Convergence science in the Anthropocene: Navigating the known and unknown

Abstract

Abstract Rapidly changing ecological and social systems currently pose significant societal challenges. Navigating the complexity of social‐ecological change requires approaches able to cope with, and potentially solve, both foreseen and unforeseen societal challenges. The emergent field of convergence addresses the intricacies of such challenges, and is thus relevant to a broad range of interdisciplinary issues. This paper suggests a way to conceptualize convergence research. It discusses how it relates to two major societal challenges (adaptation, transformation), and to the generation of policy‐relevant science. It also points out limitations to the further development of convergence research. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Keywords

• adaptation
• convergence
• interdisciplinary science
• resilience
• societal change
• sustainability