Past, Present and Future of a Habitable Earth

The Research Group on Development Strategy of Earth Science in China was led by Professor Rixiang Zhu since December 2018. Prof. Rixiang Zhu is an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the American Geophysical Union, and was awarded the Petrus Peregrinus Medal by the European Union of Geosciences. Prof. Zhu invited 34 scientists with different area of expertise in Earth science from various institutions in China. The Research Group held regular workshops, with members presenting brief overviews of topics related to their research specialties, and discussed frontiers and needs in Earth Science for the next 10 years. Draft chapters were written by Profs. Minhan Dai, Bojie Fu, Zhijun Jin, Chi Wang, Lixin Wu, Yigang Xu and Yuanxi Yang. Edited versions were circulated amongst the whole group, and the final document was collated and edited by Rixiang Zhu.

1. Overview.- 2. Scientific perspectives: challenges for human cognition.- 3. Basic Scientific Issues relating to Earth habitability.- 4. Scientific and technological support: fundamental theoretical issues with revolutionary technologies.- 5. Realization: intersectionality, integration, collaboration, and cooperation.