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The transition to renewable energy requires notable quantities of technology metals and materials, the production of which causes substantial environmental damage. This Review discusses raw material extraction approaches that optimize technical performance and reduce environmental impacts. See Pell et al.

Image: Opla/Getty Images. Cover design: Carl Conway.

Comment

Comment | 27 September 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitates a shift to a plastic circular economy

The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating plastic pollution. A shift in waste management practices is thus urgently needed to close the plastic loop, requiring governments, researchers and industries working towards intelligent design and sustainable upcycling.

• Xiangzhou Yuan
• Xiaonan Wang
• Yong Sik Ok

Research Highlights

Research Highlight | 13 September 2021

The costs of infrastructure adaptation

An article in Climatic Change outlines the economic benefits of proactive adaptation for US-based rail, road and coastal infrastructure.

• Graham Simpkins

Research Highlight | 20 September 2021

Weakening basaltic megathrusts

An article in JGR Solid Earth identified that basalt-hosted megathrusts are not necessarily the nucleation source of large megathrust earthquakes.

• Erin Scott

Tools of the Trade | 07 September 2021

Capturing coastal wetland root dynamics with underground time-lapse

Marie Arnaud discusses how underground time-lapse photography can be used to measure root dynamics in coastal wetlands.

• Marie Arnaud

Tools of the Trade | 14 September 2021

Cosmogenic nuclides in ocean mud inform ice sheet history

Danielle LeBlanc explains how cosmogenic nuclides from ice-rafted debris can be used to reconstruct ice sheet extent.

• Danielle E. LeBlanc

Advertisement Feature

Closing in on the source of Earth’s water

Space missions are sampling asteroids, returning rock samples that could help reveal why Earth has oceans — and life — at all.

Reviews

Review Article | 21 September 2021

Towards sustainable extraction of technology materials through integrated approaches

The transition to renewable energy will require a notable quantity of technology metals and materials; however, production of technology materials causes substantial environmental damage. This Review discusses the raw material extraction approaches that optimize technical performance and reduce environmental impact.

• Robert Pell
• Laurens Tijsseling
• Phoebe Whattoff

Review Article | 31 August 2021

Tropical teleconnection impacts on Antarctic climate changes

Tropical teleconnections can influence polar climates through the generation of stationary Rossby waves. This Review outlines the dynamics and impacts of long-term tropical–polar connections on the Antarctic climate, which include warming trends and ice mass loss in West Antarctica.

• Xichen Li
• Wenju Cai
• Chentao Song

Technical Reviews

Technical Review | 28 September 2021

A stable isotope toolbox for water and inorganic carbon cycle studies

The use of isotopes has provided key insights into the Earth system, but their use can be fraught with experimental and theoretical pitfalls. This Technical Review explains the use of and fractionation factors associated with hydrogen, carbon and oxygen isotopes in water cycle and CO2–carbonate–water system studies.

• Claude Hillaire-Marcel
• Sang-Tae Kim
• Hans Christian Steen-Larsen

Perspectives

Perspective | 07 September 2021

Combatting global grassland degradation

Grasslands provide key ecosystem services, but their protection is often ignored in sustainable policy. This Perspective describes grassland degradation and sets out the steps needed to protect these systems and promote their restoration.

• Richard D. Bardgett
• James M. Bullock
• Hongxiao Shi