Chief editors: Kirsten Elger, Sibylle K. Hassler, Conrad Jackisch, Graciela Raga, François G. Schmitt, Hanqin Tian, Baptiste Vandecrux & Yuyu Zhou
eISSN: ESSD 1866-3516, ESSDD 1866-3591
Earth System Science Data (ESSD) is an international, interdisciplinary journal for the publication of articles on original research data (sets), furthering the reuse of high-quality data of benefit to Earth system sciences. The editors encourage submissions on original data or data collections which are of sufficient quality and have potential to contribute to these aims. The journal maintains sections for regular-length articles, brief communications (e.g. on additions to data sets) and commentaries, as well as review articles and special issues.
This short commentary draws on ESSD author, reviewer and editor experiences over its first 10 years of operation to define guidelines, requirements and benefits of the ESSD processes.
News
02 Apr 2026
Australia's terrestrial industrial footprint and ecological intactness
The authors developed two datasets representing human industrial pressures and ecological intactness across Australia's landscapes. These datasets fill a long-standing gap in national-scale pressure mapping, providing key insights into human disturbance of the environment. Please read more. 
02 Apr 2026
Australia's terrestrial industrial footprint and ecological intactness
The authors developed two datasets representing human industrial pressures and ecological intactness across Australia's landscapes. These datasets fill a long-standing gap in national-scale pressure mapping, providing key insights into human disturbance of the environment. Please read more. 
03 Dec 2025
New MS Word template available for manuscript preparation
The existing MS Word template for authors has been significantly expanded and now includes many important notes on the standard sections that must be included in the manuscript. Please visit the "Submission" page, section "Templates for your manuscript file" and download the new template before writing your next manuscript. 
03 Dec 2025
New MS Word template available for manuscript preparation
The existing MS Word template for authors has been significantly expanded and now includes many important notes on the standard sections that must be included in the manuscript. Please visit the "Submission" page, section "Templates for your manuscript file" and download the new template before writing your next manuscript. 
20 Apr 2026
OzRiCa: an Australian riverine carbon database of concentrations, gas fluxes and isotopes
Francesco Ulloa-Cedamanos, Adam T. Rexroade, Yihan Li, Lindsay B. Hutley, Wei Wen Wong, Marcus B. Wallin, Josep G. Canadell, Anna Lintern, and Clément Duvert
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 18, 2723–2748, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-2723-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-2723-2026, 2026
Short summary
20 Apr 2026
A harmonized 2000–2024 dataset of daily river ice concentration and annual phenology for major Arctic rivers
Jiahui Qiu, Kari Luojus, Harri Kaartinen, Yubao Qiu, Jari Silander, Epari Ritesh Patro, Björn Klöve, and Ali Torabi Haghighi
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 18, 2703–2722, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-2703-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-2703-2026, 2026
Short summary
20 Apr 2026
RAAVEN data processing for TORUS and TORUS-LItE
Adam L. Houston, Mark De Bruin, Céu Gómez-Faulk, and Brian Argrow
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-134,https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-134, 2026
Preprint under review for ESSD (discussion: open, 0 comments)
Short summary
20 Apr 2026
A global hourly ISIMIP3 climate forcing dataset for impact modeling
Michel Bechtold, Benjamin Poschlod, Christian Otto, Jan Volkholz, Matthias Büchner, and Florian Zabel
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-227,https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-227, 2026
Preprint under review for ESSD (discussion: open, 0 comments)
Short summary
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