Perspectives

The enhanced CO₂ uptake by vegetation in response to powdered rock should be considered in assessing the feasibility of enhanced weathering as a negative emission technology in mitigating climate change, suggest simulations of a land surface model.

The combined effects of decades-long warming and particularly vigorous injections of atmospheric heat from lower latitudes were the likely culprits for sharp declines in sea-ice extent around Antarctica starting in 2016.

Uncertainties and subjective choices affecting remaining carbon budgets should be fully considered when applying them to international and national climate policies.

Deliberate application of sulfur onto croplands as fertilizer and pesticide probably causes environmental damage similar to historical acid rain events, according to a literature review and four case studies from the United States.

Dynamic interactions between chemical and biological controls govern the stability of soil organic carbon and drive complex, emergent patterns in soil carbon persistence.

Characterization of hydrothermal plumes in terms of redox, rather than distance from the vent, illuminates the dominant transport processes and fate of metals, focusing on iron and manganese.

Migration of water from the slab to the surface during subduction is highlighted as a key process in the formation of continental crust.

Geophysical and meteorological measurements by NASA’s InSight lander on Mars reveal a planet that is seismically active and provide information about the interior, surface and atmospheric workings of Mars.

Direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from mining for green technologies need to be accurately and transparently accounted for, as highlighted by a case study of Chilean copper mining.

Glaciers in the Karakoram region, with their balanced or slightly positive mass balance, stand out from global glacier shrinkage, but this anomaly is not expected to persist in the long term, according to an overview of the possible explanations.

Different methods for determining global mean temperature change are preferable for different purposes, such as estimating carbon budgets versus consistency with the achievement of the Paris Agreement, argues a Perspective that outlines methodological choices and recommends decision pathways.

Coastal vegetated ecosystems have experienced rapid changes in climate and environmental conditions. These changes have caused disturbances to the amount of carbon they store in soils by altering the decomposition process of organic carbon.

Recovery of the stratospheric ozone layer above Antarctica has not been straightforward, as a result of human activities and climate change. The recovery process might be delayed by up to decades if further mitigation actions are not taken.

Changes in calcification of marine organisms must be considered to explain the deepening of carbonate accumulation during ocean recovery from acidification events. According to a literature synthesis and modelling, dissolution of sedimentary carbonate is not sufficient to explain observations.

Groundwater-derived CO₂ inputs and emissions along streams are highly variable in both space and time, according to measurements of dissolved CO₂ from two headwater catchments.

A warm and semi-arid climate may be most consistent with geological evidence for flowing water on the surface of early Mars, despite the challenges of warming Mars under a faint young Sun.

Changes in Northern Hemisphere atmospheric temperature, pressure patterns and winds emerge as a consistent response to Arctic sea-ice loss in six coupled climate models.

Earth experienced a lull in magmatic and tectonic activity about 2.3 billion years ago, followed by a flare-up of magmatism, according to a compilation of existing geologic data. These events might mark the transition to the supercontinent cycle.

Land management with the aim of reducing incoming solar radiation could help with regional-scale climate adaptation and mitigation as well as ecosystem services, and avoids several shortcomings of global geoengineering.

Ancient hydrothermal deposits formed in the Martian subsurface may be the best targets for finding evidence for ancient life on Mars, and clues about the origin of life on Earth.