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As the world's leaders are negotiating climate change mitigation in Paris, a strong El Niño brings the warmest year on record. After a decade and a half of slow warming and slow policy progress, 2015 may bring an acceleration of both.
The International Year of Soils draws attention to our vital dependence on the fertile crumb beneath our feet. Soil is renewable, but it takes careful stewardship to keep it healthy and plentiful.
The restrictions and protocols surrounding the collection and storage of field samples in the Earth sciences are not always complied with. Offences must not be taken lightly.
The world has agreed on 17 Sustainable Development Goals, to be adopted this week. This is great progress towards acknowledging that the planet's finite resources need to be managed carefully in the face of humanity's unlimited aspirations.
During several intervals in Earth's history, ice sheets expanded to cover the globe. These glaciations may be intricately linked to the evolution of life.
Reforms in science teaching are building a stronger, more flexible student population ready to face the challenges of the future. We must remove the barriers that prevent these talented students from entering the geosciences.
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.
Research on the Solar System's planets has moved beyond fly-by science. Long-term observations of planetary bodies can yield insights as the days, seasons and years pass.
The eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 has been linked to climate change and social unrest. Such historical eruptions could serve as test cases for models used to assess future climate changes.
Modern societies require more and more metals, not least for renewable energy generation. Scientists from a range of disciplines are needed to prospect for ore deposits and provide a basis for sustainable exploration.
Humans have altered their environment ever since they first appeared. Updates on three frameworks of thinking about the scale of twenty-first-century human influence on the Earth are invigorating the global change debate.
