The geosciences — earth, atmospheric, and ocean sciences — are critical to ensuring a thriving society and economy by providing the raw materials and expertise necessary for the production and resilience of food, water, energy, and infrastructure. Economic and population growth, climate change, and the creation of new technologies are continuing to increase the demand for these resources, requiring a corresponding advancement in geoscience capacity to meet these needs. By ensuring we understand how people and the planet interact, the geosciences inform solutions to growing environmental, health, and safety challenges.


The geosciences help us thrive in a changing world by:

• Informing climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies that support continued economic and societal well-being
• Ensuring sufficient supplies of clean water for a growing population
• Developing sustainable energy to power the nation
• Building resiliency to natural hazards to reduce human and economic harm
• Managing healthy soils to meet the food security needs of humanity
• Providing raw mineral resources for modern society
• Expanding opportunities and mitigating threats in the ocean and coasts
• Managing waste for a healthy society
• Enabling these activities by increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion and meeting future geoscience workforce and education needs.

Although we highlight nine critical issues, they are interwoven with the other physical, chemical, biological, and human components of the earth system, sometimes creating complex feedbacks. In our changing world it is crucial to understand when, where, and how the critical issues detailed in this document intersect with one another and with other policy areas. Considering these critical issues and their convergences in decision-making will lead to positive impacts on economic growth and a thriving society.