davis
    • , Heejin Irene Koo
    •  & Mokganedi Tatlhego

  • News & Views |

    Wet rice cultivation in the Palu Valley, Indonesia, prepared the ground for the devastating liquefaction-induced landslides that were triggered by the Mw 7.5 earthquake in 2018, suggest two studies of the spatial relationship between landslide morphology and irrigation.

    • Phil R. Cummins

  • Article |

    Tropical deforestation induces the loss and transport of old and biolabile soil organic carbon into rivers, suggest analyses of dissolved organic matter in deforested and pristine catchments in the Congo Basin. The mobilized soil carbon is likely to turn into a carbon source.

    • Travis W. Drake
    • , Kristof Van Oost
    •  & Robert G. M. Spencer

  • Editorial |

    The emerging field of geohealth links human well-being and ecosystem health. A deeper understanding of these linkages can help society mitigate the health costs of economic growth before they become crises.

  • News & Views |

    Groundwater resources are directly affected by climate variability via precipitation, evapotranspiration and recharge. Analyses of US and India trends reveal that climate-induced pumping indirectly influences groundwater depletion as well.

    • Jason J. Gurdak

  • News & Views |

    Increasing groundwater extraction supports hundreds of millions of people across the Indo-Gangetic Basin. Data suggests that despite the increase in withdrawals, groundwater depletion is localized and the most widespread threat is contamination.

    • Scott Fendorf
    •  & Shawn G. Benner

  • Letter |

    Sulfur dioxide is a key air contaminant. A satellite-based emissions inventory reveals a number of hitherto unknown sources, with a cluster around the Persian Gulf, and identifies large discrepancies with conventional inventories in some regions.

    • Chris A. McLinden
    • , Vitali Fioletov
    •  & Joanna Joiner

  • News & Views |

    Leases of land concessions in Cambodia have accelerated in the last ten years. An analysis using high-resolution maps and official documents shows that deforestation rates in the land concessions are higher than in other areas.

    • Tom Rudel

  • Commentary |

    The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals emphasize the importance of evidence-based decision-making. This is a clarion call for Earth scientists to contribute directly to the health, prosperity and well-being of all people.

    • Jane Lubchenco
    • , Allison K. Barner
    •  & Jessica N. Reimer

  • Commentary |

    Since 1999, China's Grain for Green project has greatly increased the vegetation cover on the Loess Plateau. Now that erosion levels have returned to historic values, vegetation should be maintained but not expanded further as planned.

    • Yiping Chen
    • , Kaibo Wang
    •  & Xinhua He

  • Editorial |

    Developing countries lag far behind, in terms of scientific — including geoscience — output. Failing to spread the know-how means that the world is missing out on great intellectual potential.

  • Commentary |

    The history of attempts to spread scientific know-how beyond western centres of excellence is littered with failures. Capacity building needs long-term commitment, a critical mass of trainees, and a supportive home environment.

    • Bruce Hewitson

  • Commentary |

    Expansion of geothermal energy use across the globe is restricted by out-of-date prejudices. It is time for geothermal exploration to be extended to a broader range of environments and rejuvenated with the latest insights from relevant geoscience disciplines.

    • Paul L. Younger

  • Commentary |

    In areas of the developing world that have benefited only marginally from the intensification of agriculture, foreign investments can enhance productivity. This could represent a step towards greater food security, but only if we ensure that malnourished people in the host countries benefit.

    • Paolo D'Odorico
    •  & Maria Cristina Rulli

  • Editorial |

    The world is undergoing a phenomenally fast wave of urban growth. Research that can help tackle some of the ensuing problems is likely to originate in cities themselves.

  • Editorial |

    Mining could provide a steady stream of income for Afghanistan. But the mere promise of a stable economy does not justify all sacrifices.

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