Articles | Volume 16, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-1053-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-1053-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Review
| 
22 Jul 2025
Review |
| 22 Jul 2025
| 22 Jul 2025
The state of global catastrophic risk research: a bibliometric review
Alliance to Feed the Earth in Disasters (ALLFED), Lafayette, CO, USA
John-Oliver Engler
Vechta Institute of Sustainability Transformation in Rural Areas, University of Vechta, Driverstr. 22, 49377 Vechta, Germany
Center for Methods, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, 21335 Lüneburg, Germany
Constantin W. Arnscheidt
Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Magdalena Wache
Principles of Intelligent Behavior in Biological and Social Systems (PIBBSS), Minnesota, USA
Ekaterina Ilin
ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, the Netherlands
Laura Cook
Alliance to Feed the Earth in Disasters (ALLFED), Lafayette, CO, USA
Lalitha S. Sundaram
Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Frederic Hanusch
Panel on Planetary Thinking, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
Luke Kemp
Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
Related authors
Florian Jehn, Łukasz Gajewski, Johanna Hedlund, Constantin Arnscheidt, Lili Xia, Nico Wunderling, and David Denkenberger
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.31223/X5MQ4R, https://doi.org/10.31223/X5MQ4R, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The global food trade system can handle small disturbances, but large disasters could cause major disruptions. We looked at how nuclear war or severe infrastructure loss would affect global trade in key crops. Both would be catastrophic, but a nuclear war would cause more severe disruptions, with many countries losing most of their food imports. Both scenarios highlight the need for better preparation to protect global food security.
Florian U. Jehn, Konrad Bestian, Lutz Breuer, Philipp Kraft, and Tobias Houska
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1081–1100, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1081-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1081-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We grouped 643 rivers from the United States into 10 behavioral groups based on their hydrological behavior (e.g., how much water they transport overall). Those groups are aligned with the ecoregions in the United States. Depending on the groups’ location and other characteristics, either snow, aridity or seasonality is most important for the behavior of the rivers in a group. We also find that very similar river behavior can be found in rivers far apart and with different characteristics.
Florian U. Jehn, Lutz Breuer, Tobias Houska, Konrad Bestian, and Philipp Kraft
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 4565–4581, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4565-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4565-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
By realizing that hydrological models are not one single hypothesis, but an assemblage of many hypotheses, new ways to scrutinize hydrological models are needed. Up until now, studies concentrate on comparing existing models or built models incrementally. This approach here tries to tackle the problem the other way around. We construct a complex model, containing all processes important for the catchment, and deconstruct it step by step to understand the influence of single processes.
Florian Jehn, Łukasz Gajewski, Johanna Hedlund, Constantin Arnscheidt, Lili Xia, Nico Wunderling, and David Denkenberger
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.31223/X5MQ4R, https://doi.org/10.31223/X5MQ4R, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The global food trade system can handle small disturbances, but large disasters could cause major disruptions. We looked at how nuclear war or severe infrastructure loss would affect global trade in key crops. Both would be catastrophic, but a nuclear war would cause more severe disruptions, with many countries losing most of their food imports. Both scenarios highlight the need for better preparation to protect global food security.
Florian U. Jehn, Konrad Bestian, Lutz Breuer, Philipp Kraft, and Tobias Houska
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1081–1100, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1081-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1081-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We grouped 643 rivers from the United States into 10 behavioral groups based on their hydrological behavior (e.g., how much water they transport overall). Those groups are aligned with the ecoregions in the United States. Depending on the groups’ location and other characteristics, either snow, aridity or seasonality is most important for the behavior of the rivers in a group. We also find that very similar river behavior can be found in rivers far apart and with different characteristics.
Florian U. Jehn, Lutz Breuer, Tobias Houska, Konrad Bestian, and Philipp Kraft
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 4565–4581, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4565-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4565-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
By realizing that hydrological models are not one single hypothesis, but an assemblage of many hypotheses, new ways to scrutinize hydrological models are needed. Up until now, studies concentrate on comparing existing models or built models incrementally. This approach here tries to tackle the problem the other way around. We construct a complex model, containing all processes important for the catchment, and deconstruct it step by step to understand the influence of single processes.
Related subject area
Topics: Antroposphere | Interactions: Human/Earth system interactions | Methods: Other methods
Delineating the technosphere: definition, categorization, and characteristics
Early opportunity signals of a tipping point in the UK's second-hand electric vehicle market
Tipping dynamics in packaging systems: How a bottle reuse system was established and then undone
Advancing the estimation of future climate impacts within the United States
Eric D. Galbraith, Abdullah Al Faisal, Tanya Matitia, William Fajzel, Ian Hatton, Helmut Haberl, Fridolin Krausmann, and Dominik Wiedenhofer
Earth Syst. Dynam., 16, 979–999, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-979-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-979-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The technosphere – including buildings, infrastructure, and all other non-living human creations – is a major part of our planet, but it is not often considered as an integrated part of Earth system processes. Here we propose a refined definition of the technosphere, intended to help with integration. We also characterize the functional end uses, map the global distribution, and discuss the catalytic properties that underlie the exponential growth of the trillion tonne technosphere.
Chris A. Boulton, Joshua E. Buxton, and Timothy M. Lenton
Earth Syst. Dynam., 16, 411–421, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-411-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-411-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Early warning signals used to detect tipping points are tested on a dataset of daily views of online electric vehicle (EV) adverts. The attention given to EV adverts spikes upwards after specific events before returning to normality more slowly over time. Alongside increases in autocorrelation and variance, these results are consistent with the movement towards a tipping point to an EV-dominated market, highlighting the ability of these signals to work in previously untested social systems.
Mila Kim-Chau Fiona Ong, Fenna Blomsma, and Timothy Michael Lenton
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2361, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2361, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the initially successful transition from regional bottle reuse for mineral water to a widespread bottle reuse system in Germany, its subsequent destabilisation, and what this teaches us about tipping dynamics in packaging systems. Our findings demonstrate opportunities to create an enabling environment for change, and the role of specific reinforcing feedback loops and interventions in accelerating or impeding sustainable transitions.
Corinne Hartin, Erin E. McDuffie, Karen Noiva, Marcus Sarofim, Bryan Parthum, Jeremy Martinich, Sarah Barr, Jim Neumann, Jacqueline Willwerth, and Allen Fawcett
Earth Syst. Dynam., 14, 1015–1037, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-1015-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-14-1015-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study utilizes a reduced-complexity model, Framework for Evaluating Damages and Impacts (FrEDI), to assess the impacts from climate change in the United States across 10 000 future probabilistic emission and socioeconomic projections. Climate-driven damages are largest for the health category, with the majority of damages in this category coming from the valuation estimates of premature mortality attributable to climate-driven changes in extreme temperature and air quality scenarios.
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Short summary
This study presents the first systematic analysis of the global catastrophic risk and existential risk literature, examining 3437 documents from OpenAlex. Using bibliographic coupling, we identify and describe 10 research clusters aligned with major risks. The field shows geographic concentration in the US/UK, gender imbalance, and a small number of prolific authors. We recommend improving diversity, fostering cross-cluster collaboration, and building connections with adjacent disciplines.
This study presents the first systematic analysis of the global catastrophic risk and...
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