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

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

02 Oct 2026
Decoded Antarctic snow accumulation history reconciles observed and modeled trends in accumulation and large-scale warming patterns
David P. Schneider, Ziqi Yin, Edward Blanchard-Wrigglesworth, Rajashree Tri Datta, and Zachary I. Espinosa
Earth Syst. Dynam., 17, 1395–1433, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-1395-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-1395-2026, 2026
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25 Sep 2026
Assessing Earth system responses in mitigation scenarios with activity-driven simulation of carbon dioxide removal
Jörg Schwinger, Leon Merfort, Nico Bauer, Raffaele Bernardello, Momme Butenschön, Timothée Bourgeois, Matthew J. Gidden, Shraddha Gupta, Hanna Lee, Nadine Mengis, Yiannis Moustakis, Helene Muri, Lars Nieradzik, Daniele Peano, Julia Pongratz, Pascal Sauer, Etienne Tourigny, and David Wårlind
Earth Syst. Dynam., 17, 1341–1363, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-1341-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-1341-2026, 2026
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24 Sep 2026
Ocean dynamics amplify remote warming effects of reforestation
Pierre Etienne Banville, Alexander J. MacIsaac, and Kirsten Zickfeld
Earth Syst. Dynam., 17, 1315–1339, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-1315-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-1315-2026, 2026
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07 Sep 2026
Global hyper-resolution modeling of historical and future groundwater dynamics
Barry van Jaarsveld, Niko Wanders, Nicole Gyakowah Otoo, Edwin H. Sutanudjaja, Jarno Verkaik, Daniel Zamrsky, and Marc F. P. Bierkens
Earth Syst. Dynam., 17, 1201–1236, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-1201-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-1201-2026, 2026
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25 Aug 2026
Historical Climate and Future Projection in the North Atlantic and Arctic: Insights from EC-Earth3 High-Resolution Simulations
Mehdi Pasha Karami, Torben Koenigk, Shiyu Wang, René Navarro Labastida, Tim Kruschke, Aude Carréric, Pablo Ortega, Klaus Wyser, Ramon Fuentes Franco, Agatha M. de Boer, Marie Sicard, and Aitor Aldama Campino
Earth Syst. Dynam., 17, 1151–1176, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-1151-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-1151-2026, 2026
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Recent papers

02 Oct 2026
| Highlight paper
Decoded Antarctic snow accumulation history reconciles observed and modeled trends in accumulation and large-scale warming patterns
David P. Schneider, Ziqi Yin, Edward Blanchard-Wrigglesworth, Rajashree Tri Datta, and Zachary I. Espinosa
Earth Syst. Dynam., 17, 1395–1433, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-1395-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-1395-2026, 2026
Short summary Editorial statement
02 Oct 2026
Decadal predictions of wind, solar and compound power indicators to support the European renewable energy sector
Sara Moreno-Montes, Carlos Delgado-Torres, Matías Olmo, Sushovan Ghosh, Verónica Torralba, and Albert Soret
Earth Syst. Dynam., 17, 1435–1454, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-1435-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-1435-2026, 2026
Short summary
01 Oct 2026
Variable causality in Cenozoic climate-carbon cycle interactions
Shruti Setty, Henk A. Dijkstra, Lucas J. Lourens, Egbert H. van Nes, Marlow J. Cramwinckel, Ingrid A. van de Leemput, and Appy Sluijs
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-5433,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-5433, 2026
Preprint under review for ESD (discussion: open, 0 comments)
Short summary
30 Sep 2026
An updated Earth System Impact metric for bridging sub-global pressures and planetary boundaries
C. Kendra Gotangco Gonzales, Aryanie Amellina, Nitin Chaudhary, Beatrice Crona, Ingo Fetzer, Tanya Fiedler, Dario Marone, Giorgio Parlato, Juan Carlos Rocha, Lan Wang-Erlandsson, Hannah Zoller, and Steven J. Lade
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-5352,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-5352, 2026
Preprint under review for ESD (discussion: open, 0 comments)
Short summary
29 Sep 2026
North Atlantic jet stream responses to AMOC tipping and global warming in regional climate simulations
Alejandro Hermoso, Lucas Ferreira Correa, Casey R. Patrizio, Henk Dijkstra, Anna von der Heydt, and Christoph C. Raible
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-5619,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-5619, 2026
Preprint under review for ESD (discussion: open, 0 comments)
Short summary

News

30 Jun 2026 The Norwegian University of Science and Technology partners with Copernicus Publications to support open-access publishing

Copernicus Publications has signed a new institutional agreement with Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Please read more.

30 Jun 2026 The Norwegian University of Science and Technology partners with Copernicus Publications to support open-access publishing

Copernicus Publications has signed a new institutional agreement with Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Please read more.

23 Jun 2026 ESD Editors of the Year 2025

ESD is pleased to announce the recipients of the ESD Editor of the Year 2025 distinction. Please read more.

23 Jun 2026 ESD Editors of the Year 2025

ESD is pleased to announce the recipients of the ESD Editor of the Year 2025 distinction. 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.

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.

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.