Geoscientists have generally been at the leading edge of predicting the challenges society faces from hazards both natural and anthropomorphic. As geoscientists, we have been less successful in devising the solutions to those problems to ensure a habitable planet for ourselves and future generations because often the solutions lie in creating novel partnerships with other researchers, including engineers, biologists, and social scientists. These sorts of transdisciplinary partnerships have been leading to radical advances in human health, under the banner of convergence science. Application of these principles of convergence science offers significant promise for addressing challenges such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, environmental health, protecting ecosystem services, and advancing sustainability science. To apply this approach rigorously, however, will involve a culture change in the geosciences in terms of how students are educated, how researchers are rewarded, and how projects are funded.

在预测社会面临的自然灾害和拟人灾害挑战方面，地球科学家通常处于领先地位。作为地球科学家，我们在为这些问题设计解决方案以确保我们自己和子孙后代拥有宜居星球方面不太成功，因为解决方案通常在于与其他研究人员（包括工程师、生物学家和社会科学家）建立新的合作伙伴关系。在融合科学的旗帜下，这些跨学科的合作伙伴关系一直在为人类健康带来根本性的进步。这些融合科学原则的应用为应对气候变化减缓和适应、环境健康、保护生态系统服务和推进可持续性科学等挑战提供了重要的前景。