Network of Cooperation Between Science Organizations

Appreciation of the fact that our planet functions as a system, i.e., the Earth System (ES), defined as “the interacting physical, chemical and biological global-scale cycles (often called biogeochemical cycles) and energy fluxes which provide the conditions necessary for life on this planet” (Oldfield F, Steffen W, The earth system. In: Steffen W, Sanderson A, Tyson PD et al (eds) Global change and the earth system: a planet under pressure. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York, p 7, 2004) has emerged over the last approximately three decades. By definition, the study of this system – Earth System science – then relies on the convergence of traditional natural science disciplines. Furthermore, however, because a salient feature of the ES is that “human beings, their societies and their activities are an integral component of the Earth System, and are not an outside force perturbing an otherwise natural system” (Oldfield F, Steffen W, The earth system. In: Steffen W, Sanderson A, Tyson PD et al (eds) Global change and the earth system: a planet under pressure. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York, p 7, 2004), Earth System science also relies on the convergence of disciplines from the social sciences and humanities. This convergence of disciplines has led to a current understanding of the function and behavior of our planet – as well as the role of human activities in that function – that would not have been possible using a traditional disciplinary approach. This chapter examines the role of international scientific networks in catalyzing the disciplinary convergence necessary for Earth System science to evolve and concludes that these networks have likely been of pivotal importance for this convergence.