Mosses support carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, organic matter decomposition and plant pathogen control in soils across the globe, according to a global survey of soil attributes in ecosystems with and without mosses.

Sustained emission reductions have altered the prevailing regime for ozone formation over China, weakening the trade-off in pollution control between aerosols and ozone, according to analyses of ozone pollution chemistry between 2013 and 2021.

The Earth may become inhospitable to land mammals in about 250 Myr owing to climate warming and drying associated with the assembly of the next supercontinent, Pangaea-Ultima, according to combined tectonic, climate and mammal habitability modelling.

Flat microplastic fibres have much longer residence times and travel further in the atmosphere than previously appreciated, according to simulations of the settling of microplastics with different shapes.

Oceanographic observations indicate sustained warming and enhanced basal melt since 2016 below the Fimbulisen ice sheet in East Antarctica, associated with increased subpolar westerlies and reduced sea ice.

From pressure indicator to paint brightener, Alicia Cruz-Uribe examines the many uses of rutile.

Climate change together with the recent onset of El Niño this year has led to widespread heatwaves. As these events become increasingly commonplace, cities around the world urgently need to build resilience to heat.

Tackling plastic pollution not only requires improved understanding of environmental dynamics of plastics, but also needs turning scientific insights into actions.

Admission to doctoral study is a crucial step in the academic pipeline, but discriminatory procedures can disproportionately impact students from ethnic minority backgrounds. We show how these policies contribute to inequity in the geosciences and propose strategies for change.

One journal’s reject may be another journal’s gem. Our editors aim to direct rejected manuscripts towards a more suitable destination journal in our transfer network.