A key aspect of complex geosystems is that they are often highly variable over huge ranges of scale in space and in time. Classical approaches are based on narrow scale range notions, so that as we “zoom” through scales in time or in space, we expect to discover new phenomena, “new worlds” requiring new theories and models every factor of ten or so in scale. But any voyage through geoscales would also uncover scale regularities in which on the contrary, nonlinear interactions occurring over wide ranges of scales are fundamental. Such processes include scaling, fractal and multifractal processes, chaotic and turbulent processes, phenomena that are emergent, extreme and/or self-organized, as well as geomorphological and other nonlinear geoprocesses.

This session will focus on novel approaches to understanding geosystems, particularly systems whose complexity extends over large ranges of scales in space and or time. Themes will include a) the interactions of clouds, radiation, the atmospheric, oceans and climate, b) precipitation and the hydrological cycle, c) the distribution of minerals, the internal structure of the earth, seismic and volcanic systems, d) surface processes and remote sensing of geosystems, e) natural hazards, f) exploration geophysics, g) biogeophysical systems, h) complex soils.