ESD cover
Chief editors: Ira Didenkulova, Axel Kleidon & Gabriele Messori
eISSN: ESD 2190-4987, ESDD 2190-4995

Earth System Dynamics (ESD) is a not-for-profit international scientific journal dedicated to the publication and public discussion of studies that take an interdisciplinary perspective on the functioning of the Earth system and global change. The overall behaviour of the Earth system is strongly shaped by the interactions among its various component systems, such as the atmosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, oceans, pedosphere, and the lithosphere, but also by life and increasingly by human activity. ESD solicits contributions that investigate these various interactions and the underlying mechanisms, ways how these can be conceptualized, modelled, and quantified, predictions of the overall system behaviour to global changes, and the impacts for its habitability, humanity, and the future functioning of the Earth system in the Anthropocene.

Journal metrics

ESD is indexed in the Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, etc. We refrain from displaying the journal metrics prominently on the landing page since citation metrics used in isolation do not describe importance, impact, or quality of a journal. However, these metrics can be found on the journal metrics page.

Highlight articles

06 May 2026
Quantification of the influence of anthropogenic and natural factors on the record-high temperatures in 2023 and 2024
Endre Z. Farago, Laura A. McBride, Brian F. Bennett, Austin P. Hope, Timothy P. Canty, and Ross J. Salawitch
Earth Syst. Dynam., 17, 451–474, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-451-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-451-2026, 2026
Short summary Editorial statement
05 May 2026
Large-scale atmospheric circulation and its impact on the Baltic Sea region: controls, predictability and consequences
Florian Börgel, Itzel Ruvalcaba Baroni, Leonie Barghorn, Leonard Borchert, Bronwyn Cahill, Cyril Dutheil, Leonie Esters, Małgorzata Falarz, Helena L. Filipsson, Matthias Gröger, Jari Hänninen, Magnus Hieronymus, Erko Jakobson, Mehdi Pasha Karami, Karol Kuliński, Taavi Liblik, H. E. Markus Meier, Gabriele Messori, Lev Naumov, Thomas Neumann, Piia Post, Gregor Rehder, Anna Rutgersson, and Georg Sebastian Voelker
Earth Syst. Dynam., 17, 415–450, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-415-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-415-2026, 2026
Short summary Editorial statement
22 Apr 2026
Stratospheric aerosol injection geoengineering has the potential to increase land carbon storage and to protect the Amazon rainforest
Isobel M. Parry, Paul D. L. Ritchie, Olivier Boucher, Peter M. Cox, James M. Haywood, Ulrike Niemeier, Roland Séférian, Simone Tilmes, and Daniele Visioni
Earth Syst. Dynam., 17, 387–414, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-387-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-387-2026, 2026
Short summary Editorial statement
26 Feb 2026
Challenges and opportunities for understanding societal impacts of climate extremes
Gabriele Messori, Emily Boyd, Joakim Nivre, and Elena Raffetti
Earth Syst. Dynam., 17, 199–208, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-199-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-199-2026, 2026
Short summary Editorial statement
03 Feb 2026
The largest crop production shocks: magnitude, causes and frequency
Florian Ulrich Jehn, James Mulhall, Simon Blouin, Łukasz G. Gajewski, and Nico Wunderling
Earth Syst. Dynam., 17, 151–166, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-151-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-151-2026, 2026
Short summary Editorial statement

Recent papers

06 May 2026
Response of ice sheets, sea-ice and sea level in climate stabilisation and reversibility simulations using a state-of-the-art Earth System Model
Robin S. Smith, Tarkan A. Bilge, Thomas J. Bracegirdle, Paul R. Holland, Till Kuhlbrodt, Charlotte Lang, Spencer Liddicoat, Tom Mitcham, Jane Mulcahy, Kaitlin A. Naughten, Andrew Orr, Julien Palmieri, Antony J. Payne, Steven Rumbold, Marc Stringer, Ranjini Swaminathan, Sarah Taylor, Jeremy Walton, and Colin Jones
Earth Syst. Dynam., 17, 475–493, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-475-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-475-2026, 2026
Short summary
06 May 2026
| Highlight paper
Quantification of the influence of anthropogenic and natural factors on the record-high temperatures in 2023 and 2024
Endre Z. Farago, Laura A. McBride, Brian F. Bennett, Austin P. Hope, Timothy P. Canty, and Ross J. Salawitch
Earth Syst. Dynam., 17, 451–474, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-451-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-451-2026, 2026
Short summary Editorial statement
05 May 2026
| Highlight paper
Large-scale atmospheric circulation and its impact on the Baltic Sea region: controls, predictability and consequences
Florian Börgel, Itzel Ruvalcaba Baroni, Leonie Barghorn, Leonard Borchert, Bronwyn Cahill, Cyril Dutheil, Leonie Esters, Małgorzata Falarz, Helena L. Filipsson, Matthias Gröger, Jari Hänninen, Magnus Hieronymus, Erko Jakobson, Mehdi Pasha Karami, Karol Kuliński, Taavi Liblik, H. E. Markus Meier, Gabriele Messori, Lev Naumov, Thomas Neumann, Piia Post, Gregor Rehder, Anna Rutgersson, and Georg Sebastian Voelker
Earth Syst. Dynam., 17, 415–450, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-415-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-415-2026, 2026
Short summary Editorial statement
04 May 2026
From Paper to Proof: Revealing Congo Basin Warming Through Rescued Climate Archives
Derrick Muheki, Koen Hufkens, Kim Jacobsen, Hans Verbeeck, Pascal Boeckx, Dominique Kankonde Ntumba, Olivier Kapalay Moulasa, Bas Vercruysse, Julie M. Birkholz, Christophe Verbruggen, Ed Hawkins, Seppe Lampe, Emmanuel Kasongo Yakusu, Fils Makanzu Imwangana, José Mbifo, Théophile Besango Likwela, Félicien Meunier, Olivier Dewitte, Peter Thorne, and Wim Thiery
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2107,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2107, 2026
Preprint under review for ESD (discussion: open, 0 comments)
Short summary
04 May 2026
Future learning and uncertainty reductions in projections of the Amery Ice Shelf catchment, Antarctica
Zach Zerbe, Sanket Jantre, Nathan M. Urban, Matthew J. Hoffman, and Trevor Hillebrand
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1585,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1585, 2026
Preprint under review for ESD (discussion: open, 0 comments)
Short summary

News

06 May 2026 Quantification of the influence of anthropogenic and natural factors on the record-high temperatures in 2023 and 2024

Global mean surface temperature anomalies in 2023 and 2024 were the highest on the modern record. The authors quantify contributions to these anomalies from human activity, including the steep reduction in sulfur emissions from ships that began in 2020, and numerous natural factors. Please read more.

06 May 2026 Quantification of the influence of anthropogenic and natural factors on the record-high temperatures in 2023 and 2024

Global mean surface temperature anomalies in 2023 and 2024 were the highest on the modern record. The authors quantify contributions to these anomalies from human activity, including the steep reduction in sulfur emissions from ships that began in 2020, and numerous natural factors. Please read more.

13 Feb 2026 University of Western Ontario partners with Copernicus Publications to support open-access publishing

Copernicus Publications has signed a new agreement with Western Libraries at the University of Western Ontario, providing a 50% APC reduction for eligible corresponding authors submitting from 1 January 2026. Please read more.

13 Feb 2026 University of Western Ontario partners with Copernicus Publications to support open-access publishing

Copernicus Publications has signed a new agreement with Western Libraries at the University of Western Ontario, providing a 50% APC reduction for eligible corresponding authors submitting from 1 January 2026. Please read more.

03 Dec 2025 New MS Word template available for manuscript preparation

The existing MS Word template for authors has been significantly expanded and now includes many important notes on the standard sections that must be included in the manuscript. Please visit the "Submission" page, section "Templates for your manuscript file" and download the new template before writing your next manuscript.

03 Dec 2025 New MS Word template available for manuscript preparation

The existing MS Word template for authors has been significantly expanded and now includes many important notes on the standard sections that must be included in the manuscript. Please visit the "Submission" page, section "Templates for your manuscript file" and download the new template before writing your next manuscript.

Notice on APC invoices

In accordance with current European restrictions, Copernicus Publications does not step into business relations with and issue APC invoices (articles processing charges) to Russian and Belarusian institutions. The peer-review process and scientific exchange of our journals including preprint posting is not affected. However, these restrictions require that the first contact (contractual partner of Copernicus) has an affiliation and invoice address outside Russia or Belarus.