Geoscience is a broad term referring to the fields of science dealing with our planet. It involves studies on the lithosphere (including geology, geophysics, geochemistry, and geography), the hydrosphere (including hydrology and marine, ocean, and cryospheric sciences) and the atmosphere (including meteorology and climatology). As such, Earth science consists of a broad spectrum of interconnected physical, chemical, and biological disciplines dealing with processes which have been occurring on our world for billions of years, from the subatomic to the planetary scale. The stature of Earth science has grown with each new decade, defining the history of life, unveiling the evolution of the planetary surface, quantifying natural hazards, locating mineral and energy resources and characterizing the climate system. This, supported by continuing technical and theoretical improvements, has allowed reaching an unprecedented understanding of countless processes. The capabilities of the Earth science subdisciplines have advanced to document the geological record of terrestrial changes, understand how life evolved, observe active processes from the core to the surface, make more realistic simulations of complex dynamic processes and start forecasting.
Looking forward to the next decade and beyond, the role of Earth science studies for the development of our planet will expand substantially. Earth science will become increasingly prominent as humanity confronts daunting challenges in finding natural resources to sustain Earth’s burgeoning population, in mitigating natural hazards that impact life and infrastructures, and, more in general, in achieving sustainable environmental stewardship.