Abrupt Changes: The Archilles heels of the Earth System

Records from the past show that abrupt global change is the norm, not the exception, in the Earth System. Many recent changes-such as the globalization of the world's economy and the formation of the ozone hole over Antarctica-appear rapid even from the perspective of a single lifetime. What do...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Steffen, Will, Andreae, Meinrat O, Bolin, Bert, Crutzen, Paul J, Cox, Peter M, Cubasch, Ulrich, Held, Hermann, Scholes, Robert J (Bob), Talaue-McManus, Liana
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: Heldref Publications 2015
Subjects:
Keywords: Antarctica
daily life activity
environmental change
global change
ozone layer
review
Antarc*
Antarctica
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1885/57519
Description
Summary:Records from the past show that abrupt global change is the norm, not the exception, in the Earth System. Many recent changes-such as the globalization of the world's economy and the formation of the ozone hole over Antarctica-appear rapid even from the perspective of a single lifetime. What do we now know about the nature of abrupt changes in the Earth System and the probability that human actions could trigger them?

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