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Accessible storage of scientific data is usually mandated, but not often achieved. The task needs people who are interested in information technology and regard it as their primary focus.
Reluctance to deposit data is rife among researchers, despite broad agreement on the principle of data sharing. More and better information will reach hitherto empty archives, if professional support is given during data creation, not in a project's final phase.
A substantial amount of the Earth's surface water moves between ice sheets and oceans as the climate oscillates on geological timescales. Ocean warming, as well as atmospheric temperature rise, affects the current redistribution in response to climate change.
Earth's climate is changing rapidly. A closer look at the planet's distant past can help determine its sensitivity to changes in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations.
A cultural divide separates science from the media. To bridge the gulf, Nature Geoscience presents a science writer's perspective on the Earth sciences in a new monthly column.
Reconstructions of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations over the past 65 million years are heading towards consensus. It is time for systematic testing of the proxies, against measurements and against each other.
Accurate prediction of Earth's future warming hinges on our understanding of climate sensitivity. Palaeoclimatology will help solve the problem if the feedbacks included in palaeoclimate sensitivity are properly identified and reconstructions of past atmospheric CO2 can be improved.
State-of-the-art climate models are largely untested against actual occurrences of abrupt change. It is a huge leap of faith to assume that simulations of the coming century with these models will provide reliable warning of sudden, catastrophic events.
