Summary
Other Earth Sciences embraces the many branches that investigate the solid Earth and its interfaces with the hydrosphere, cryosphere and biosphere, but lie beyond core meteorology and oceanography. Geomorphology interprets the birth and evolution of landforms through endogenic forces (tectonics, volcanism) and exogenic processes (weathering, erosion, deposition). Geochemistry tracks element cycles in rocks, soils and waters, while geophysics applies gravity, seismic and electromagnetic methods to image subsurface structure and dynamics. Glaciology and permafrost studies document ice–climate feedbacks, and hydrogeology maps groundwater flow and aquifer responses to extraction and contamination. Environmental and engineering geology translate this knowledge into risk analyses for landslides, subsidence and infrastructure design. Remote sensing and geodesy harness satellite data to measure crustal deformation, mass changes and landscape evolution. Economic geology and mineral resources planning support extraction of critical materials, and astrogeology extends terrestrial techniques to other bodies of the solar system. Collectively, these disciplines underpin hazard mitigation, resource stewardship and sustainable management of the planet.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies have elucidated the role of extratropical moisture anomalies in sustaining prolonged marine heatwaves in the Northeast Pacific. Planetary wave trains triggered by latent‐heat release over the Mediterranean traverse the midlatitude jet and reinforce the atmospheric ridge that maintains ‘warm blobs’, offering new avenues for predicting marine‐heatwave onset and persistence. Elsewhere, analyses of winter precipitation across the western United States have isolated the orographic amplification of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) signals. By disentangling elevation effects from long‐term trends, researchers demonstrated that high‐elevation zones in the Intermountain West experience up to sixfold greater ENSO‐driven variability than adjacent lowlands, with implications for water‐resource planning under a changing climate.
Topic trend for the past 5 years
The graph below shows the article count in Nature Index journals for other earth sciences.
* The ‘Current Index’ represents data for a 12-month rolling window, the current window is 1 May 2025 - 30 April 2026.
Technical terms
Orographic amplification: Enhancement of atmospheric signals (e.g. precipitation, temperature anomalies) by terrain elevation.
Marine heatwave: A prolonged period of anomalously high sea‐surface temperature with ecological and climatological impacts.
Teleconnection: A climate linkage whereby anomalies in one region influence remote atmospheric or oceanic circulations.
Optimal interpolation: A statistical method that blends observations with background fields to produce complete spatial analyses.
Sea‐surface temperature (SST): The temperature of the ocean’s uppermost layer, retrieved from satellite radiometers or in situ sensors.
Notable articles in other earth sciences
- Multi-year persistence of the 2014/15 North Pacific marine heatwave. Nature Climate Change (2016).
- Timing and origin of recent regional ice-mass loss in Greenland. Earth and Planetary Science Letters (2012).
- Ocean forcing of glacier retreat in the western Antarctic Peninsula. Science (2016).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Research
Position of Other Earth Sciences in Nature Index by Count
Leading institutions
Leading countries/territories
| Countries/territories | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| United States of America (USA) | 108 | 68.36 |
| China | 42 | 28.77 |
| United Kingdom (UK) | 53 | 27.03 |
| Germany | 37 | 15.51 |
| Australia | 28 | 12.31 |
| France | 28 | 8.67 |
| Switzerland | 12 | 4.57 |
| Netherlands | 13 | 4.13 |
| Italy | 14 | 4.04 |
| Norway | 11 | 3.12 |
Collaboration
Top 5 leading collaborators in Other Earth Sciences
Collaborating institutions
Note: Hover over the bars to view details about each institution's Share.
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