This year, AGU’s Annual Meeting is taking place in Washington, D.C., on the cusp of a new presidential administration in the United States, an administration whose policies will have far-reaching implications for Earth and space scientists around the world.
So “What’s next for science?” we ask.
The complex, transdisciplinary techniques of modeling and mapping can help scientists answer that question from pole to pole. In “The Arctic’s Uncertain Future” Grace van Deelen unspools why climate models become less and less sure as longer and longer time periods are forecast. On the other end of the world, we learn how scientists have mapped the growing extent of vegetation in Antarctica.
Communities, too, are determining what’s next for science. Deaf scientists are literally “Crafting Signs for Geoscience’s Future” with innovative new language to encourage and empower their fellow researchers, Kimberly M. S. Cartier reports. In “Empowering Genderqueer Geoscientists: Being and Building the Change,” leaders of AGQ share how the group has grown from an “informal gathering of friends and colleagues” to a powerful chorus of voices in the science community.
Of course, no one community or discipline will determine where science is headed. In “Can the Belt and Road Go Green?” author Mark Betancourt explores how the sustainable development potential of China’s Belt and Road Initiative offers a real-world (and realpolitik) glimpse into the opportunities and challenges of a globe-spanning project.
So what’s next for science? You, of course! Whether you’re an author or reader, a scientist modeling the future, or a member of a contemporary affinity group, your character and contributions define AGU today and will continue to define it in the future.
—Caryl-Sue Micalizio, Editor in Chief
