21世纪地球科学已经发展成为结合与联系了生物科学、社会科学、计算机科学、物质科学和工程科学等许多学科在内的真正跨学科科学。地球科学面临新的挑战和发展机遇，为了更深入地理解地球及其内部的相互作用，要求地球科学必须应用整体系统性分析方法，探索应用来自所有科学与工程学科的最新知识和技术。美国科学基金会（NSF）地球科学咨询委员会（AC-GEO）针对地球科学面临的新挑战，指导“地球科学远景工作组”（GEO Vision Working Group）制订了地球科学未来发展的新的规划：《地球科学远景（GEOVISION）——通过地球科学揭示未被拆散的地球的复杂性》，强调从整体系统角度来迎接地球科学未来面临的挑战。本文主要介绍《地球科学远景报告》的主要观点，以及AC-GEO提出的地球科学面临的3大挑战、5个重大科学问题，以及迎接挑战的3个措施与10个建议。

Geosciences in the 21st century has evolved into a real interdisciplinary science that incorporates and links many scientific disciplines, including the biological sciences, social sciences, computer sciences, materials sciences, and engineering. Geosciences are facing new challenges and development opportunities. To understand more deeply the planet and its interactions will require the geosciences to take an increasingly holistic approach, exploring knowledge coming from all scientific and engineering disciplines. U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Geoscience Advisory Committee (AC-GEO) for the new challenges facing to the geosciences chartered the "Geoscience Vision Working Group" (GEO Vision Working Group) to develop an updated geoscience development plan: "The GEO Vision——Unraveling Earth’s Complexities Through the Geosciences" and stressed to meet the challenges facing to future geosciences from the perspective of the overall system. This paper mainly introduce the main points of the report of "Earth Science Vision", as well as the three major challenges facing to geosciences pointed out by AC-GEO, five major scientific issues, as well as the three measures and 10 recommendations to meet the challenges.