Boots On the Ground

“There’s no roads, there’s no helicopters, there’s not even a donkey.”

It’s just another day in the field.

The spartan accommodations available to scientists tracking Uganda’s dwindling glaciers is not universal to geoscience fieldwork, but they’re a good indication of the lengths to which scientists will go—enthusiastically—to discover and document our planet’s particularities. Read all about it in “A New 3D Map Shows Precipitous Decline of Ugandan Glaciers.”

Volcanologists on La Palma, the largest of the Canary Islands, faced a different challenge during their work in the field: an actively erupting volcano. In “Volcanic Anatomy, Mapped as It Erupts,” Vittorio Zanon and Luca D’Auria share how near-real-time petrological analyses can help support the safety of surrounding communities as well as associated scientific efforts.

Scientists on an Antarctic research cruise found themselves stymied by sea ice. But when a Chicago-sized ice shelf unexpectedly calved, the crew quickly pivoted and discovered a surprisingly “Thriving Antarctic Ecosystem Revealed by a Departing Iceberg.”

Far from being stranded, scientists “Tracking Some of the World’s Fiercest Ocean Currents” around the Mozambique Channel found that the eddy-ring dipoles there transport nutrients and biota at a rate of 1.3 meters per second.

Hazards like volcanoes, ice shelves, and ocean currents may ultimately be no match for the “looming catastrophes—funding cuts, software obsolescence, and loss of community support,” however. To this end, the data scientist–authors of “The Valuable, Vulnerable, Long Tail of Earth Science Databases” share research-based recommendations for supporting expert community-curated data resources.

Geoscience fieldwork is globe-spanning and mind-bending, and we hope you enjoy the ride.

—Caryl-Sue Micalizio, Editor in Chief

Citation: Micalizio, C.-S. (2025), Worldwide fieldwork, Eos, 106, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EO250220. Published on 23 June 2025.

Text © 2025. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.

Eos is welcoming June (that’s National Ocean Month in the United States) with a rhyming tradition of something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.

Our “something old” is the spectacularly upgraded, 60-years-young Alvin, probably the world’s most famous human-occupied deep-sea submersible. Alvin can now dive to 6,500 meters—a full 2,000 meters more than its previous limit—and explore 99% of the seafloor. Read all about it in “An Upgraded Alvin Puts New Ocean Depths Within Reach.”

“Something new” is the two-vehicle fleet of midsize remotely operated vehicles (mROVs) that will join the U.S. Academic Research Fleet. The mROVs will “fill the niche between large, work-class vehicles such as Jason and small vehicles used primarily for observation.”

“Something borrowed” is time on the JOIDES Resolution (JR), the legendary research vessel that retired last year. In this month’s opinion, three early-career researchers share what they learned, from sediment cores to transdisciplinary collaboration, as part of the JR’s final voyage.

Something blue? That’s the deep blue sea, of course. Dive in!

—Caryl-Sue Micalizio, Editor in Chief

Citation: Micalizio, C.-S. (2025), Submerged in science, Eos, 106, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EO250199. Published on 22 June 2025.

Text © 2025. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.

One Water, Many Solutions

To ensure the availability and sustainability of water resources and sanitation for all (United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6), water managers and the communities they serve are investing in approaches that are both broad and deep.

The delegations that help drive the One Water approach to water management are wide-ranging and often serendipitous, as Grace van Deelen explains in “Delegations Drive One Water Dialogues.”  “One Water,” van Deelen writes, “treats drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater as a single, interconnected entity…bringing together water utilities, community members, business and industry leaders, researchers, politicians, engineers, and advocacy groups.

A comprehensive framework like One Water may also help address a long-standing injustice: why communities of color are more likely to have higher levels of contaminants in their drinking water.

In addition to applying integrated water management approaches involving at-risk communities, some scientists suggest that unconventional water resources should be explored for their potential to mitigate water insecurity. That’s the thrust of this month’s opinion, “Deep Groundwater Might Be a Sustainable Solution to the Water Crisis.” Contamination and overuse of shallow groundwater supplies are creating a need for in-depth analysis on the health, safety, and financial concerns associated with accessing deep aquifers, argue scientist-authors Claudia Bertoni, Fridtjov Ruden, Elizabeth Quiroga Jordan, and Helene Ruden.

Meeting water challenges requires the twin scientific skills of intersectional collaboration and data-driven research. This month’s stories show how Earth scientists are already pursuing such approaches and how they are looking to further develop the knowledge and networks to create more.

—Caryl-Sue Micalizio, Editor in Chief

Citation: Micalizio, C.-S. (2025), One Water, many solutions, Eos, 106, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EO250154. Published on 24 April 2025.

Text © 2025. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.

Connecting Over Climate

To mitigate the far-reaching effects of climate change, scientists aren’t working alone, and they’re not working in silos.

The scientist-authors of this month’s opinion are candid about it: “Glacier Intervention Research Isn’t Just for Glaciologists,” according to Kenneth D. Mankoff, Christina Hulbe, Sławek Tulaczyk, Francesca Marzatico, and Tiffany Morrison. Research investigating methods to combat Antarctica’s glacier mass loss and the resulting sea level rise “must be codesigned in partnerships involving not only scientists,” the authors write, “but also current and future rights holders and stakeholders in harm’s way.” The opinion presents potential approaches to glacier intervention, as well as some of the social, economic, and ethical implications to be weighed when studying them.

Meanwhile, in “How Volcanologists Can Improve Urban Climate Resilience,” a geologist and an urban sustainability expert outline how volcanologists have developed approaches to practical challenges they face, such as responding in real time to rapidly compounding disasters and the need to alert communities about events that are outside the scope of their prior lived experience. Authors Jonathan Fink and Michael Armstrong then explain how these same approaches can support municipalities in adapting their infrastructure to climate change. The pair further suggest that a conference bringing together city strategists and scientists to share best practices might support greater resilience.

Such cross-cultural cooperation might also include firefighters and first responders, as climate change redefines fire seasons (“How Much Did Climate Change Affect the Los Angeles Wildfires?”). It may also include conservation agencies, as scientists keep making discoveries about the advantages of natural features, such as how the pristine shores of Aldabra Atoll have consistently defied the encroaching Indian Ocean (“A Seychelles Shoreline Resists the Rising Seas.”)

The challenges of climate change aren’t siloed, and neither are the solutions. Scientists are increasingly realizing this and forging new connections to make progress—and you can too!

—Caryl-Sue Micalizio, Editor in Chief

Citation: Micalizio, C.-S. (2025), The climate connection, Eos, 106, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EO250112. Published on 24 March 2025.

Text © 2025. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.

Reflections from the Roof of the World

The summit of Mount Everest is the highest elevation on our planet, hardly obscure but still a mystery: Geoscientists continue to puzzle over the mechanisms that moved (and continue to move) the mountain. Join them as they dig deep into jet stream highs while investigating “How to Build the World’s Highest Mountain.”

Other stories in this issue explore how Everest and the rest of the Himalayas are casting long shadows both north and south. To the north, climate change and global energy demands are redefining China’s approach to managing mineral resources in the northern Tibetan Plateau (“Concerns over Lithium, Water, and Climate in Earth’s Two Highest Deserts.” To the south, melting ice packs are making “Millions in India Vulnerable to Glacial Lake Floods.”

From summit fossils hinting at an ancient ocean to satellite data modeling future floods, geoscientists are using innovative tools and intellectual acumen to better understand Everest and the roof of the world.

—Caryl-Sue Micalizio, Editor in Chief

Citation: Micalizio, C.-S. (2025), Geologic mysteries at 8,000 meters, Eos, 106, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EO250060. Published on 13 February 2025.

Text © 2025. AGU. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.

How Great Was the Great Oxidation Event?

The title question posed by our lead story this month has been irresistible to Earth scientists for generations: How great was the Great Oxidation Event?

Author Aubrey Zerkle and other geoscientists searched for an answer by taking a fresh look at the acidic waters of the Rio Tinto in southern Spain. What they found indicates that the Great Oxidation Event provided enough oxygen to the atmosphere for animals to have evolved early in the Proterozoic—nearly 2 billion years before evidence suggests they actually did.

The banded iron formations that largely appeared in the run-up to the Great Oxidation Event provide another clue to solving its mysteries. Learn how “Bacteria Battled for Iron in Earth’s Early Oceans” and how scientists studied how different microbes contributed to iron oxidation in the Archean.

The Great Oxidation Event was certainly a large-scale planetary perturbation, redefining life and geologic patterns around the world. And as discussed through the thought-provoking and contradictory Gaia and Medea hypotheses, “Planetary Perturbations May Strengthen Gaia”—or destroy her. Addressing the complex modeling involved in analyzing such concepts, paleontologist Peter Ward said, “I’m really glad that people are trying to experimentally test some of the most profound questions about life itself.”

Likewise, we are glad geoscientists are investigating the Great Oxidation Event because we think it’s pretty great indeed.

—Caryl-Sue Micalizio, Editor in Chief

Citation: Micalizio, C.-S. (2025), A planetary perturbation like no other, Eos, 106, https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EO250018. Published on 16 January 2025.

Text © 2025. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.

Now Ore Never

A more sustainable future will rely, at least in part, on lithium-ion batteries. As we ring in 2025, they already power an array of consumer electronics, vehicles, toys, and tools. In addition to lithium, renewable technologies are dependent on mined materials such as silicon, cobalt, manganese, copper, and rare earth ele­ments, including neodymium and praseodym­ium. Mining companies are aggressively analyzing deposits from Bolivia to the Basin and Range.

Despite increasing demand, mining is facing challenges recruiting workers. That’s “A Major Miner Problem,” as Emily Dieckman details in her feature story. The problem, haunted by mining’s long association with environmental degradation and colonialist legacies, has no simple solutions.

Geoscience remains a crucial part of mining, of course, as research grows increasingly adept at outlining why ore deposits are where they are. “Here’s Why Resolution Copper Wants to Mine Oak Flat” and “Nevada Has Loads of Lithium. Here’s Why” put headline news in such a geologic context. In the future, that context might include melts and magmas, as “Iron-Rich Volcanoes Hold Hidden Rare Earth Element Reserves.”

Finally, long after mining has ceased, the geosciences continue to inform research in affected communities, as demonstrated by this month’s thought-provoking Postcard from the Field.

So brush up on yellow boy, consider how minerals made civilization, and do some hard thinking about soft metals.

—Caryl-Sue Micalizio, Editor in Chief

Correction: On printed copies of the January issue of Eos, the word “asteroid” is misspelled on the cover. We were unable to fix the error in time for publication.

Citation: Micalizio, C.-S. (2024), Digging deep, Eos, 105, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EO240583. Published on 19 December 2024.

Text © 2024. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.

What’s Next for Science?

This year, AGU’s Annual Meeting is taking place in Washington, D.C., on the cusp of a new presidential administration in the United States, an administration whose policies will have far-reaching implications for Earth and space scientists around the world.

So “What’s next for science?” we ask.

The complex, transdisciplinary techniques of modeling and mapping can help scientists answer that question from pole to pole. In “The Arctic’s Uncertain Future” Grace van Deelen unspools why climate models become less and less sure as longer and longer time periods are forecast. On the other end of the world, we learn how scientists have mapped the growing extent of vegetation in Antarctica.

Communities, too, are determining what’s next for science. Deaf scientists are literally “Crafting Signs for Geoscience’s Future” with innovative new language to encourage and empower their fellow researchers, Kimberly M. S. Cartier reports. In “Empowering Genderqueer Geoscientists: Being and Building the Change,” leaders of AGQ share how the group has grown from an “informal gathering of friends and colleagues” to a powerful chorus of voices in the science community.

Of course, no one community or discipline will determine where science is headed. In “Can the Belt and Road Go Green?” author Mark Betancourt explores how the sustainable development potential of China’s Belt and Road Initiative offers a real-world (and realpolitik) glimpse into the opportunities and challenges of a globe-spanning project.

So what’s next for science? You, of course! Whether you’re an author or reader, a scientist modeling the future, or a member of a contemporary affinity group, your character and contributions define AGU today and will continue to define it in the future.

—Caryl-Sue Micalizio, Editor in Chief

Citation: Micalizio, C.-S. (2024), What’s next for science? look in the mirror, Eos, 105, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EO240515. Published on 15 November 2024.

Text © 2024. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.

As nations and organizations convene for the 29th annual United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP29), their representatives will consider practical climate actions to limit the increase in global average temperature to no more than 1.5°C above preindustrial levels.

That landmark goal of the Paris Agreement was alluded to in “Roadmap to Mission 1.5°C,” a letter issued earlier this year by the president of COP29, to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, as well as by the presidents of COP28 (held in 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates) and COP30 (which will be held in 2025 in Belém, Brazil). The road map encourages parties to support one another’s “ambition and priorities,” to prompt “the mobilization and provision of technical and financial resources” to reach the goal of 1.5°C, and to make use of “existing mechanisms, processes and stakeholders” to contribute to sustainable development.

In this special edition of Eos, we take deep dives into climate actions that engage with such a road map. And speaking of roads…

“Can the Belt and Road Go Green?” asks Mark Betancourt’s survey of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, which winds through almost every corner of the globe and whose infrastructure hints at climate action in fits and starts.

The global impacts of climate change, and the necessity of cooperative action to mitigate it, are beautifully illustrated in “World Wide Climate,” our standout poster from illustrator Mary Heinrichs and writer Kimberly M. S. Cartier. Climate impacts and strategies to combat them are highlighted in instances from Machu Picchu to Madagascar, Rapa Nui to Rome, Agra to AGU headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Although the effects of climate change are global, they are not equally distributed, as noted in “Poorer Countries Face Heavier Consequences of Climate Change,” as well as in specific case studies surrounding drought in East Africa and sea level change in Baku’s backyard, the Caspian Sea.

“Climate change doesn’t communicate itself,” the authors of the opinion “From Newsworthiness to News Usefulness in Climate Change Research” remind us. They outline innovative approaches for communicating science, and “Framing the Next Decadal Survey for a Warming World” considers the importance of relevant and forward-thinking frameworks when collating the data to communicate.

Here at Eos, we regularly publish news sharing how science and science policies can help pave the road to climate action, as well as the potholes and off-ramps such roads can sometimes offer. We hope the stories in this special issue help inspire climate action at COP29 and beyond.

—Caryl-Sue Micalizio, Editor in Chief

Citation: Micalizio, C.-S. (2024), COP29: Charting a course to climate action, Eos, 105, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EO240501. Published on 3 November 2024.

Text © 2024. AGU. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.

Land of the Long White Cloud and the Deep Blue Sea

Aotearoa, the Māori name for New Zealand, is usually translated as “land of the long white cloud.” In this issue of Eos, we explore some of the dynamic Earth systems that make the country such a valuable site for white clouds, blue seas, muddy sediments, and FRED.

The Moana Project braids Māori Traditional Knowledge with Western science for a more sustainable ocean, write scientists João Marcos Azevedo Correia de Souza, Julie Jakoboski, Jonathan Gardner, Maui Hudson, and Malene Felsing. This uniquely Kiwi undertaking aims to bolster the blue economy, enhance societal well-being, and safeguard ocean health.

While the Moana Project, named for the Māori word for “ocean,” gathers observations from the seas surrounding Aotearoa New Zealand, data from “Sedimentary Basins Tell Zealandia’s Ancient Story,” as native New Zealander Kate Evans reports in a short chronicle of the evolution of Earth’s eighth continent. The collection of deep-sea sediment cores from these basins serves as “this little climatic dipstick sitting in glorious isolation in the southwest Pacific,” explained geologist Kyle Bland.

Finally, meet FRED, Aotearoa New Zealand’s Fossil Record Electronic Database. New Zealand is the only country in the world that has an essentially complete, open-access database of its known fossil record. Here Evans explores FRED from its unlikely inception nearly 80 years ago to its possibly imperiled future in a world of slashed science funding.

Long white clouds, deep blue seas, muddy ocean sediments, and FRED: Aotearoa New Zealand is a precious place, and you don’t need to visit Middle Earth to appreciate it.

—Caryl-Sue Micalizio, Editor in Chief

Citation: Micalizio, C.-S. (2024), Earth’s eighth continent, Eos, 105, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EO240425. Published on 24 September 2024.

Text © 2024. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.

Workshop Wisdom

Geoscience departments and programs on campuses across the United States (and elsewhere) face many challenges to their survival. Not least of these are perceptions that they are nonessential and that their courses and cultures do not match students’ interests. Countering these perceptions often requires difficult but necessary measures to rebrand or reshape. In “Geoscience Departments Can ‘Phone a Friend’ for Support,” learn from two insiders about the Traveling Workshops Program, which for a decade has been guiding departments through needed conversations and helping them adapt to their changing environments.

Many faculty and students in the Earth and space sciences also face substantial hurdles, including to their sense of belonging in these fields. As a trio of community college instructors write, meaningfully engaging faculty and students from 2-year-colleges through research partnerships, conferences, and other avenues can both support these individuals in their careers and improve diversity within the discipline.

Broadening out, for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in the United States to maintain its leadership globally and continue attracting top talent domestically and from abroad, it must receive more federal support and investment. That was the conclusion of a prominent report published earlier this year by the National Science Board, as Grace Van Deelen reports.

Education faces challenges at all levels, but as each of these articles suggests, solutions exist that can help set individuals, departments, and institutions on a better path.

—Timothy Oleson, Senior Science Editor

Citation: Oleson, T. (2024), Adapting to change in the educational landscape, Eos, 105, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EO240381. Published on 26 August 2024.

Text © 2024. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.

The Career Issue

This month, Eos is shining a light on some already bright stars of science. In this year’s career issue, we follow 14 Earth and space scientists through the trials, experiments, and restarts it took to get them where they are today.

Cate Larsen is a social media “rock” star, dropping groovy geological knowledge on audiences far and wide. One of the few Black faculty members at her university, Adriana Alves is helping pave the way for others like herself. Riley Black brings ancient fossils to life in her writing. Alexander Farnsworth studies the climates of Earth’s past and future and asks, Could Westeros winter really last for years?

Some of these individuals have been guided by a sense of duty, some by curiosity. Whatever their motivation, these folks have shown us how to get things done. Join us as we stand in awe of their hard work and achievements.

—Jennifer Schmidt, Managing Editor

This news article is included in our ENGAGE resource for educators seeking science news for their classroom lessons. Browse all ENGAGE articles, and share with your fellow educators how you integrated the article into an activity in the comments section below.

Citation: Schmidt, S. (2024), Navigating the maze, Eos, 105, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EO240316. Published on 25 July 2024.

Text © 2024. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.

Rethinking a River

One of the most contested water management policies in the United States relies on an ill-informed agreement forged more than a century ago. The 1922 Colorado River Compact “ignored available science and overallocated the river’s water,” say the scientist-authors of the lead story in this year’s policy issue. But it’s not too late to change course, they argue in “Fixing the Flawed Colorado River Compact.”

Data from rivers and other inland waters can inform policies surrounding climate action and conservation, as well as water management, as evidenced by “Inland Waters Are a Blind Spot in Greenhouse Gas Emissions” and “Kansas Prairie Streams Are Getting Choked, Maybe for Good.” Both articles focus on the sobering challenges of evaluating riverine and riparian ecosystems.

Ultimately, strong science communication can lead to action, remind the scientist-authors of the opinion “From Newsworthiness to News Usefulness in Climate Change Research.” Taking a broad and multidisciplinary approach, they echo the recommendations of the authors of “Fixing the Flawed Colorado River Compact,” recognizing that effective science communication and policy discourse rely on outreach and collaboration. “In addition to considering the best available science,” they write, “all stakeholders…must have seats at the negotiating table.”

—Caryl-Sue Micalizio, Editor in Chief

Citation: Micalizio, C.-S. (2024), Navigating the rapid rivers of policy, Eos, 105, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EO240272. Published on 25 July 2024.

Text © 2024. AGU. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.

For our annual fieldwork issue, Eos takes you to the ends of the Earth…and beyond. Science writer Sofia Moutinho embeds herself in a scientific cruise to the Antarctic in “Confined at Sea at the End of the World.” Meanwhile, academics join future astronauts on analogue lunar excursions (by way of Meteor Crater) in Mark Betancourt’s “The Art of Doing Fieldwork on the Moon.” And if you’re wondering how to record such out-of-this-world fieldwork accurately and efficiently, take a look at this month’s opinion from Sabrina Kainz and Andrea Halling, “Snapping Science in the Field.” It’s a field guide in itself—to the brave new world of using social media for science.

—Caryl-Sue Micalizio, Editor in Chief

Citation: Micalizio, C.-S. (2024), Charting new territory, Eos, 105, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EO240223. Published on 23 May 2024.

Text © 2024. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.

Perceiving Risk

How we evaluate risk depends on our background and lived experience. In this issue of Eos, we explore how effective science communication recognizes and responds to risk perception in different communities. When the Marshall Fire literally brought debris to their doorsteps, Colorado geoscientists responded to neighborhood concerns about air quality with empathy—as well as with monitoring equipment and scientific diligence. More than 2,000 kilometers away, volcanologists and emergency managers in Mexico are sharing specific risks posed by Popocatépetl, acknowledging residents’ differing life experiences and current responsibilities. Both approaches balance humanity with scientific rigor and respect.

—Caryl-Sue Micalizio, Editor in Chief

Citation: Micalizio, C.-S. (2024), Perceiving risk, Eos, 105, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024EO240189. Published on 25 April 2024.

Text © 2024. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.