How We Came to Know Earth – Quanta Magazine

Climate science is the most significant scientific collaboration in history. For decades, many thousands of scientists around the world have acted as sensors, collecting data from air, ice, sediment, ocean, cloud, flock, forest and more. When these datasets are compiled into climate models, Earth is revealed — a profound and fascinating story of how rock and sky and water and life spin up a system both exquisitely sensitive and resilient. This special issue is a guide to the modern understanding of fundamental climate science, from quantum effects to ancient hothouses, from the math of tipping points to the audacity of climate models.