Geobiology of the Anthropocene
نویسندگان
چکیده
Homo sapiens first appeared on the Earth somewhere in Africa roughly 200 000 years ago. It happened with little fanfare; few could have imagined that this new species of primate would someday disrupt the Earth system to the point of defining a new geologic epoch around its legacy. Indeed, the first 150 000 years of the natural history of our species, mostly in Africa, were fairly uneventful for reasons still not well understood. But then, with migration out of Africa, things started to change. Having mastered new hunting skills, humans began to perturb their ecosystems, first by overhunting large animals, which also deprived rival predators of adequate food supplies. Then with the development of agriculture in the last 10 000 years, humans began an appropriation of the Earth’s surface for food, fuel and fiber that continues to this day. More recently, the industrial revolution, spurred on with cheap, abundant energy from fossil organic carbon, made humans major players in Earth’s geochemical cycles, including nitrogen and carbon. The latter now threatens to end the Pleistocene glacial cycles and return the Earth to a state not seen for 35 million years. The future of human interactions with the Earth system remains uncertain, but the impact of human actions already taken will last for more than 100 000 years. Avoiding massive disruptions to geobiological systems in the future is likely to require, ironically, even larger interventions by humans through advanced technology, the final step in a transition to the engineered epoch of Earth history. 22.2 The Anthropocene
منابع مشابه
Global Health in the Anthropocene: Moving Beyond Resilience and Capitalism; Comment on “Health Promotion in an Age of Normative Equity and Rampant Inequality”
There has been much reflection on the need for a new understanding of global health and the urgency of a paradigm shift to address global health issues. A crucial question is whether this is still possible in current modes of global governance based on capitalist values. Four reflections are provided. (1) Ecological–centered values must become central in any future global health framework. (2) ...
متن کاملThe evolution of geobiology in the context of living stromatolites
Science has achieved tremendous success over the centuries, partly because the complexities of the Earth, the physical processes that sustain the planet, and the enormity of life were separated into disparate fi elds of study—mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and geology, to name only a few. Scientifi c compartmentalization was initially necessary to impart enough focus to make progress...
متن کاملGeography and the Anthropocene II: Current contributions
This and two companion papers (The Anthropocene and Geography I: The back story and The Anthropocene and Geography III: Future Directions) consider the relevance of 'the Anthropocene' to present and future research in Geography. Along with the concept of 'planetary boundaries', the idea that humanity has entered a new geological epoch of its own making is currently attracting considerable atten...
متن کاملPalaeontological evidence for defining the Anthropocene
Palaeontology formed the basis for defining most of the geological eras, periods, epochs and ages that are commonly recognized. By the same token, the Anthropocene can be defined by diverse palaeontological criteria, in accordance with commonly accepted biostratigraphic practice. The most useful Anthropocene biostratigraphic zones will be assemblage and abundance zones based on mixes of native ...
متن کامل