The curiosity and spirit of exploration in understanding the origins of the Earth and life is the foundation of modern science, and this has never changed from ancient Greek civilization, the Renaissance, to the Industrial Revolution. Looking back at the development of geosciences in the twentieth century, we realized that it was the emergence of the theory of plate tectonics that first revealed the dynamic nature of planet Earth and triggered the geoscience revolution that has profoundly changed human understanding of Earth’s evolution. Now, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is around the corner. What, exactly, are the frontier scientific issues in the geosciences? The nations with leading science and technology, such as the USA and Europe, have proposed their own developmental visions called “Future Earth” and “Earth Survival Plan,” respectively. Besides, six global organizations including the European Geosciences Union (EGU) and the American Geophysical Union (AGU) have jointly
issued a “Declaration on the Importance of Earth Science Expertise to Address Global Social Challenges.” In addition, Chinese Earth scientists have presented that “The nature and evolution of habitability of the Earth” is the frontier scientific issue in the twenty-first century.