The Earth’s water cycle, encompassing processes such as precipitation, evapotranspiration, and runoff, among others, exhibits strong variability and extremes at local, regional, and global scales. These fluctuations lead to both acute and chronic stressors for terrestrial ecosystems and for our society. To navigate towards a thriving planet and a sustainable future, this session calls for submissions on advances in characterizing, understanding, and quantifying the various components of the Earth’s water cycle across different spatiotemporal scales. We especially encourage contributions that address challenges, emerging phenomena, and knowledge gaps related to the water cycle.