Carbonsphere is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal launched in 2025. It is sponsored by Qinghai University and Tsinghua University, published by Tsinghua University Press, and distributed by SciOpen.

Carbonsphere is dedicated to illuminating and stewarding carbon-related processes from cellular to planetary scales. The journal welcomes fundamental, applied, and translational research on carbon in all its forms—molecular, material, ecological, technological, and socio-economic.

Our mission is to provide a shared platform to co-create evidence, tools, and solutions for a just and sustainable net-zero future. We particularly encourage interdisciplinary work that integrates natural sciences, engineering, and social sciences, and that bridges scales from nano to global and from seconds to centuries.

Carbonsphere covers all aspects of carbon science, technology, and policy. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Fundamentals of carbon in nature and technology

• Physical, chemical, and biological properties of carbon in different forms (inorganic, organic, elemental, mineral, and amorphous)
• Carbon in living systems: cellular and microbial carbon metabolism, biomacromolecules, and biogeochemistry
• Carbon speciation, transformation pathways, and reaction mechanisms in air, water, soil, sediments, and built environments
• Isotopic and tracer studies of carbon sources, sinks, and pathways

2. Earth system carbon cycle and carbonsphere dynamics

• Measurement, monitoring, and modeling of dynamic carbonsphere processes across all spheres
• Carbon fluxes, pools, and budgets at local, regional, and global scales
• Interactions among atmosphere–biosphere–hydrosphere–cryosphere–lithosphere–anthroposphere
• Extreme events, tipping elements, and feedbacks in the carbon–climate system
• Terrestrial, oceanic, wetland, grassland, desert, agricultural, urban, and “blue” carbon sinks and sources
• Integrated assessment of carbon cycle changes over geological and historical time

3. Carbon-related climate change and human impact

• Carbon-driven climate forcing and feedbacks
• Impacts of climate change on ecosystems, water resources, cryosphere, agriculture, and human health through carbon pathways
• Carbon footprints of products, supply chains, and lifestyles
• Urbanization, land-use change, and industrialization effects on the carbonsphere

4. Carbon accounting, neutrality, and net-zero transitions

• Terrestrial and ocean carbon sink/source accounting, MRV (measurement, reporting, verification) frameworks
• National, regional, sectoral, and corporate greenhouse gas inventories
• Pathways, scenarios, and metrics for carbon neutrality and net-zero transitions
• Life-cycle assessment (LCA) of carbon-intensive and low-carbon systems
• Just transition, equity, and social dimensions of carbon management

5. Carbon materials, chemistry, and functional applications

• Design, synthesis, characterization, and modeling of carbon materials (e.g., graphene, nanotubes, activated carbons, porous carbons, biochar, diamonds, fullerenes, carbon fibers)
• Carbon-based catalysts, sorbents, membranes, and electrodes for energy and environmental applications
• Carbon materials for batteries, supercapacitors, fuel cells, solar cells, and other energy-conversion/storage devices
• Carbon in construction, composites, electronics, photonics, and emerging functional devices

6. Carbon in energy systems: utilization, conversion, and mitigation

• Practical energy technologies for carbon utilization and emission control
• Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), including geological storage, mineralization, and chemical conversion
• Cycles, capture, storage, and conversion of fossil-based and bio-based carbon energies
• Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), direct air capture (DAC), and negative emission technologies
• Renewable energy systems and their integration with low-carbon and carbon-neutral infrastructures
• Techno-economic, environmental, and systems analyses of carbon-related energy technologies

7. Carbon policy, markets, and governance

• Carbon trading and carbon pricing mechanisms: technologies, platforms, and policies
• Regulatory frameworks, standards, and international agreements related to carbon and climate
• Mitigation and adaptation strategies, and their incorporation into governmental and multilateral policies
• Corporate governance, ESG, green finance, and disclosure related to carbon risk and performance
• Public perception, behavior change, and social innovation around carbon reduction

8. Methods, data, and digital carbonsphere

• Sensing, monitoring, and analytical techniques for carbon (in situ, remote, laboratory-based)
• Big data, AI, and machine learning applied to carbon cycle science, carbon materials, and carbon policy analysis
• Integrated assessment models, Earth system models, and multi-scale modeling frameworks
• Open datasets, databases, benchmarks, and digital platforms for carbonsphere research

9. Interdisciplinary, cross-scale, and solution-oriented studies

• Cross-sphere and cross-scale studies linking molecular mechanisms to ecosystem and global responses
• Nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based approaches for carbon management
• Co-design and co-production of knowledge with policymakers, industry, and communities
• Perspective, roadmap, and synthesis papers that shape future directions in carbon research and governance

Qinghai University and Tsinghua University

Tsinghua University Press