Major infectious diseases threatening human health are transmitted to people from animals or by arthropod vectors such as insects. In recent decades, disease outbreaks have become more common, especially in tropical regions, including new and emerging infections that were previously undetected or unknown. Even though there is growing awareness that altering natural habitats can lead to disease outbreaks

Subduction zones are host to some of the largest and most devastating geohazards on Earth. The magnitude of these hazards is often measured by the amount of energy they release over short periods of time, which itself depends on how much stored energy is available for the geologic processes that drive these hazards. By considering the energy transfer among processes within subduction zones, we can

The Mediterranean Basin, renowned for its cultural, ecological, and climatic significance, frequently endures high-impact weather events driven by Mediterranean cyclones (Medcyclones), atmospheric low-pressure systems characterized by counterclockwise wind circulation. These meteorological phenomena, sometimes comparable to hurricanes in their intensity and impact, shape the region's weather and are

No abstract is available for this article.

The recharge oscillator (RO) is a simple mathematical model of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). In its original form, it is based on two ordinary differential equations that describe the evolution of equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature and oceanic heat content. These equations make use of physical principles that operate in nature: (a) the air-sea interaction loop known as the Bjerknes

On behalf of the authors and readers of Reviews of Geophysics (RoG), the American Geophysical Union, and the broader scientific community, the editors wish to wholeheartedly thank those who reviewed manuscripts for RoG in 2024.

Climate change drives disturbance in hydrology and geomorphology in terrestrial polar landscapes underlain by permafrost, yet measurements of, and theories to understand, these changes are limited. Water flowing from permafrost hillslopes to channels is often modulated by water tracks, zones of enhanced soil moisture in unchannelized depressions that concentrate water flow downslope. Water tracks,

Assessing landslide risk is a fundamental requirement to plan suitable prevention actions. To date, most risk studies focus on individual slopes or catchments. Whereas regional, national or continental scale assessments are hardly available because of methodological and/or data limitations. In this contribution, we present an overview of all requirements and limitations in landslide risk studies across

Karst water resources are valuable freshwater sources for around 10% of the world's population. Nonetheless, anthropogenic impacts and global changes have seriously deteriorated karst water quality and dependent ecosystems. Multiscale karstic heterogeneity—referring to the spatial variations of the karst aquifer's physical and chemical characteristics at varying scales—is the main challenge in describing

Rock glaciers are distinctive debris landforms found worldwide in cold mountainous regions. They express the long-term movement of perennially frozen ground. Rock Glacier Velocity (RGV), defined as the time series of the annualized surface velocity of a rock glacier unit or a part of it, has been accepted as an Essential Climate Variable Permafrost Quantity in 2022. This review aims to highlight the

The soil health assessment has evolved from focusing primarily on agricultural productivity to an integrated evaluation of soil biota and biotic processes that impact soil properties. Consequently, soil health assessment has shifted from a predominantly physicochemical approach to incorporating ecological, biological and molecular microbiology indicators. This shift enables a comprehensive exploration

Topography affects the distribution and movement of water on Earth, yet new insights about topographic controls continue to surprise us and exciting puzzles remain. Here we combine literature review and data synthesis to explore the influence of topography on the global terrestrial water cycle, from the atmosphere down to the groundwater. Above the land surface, topography induces gradients and contrasts

Physical and chemical erosion associated with water both affect land–atmosphere carbon exchanges. However, previous studies have often addressed these processes separately or used oversimplified mechanisms, leading to ongoing debates and uncertainties about erosion-induced carbon fluxes. We provide an overview of the on-site carbon uptake fluxes induced by physical erosion (0.05–0.29 Pg C yr−1, globally)

No abstract is available for this article.

Asian megadeltas, specifically the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna, Irrawaddy, Chao Phraya, Mekong, and Red River deltas host half of the world's deltaic population and are vital for Asian countries' ecosystems and food production. These deltas are extremely vulnerable to global change. Accelerating relative sea-level rise, combined with rapid socio-economic development intensifies these vulnerabilities

Dramatic reductions in anthropogenic emissions during the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic provide an unparalleled opportunity to assess responses of the Earth system to human activities. Here, we synthesize the latest progress in understanding changes in short-lived atmospheric constituents, that is, aerosols, ozone (O3), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and methane (CH4), in response to COVID-19 induced

Mineral carbon storage in mafic and ultramafic rock masses has the potential to be an effective and permanent mechanism to reduce anthropogenic CO2. Several successful pilot-scale projects have been carried out in basaltic rock (e.g., CarbFix, Wallula), demonstrating the potential for rapid CO2 sequestration. However, these tests have been limited to the injection of small quantities of CO2. Thus,

Globally, land subsidence (LS) often adversely impacts infrastructure, humans, and the environment. As climate change intensifies the terrestrial hydrologic cycle and severity of climate extremes, the interplay among extremes (e.g., floods, droughts, wildfires, etc.), LS, and their effects must be better understood since LS can alter the impacts of extreme events, and extreme events can drive LS. Furthermore

Explosive volcanic eruptions inject hot mixtures of solid particles (tephra) and gasses into the atmosphere. Entraining ambient air, these mixtures can form plumes rising tens of kilometers until they spread laterally, forming umbrella clouds. While the largest clasts tend to settle in proximity to the volcano, the smallest fragments, commonly referred to as ash (≤2 mm in diameter), can be transported

Age of stratospheric air is a well established metric for the stratospheric transport circulation. Rooted in a robust theoretical framework, this approach offers the benefit of being deducible from observations of trace gases. Given potential climate-induced changes, observational constraints on stratospheric circulation are crucial. In the past two decades, scientific progress has been made in three

Geothermal energy is a green source of power that could play an important role in climate-conscious energy portfolios; enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) have the potential to scale up exploitation of thermal resources. During hydraulic fracturing, fluids injected under high-pressure cause the rock mass to fail, stimulating fractures that improve fluid connectivity. However, this increase of pore fluid

Soil salinization refers to the accumulation of water-soluble salts in the upper part of the soil profile. Excessive levels of soil salinity affects crop production, soil health, and ecosystem functioning. This phenomenon threatens agriculture, food security, soil stability, and fertility leading to land degradation and loss of essential soil ecosystem services that are fundamental to sustaining life

No abstract is available for this article.

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has emerged as a pivotal technology in geosciences, offering unparalleled insights into Earth's surface. Indeed, its ability to provide high-resolution, all-weather, and day-night imaging has revolutionized our understanding of various geophysical processes. Recent advancements in SAR technology, that is, developing new satellite missions, enhancing signal processing

While deterministically predicting the time and location of earthquakes remains impossible, earthquake forecasting models can provide estimates of the probabilities of earthquakes occurring within some region over time. To enable informed decision-making of civil protection, governmental agencies, or the public, Operational Earthquake Forecasting (OEF) systems aim to provide authoritative earthquake

A holistic review is given of the Southern Ocean dynamic system, in the context of the crucial role it plays in the global climate and the profound changes it is experiencing. The review focuses on connections between different components of the Southern Ocean dynamic system, drawing together contemporary perspectives from different research communities, with the objective of closing loops in our understanding

No abstract is available for this article.

Soil moisture is an essential climate variable of the Earth system. Understanding its spatiotemporal dynamics is essential for predicting weather patterns and climate variability, monitoring and mitigating the effects and occurrence of droughts and floods, improving irrigation in agricultural areas, and sustainably managing water resources. Here we review in depth how soils can remember information

Convective flow in the deep mantle controls Earth's dynamic evolution, influences plate tectonics, and has shaped Earth's current surface features. Present and past convection-induced deformation manifests itself in seismic anisotropy, which is particularly strong in the mantle's uppermost and lowermost portions. While the general patterns of seismic anisotropy have been mapped for the upper mantle

On behalf of the authors and readers of Reviews of Geophysics (RoG), the American Geophysical Union, and the broader scientific community, the editors wish to wholeheartedly thank those who reviewed manuscripts for RoG in 2023.

No abstract is available for this article.

Data assimilation plays a dual role in advancing the “scientific” understanding and serving as an “engineering tool” for the Earth system sciences. Land data assimilation (LDA) has evolved into a distinct discipline within geophysics, facilitating the harmonization of theory and data and allowing land models and observations to complement and constrain each other. Over recent decades, substantial progress

Lake thermal dynamics have been considerably impacted by climate change, with potential adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems. To better understand the potential impacts of future climate change on lake thermal dynamics and related processes, the use of mathematical models is essential. In this study, we provide a comprehensive review of lake water temperature modeling. We begin by discussing the physical

No abstract is available for this article.

River damming has brought great benefits to flood mitigation, energy and food production, and will continue to play a significant role in global energy supply, particularly in Asia, Africa, and South America. However, dams have extensively altered global river dynamics, including riverine connectivity, hydrological, thermal, sediment and solute regimes, and the channel morphology. These alterations

Atmospheric aerosols affect the Earth's climate in many ways, including acting as the seeds on which cloud droplets form. Since a large fraction of these particles is anthropogenic, the clouds' microphysical and radiative characteristics are influenced by human activity on a global scale leading to important climatic effects. The respective change in the energy budget at the top of the atmosphere is

No abstract is available for this article.

Climate field reconstructions (CFRs) combine modern observational data with paleoclimatic proxies to estimate climate variables over spatiotemporal grids during time periods when widespread observations of climatic conditions do not exist. The Common Era (CE) has been a period over which many seasonally- and annually-resolved CFRs have been produced on regional to global scales. CFRs over the CE were

Populations and infrastructure in high mountain regions are exposed to a wide range of natural hazards, the frequency, magnitude, and location of which are extremely sensitive to climate change. In cases where several hazards can occur simultaneously or where the occurrence of one event will change the disposition of another, assessments need to account for complex process chains. While process chains

Knowledge of Antarctica's sedimentary basins builds our understanding of the coupled evolution of tectonics, ice, ocean, and climate. Sedimentary basins have properties distinct from basement-dominated regions that impact ice-sheet dynamics, potentially influencing future ice-sheet change. Despite their importance, our knowledge of Antarctic sedimentary basins is restricted. Remoteness, the harsh environment

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) impacts local and remote atmospheric circulations, wherein it mechanically and thermally affects air masses or airflows. Moreover, the TP provides a key channel for substance transport between the troposphere and the stratosphere. This study reviews recent advances in research regarding land–atmosphere coupling processes over the TP. The TP experiences climate warming and wetting

No abstract is available for this article.

Antarctic landfast sea ice (fast ice) is stationary sea ice that is attached to the coast, grounded icebergs, ice shelves, or other protrusions on the continental shelf. Fast ice forms in narrow (generally up to 200 km wide) bands, and ranges in thickness from centimeters to tens of meters. In most regions, it forms in autumn, persists through the winter and melts in spring/summer, but can remain throughout

The Pliocene Epoch (∼5.3–2.6 million years ago, Ma) was characterized by a warmer than present climate with smaller Northern Hemisphere ice sheets, and offers an example of a climate system in long-term equilibrium with current or predicted near-future atmospheric CO2 concentrations (pCO2). A long-term trend of ice-sheet expansion led to more pronounced glacial (cold) stages by the end of the Pliocene

Subtropical gyres cover 26%–29% of the world's surface ocean and are conventionally regarded as ocean deserts due to their permanent stratification, depleted surface nutrients, and low biological productivity. Despite tremendous advances over the past three decades, particularly through the Hawaii Ocean Time-series and the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study, which have revolutionized our understanding

Over the past decades, the scientific community has made significant efforts to simulate flooding conditions using a variety of complex physically based models. Despite all advances, these models still fall short in accuracy and reliability and are often considered computationally intensive to be fully operational. This could be attributed to insufficient comprehension of the causative mechanisms of

1 Thank You to Our Peer Reviewers for 2022 Reviews of Geophysics (RoG) is the top-rated journal in geochemistry and geophysics (Florindo et al., 2023) and it could not exist without your investment of time and effort. Your expertise ensures that the papers published in this journal meet the standards that the research community expects. We sincerely appreciate the time you spent reading and commenting

Dynamics of flowing air in partially water-saturated, porous geological formations are governed by a wide range of forces and parameters. These dynamics are reviewed in the contexts of flow patterns that arise and the corresponding applicability of diverse modeling approaches. The importance of reliable gas-liquid flow models draws from the key role gases play in earth systems, and the various engineering

Aerosol forcing uncertainty represents the largest climate forcing uncertainty overall. Its magnitude has remained virtually undiminished over the past 20 years despite considerable advances in understanding most of the key contributing elements. Recent work has produced modest increases only in the confidence of the uncertainty estimate itself. This review summarizes the contributions toward reducing

Heat waves (HWs) can cause large socioeconomic and environmental impacts. The observed increases in their frequency, intensity and duration are projected to continue with global warming. This review synthesizes the state of knowledge and scientific challenges. It discusses different aspects related to the definition, triggering mechanisms, observed changes and future projections of HWs, as well as

Reviews of Geophysics is an AGU journal, first established in February 1963. It is a hybrid open access invitation-only journal that publishes comprehensive review articles across various disciplines within the Earth and Space Sciences. The selection criteria are rigorous and many submissions are declined without review. The journal is the highest ranked in the fields of Geochemistry and Geophysics

No abstract is available for this article.

Risks associated with dust hazards are often underappreciated, a gap between the knowledge pool and public awareness that can be costly for impacted communities. This study reviews the emission sources and chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of airborne soil particles (dust) and their effects on human and environmental health and safety in the Pan-American region. American dust originates

Wildfires affect 40% of the earth's terrestrial biome, but much of our knowledge of wildfire activity is limited to the satellite era. Improved understanding of past fires is necessary to better forecast how fire regimes might change with future climate change, to understand ecosystem resilience to fire, and to improve data-model comparisons. Environmental proxy archives can extend our knowledge of

Tipping elements are components of the Earth system which may respond nonlinearly to anthropogenic climate change by transitioning toward substantially different long-term states upon passing key thresholds or “tipping points.” In some cases, such changes could produce additional greenhouse gas emissions or radiative forcing that could compound global warming. Improved understanding of tipping elements

Volcanism is one of the main mechanisms transferring mass and energy between the interior of the Earth and the Earth's surface. However, the global mass flux of lava, volcanic ash and explosive pyroclastic deposits is not well constrained. Here we review published estimates of the mass of the erupted products from 1980 to 2019 by a global compilation. We identified 1,064 magmatic eruptions that occurred

No abstract is available for this article.

Land surface temperature (LST) is a crucial parameter that reflects land–atmosphere interaction and has thus attracted wide interest from geoscientists. Owing to the rapid development of Earth observation technologies, remotely sensed LST is playing an increasingly essential role in various fields. This review aims to summarize the progress in LST estimation algorithms and accelerate its further applications

Understanding of secular evolution of the Earth system is based largely on the rock and mineral archive preserved in the continental lithosphere. Based on the frequency and range of accessible data preserved in this record, we divide the secular evolution into seven phases: (a) “Proto-Earth” (ca. 4.57–4.45 Ga); (b) “Primordial Earth” (ca. 4.45–3.80 Ga); (c) “Primitive Earth” (ca. 3.8–3.2 Ga); (d) “Juvenile

Global ice volume (sea level) and deep-sea temperature are key measures of Earth's climatic state. We synthesize evidence for multi-centennial to millennial ice-volume and deep-sea temperature variations over the past 40 million years, which encompass the early glaciation of Antarctica at ∼34 million years ago (Ma), the end of the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum, and the descent into bipolar glaciation