The flow of water between rivers and floodplains—surface water connectivity—showed a net global increase from 1984 to 2019 driven by climate and anthropogenic changes and shaping sediment transport, according to a study of satellite observations.

Changes in Southern Ocean circulation have preceded shifts in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation in the North Atlantic over the past 1,300 years, according to an analysis of bamboo coral records from the southwest Pacific.

Machine learning upscaling analyses of global FLUXNET carbon and water flux measurements indicate that dryland vegetation productivity showed a negligible increase between 1982–2000 and 2001–2022, whereas humid-region vegetation productivity exhibited a nearly constant increase.

Coastal ocean warming drives the recent increase in large-scale aggregation of humid heatwaves, accounting for up to two-thirds of their rising frequency and spatial extent, according to climate reanalyses and model simulations from 1982–2023.

Englacial structures in the Greenland Ice Sheet contain debris lifted hundreds of metres into the ice column, likely forming as the expanding ice sheet overrode its frozen margin following the last interglacial, according to 3D airborne radar imaging.

When atmospheric carbon dioxide levels decline, increased ocean heat absorption would initially slow surface warming before warming the deep ocean, which ultimately raises global mean surface temperatures, according to future model simulations.

Unsustainable use of nitrogen fertilizers and ineffective control of nitrogen losses have resulted in various environmental issues. A key challenge for nitrogen management is to meet the food demands of a growing global population while reducing nitrogen pollution.

Tourmaline, a boron-rich mineral and valuable gemstone, boasts unique crystallographic features with wide-ranging uses. Barbara Dutrow and Darrell Henry delve into its geological and technological importance.

Bedload transport in high Himalayan rivers has been overlooked, hindering the development of morphodynamic models that explicitly couple river hydraulics, sediment transport, and channel morphology to predict responses to extreme floods under global warming. This knowledge gap increases risks to regional hydropower, ecosystems, and food security.

Harmful interactions are prevalent in geoscience fieldwork but often go unreported, hindering efforts to build welcoming and collaborative field cultures.

Spodumene links Earth’s tectonic history with the modern energy transition. Chen Chen and colleagues explore how tectonic cycles concentrate lithium into this mineral and how industrial extraction support a low-carbon future.

Ice sheets can be extremely sensitive, or remarkably resilient, to environmental perturbations. Reconstructions of past ice sheet variability help identify what controls their stability and how they may fare in a warming future.