Stratigraphic and Earth System approaches to defining the Anthropocene
© 2016 The Authors. Stratigraphy provides insights into the evolution and dynamics of the Earth System over its long history. With recent developments in Earth System science, changes in Earth System dynamics can now be observed directly and projected into the near future. An integration of the two...
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ftdukeunivdsp:oai:localhost:10161/21241 2023-11-12T04:04:22+01:00 Stratigraphic and Earth System approaches to defining the Anthropocene Steffen, W Leinfelder, R Zalasiewicz, J Waters, CN Williams, M Summerhayes, C Barnosky, AD Cearreta, A Crutzen, P Edgeworth, M Ellis, EC Fairchild, IJ Galuszka, A Grinevald, J Haywood, A Ivar do Sul, J Jeandel, C McNeill, JR Odada, E Oreskes, N Revkin, A Richter, DDB Syvitski, J Vidas, D Wagreich, M Wing, SL Wolfe, AP Schellnhuber, HJ 2020-08-01T16:04:28Z application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21241 en eng American Geophysical Union (AGU) Earth's Future 10.1002/2016EF000379 2328-4277 https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21241 Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Physical Sciences Environmental Sciences Geosciences Multidisciplinary Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences Environmental Sciences & Ecology Geology ATMOSPHERIC CARBON-DIOXIDE EOCENE THERMAL MAXIMUM ANTARCTIC ICE-SHEET TIPPING ELEMENTS REGIME SHIFTS HUMAN IMPACT SEA-LEVEL CLIMATE CO2 CYCLE Journal article 2020 ftdukeunivdsp 2023-10-17T09:44:20Z © 2016 The Authors. Stratigraphy provides insights into the evolution and dynamics of the Earth System over its long history. With recent developments in Earth System science, changes in Earth System dynamics can now be observed directly and projected into the near future. An integration of the two approaches provides powerful insights into the nature and significance of contemporary changes to Earth. From both perspectives, the Earth has been pushed out of the Holocene Epoch by human activities, with the mid-20th century a strong candidate for the start date of the Anthropocene, the proposed new epoch in Earth history. Here we explore two contrasting scenarios for the future of the Anthropocene, recognizing that the Earth System has already undergone a substantial transition away from the Holocene state. A rapid shift of societies toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals could stabilize the Earth System in a state with more intense interglacial conditions than in the late Quaternary climate regime and with little further biospheric change. In contrast, a continuation of the present Anthropocene trajectory of growing human pressures will likely lead to biotic impoverishment and a much warmer climate with a significant loss of polar ice. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet Duke University Libraries: DukeSpace Antarctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Duke University Libraries: DukeSpace |
op_collection_id |
ftdukeunivdsp |
language |
English |
topic |
Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Physical Sciences Environmental Sciences Geosciences Multidisciplinary Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences Environmental Sciences & Ecology Geology ATMOSPHERIC CARBON-DIOXIDE EOCENE THERMAL MAXIMUM ANTARCTIC ICE-SHEET TIPPING ELEMENTS REGIME SHIFTS HUMAN IMPACT SEA-LEVEL CLIMATE CO2 CYCLE |
spellingShingle |
Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Physical Sciences Environmental Sciences Geosciences Multidisciplinary Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences Environmental Sciences & Ecology Geology ATMOSPHERIC CARBON-DIOXIDE EOCENE THERMAL MAXIMUM ANTARCTIC ICE-SHEET TIPPING ELEMENTS REGIME SHIFTS HUMAN IMPACT SEA-LEVEL CLIMATE CO2 CYCLE Steffen, W Leinfelder, R Zalasiewicz, J Waters, CN Williams, M Summerhayes, C Barnosky, AD Cearreta, A Crutzen, P Edgeworth, M Ellis, EC Fairchild, IJ Galuszka, A Grinevald, J Haywood, A Ivar do Sul, J Jeandel, C McNeill, JR Odada, E Oreskes, N Revkin, A Richter, DDB Syvitski, J Vidas, D Wagreich, M Wing, SL Wolfe, AP Schellnhuber, HJ Stratigraphic and Earth System approaches to defining the Anthropocene |
topic_facet |
Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Physical Sciences Environmental Sciences Geosciences Multidisciplinary Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences Environmental Sciences & Ecology Geology ATMOSPHERIC CARBON-DIOXIDE EOCENE THERMAL MAXIMUM ANTARCTIC ICE-SHEET TIPPING ELEMENTS REGIME SHIFTS HUMAN IMPACT SEA-LEVEL CLIMATE CO2 CYCLE |
description |
© 2016 The Authors. Stratigraphy provides insights into the evolution and dynamics of the Earth System over its long history. With recent developments in Earth System science, changes in Earth System dynamics can now be observed directly and projected into the near future. An integration of the two approaches provides powerful insights into the nature and significance of contemporary changes to Earth. From both perspectives, the Earth has been pushed out of the Holocene Epoch by human activities, with the mid-20th century a strong candidate for the start date of the Anthropocene, the proposed new epoch in Earth history. Here we explore two contrasting scenarios for the future of the Anthropocene, recognizing that the Earth System has already undergone a substantial transition away from the Holocene state. A rapid shift of societies toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals could stabilize the Earth System in a state with more intense interglacial conditions than in the late Quaternary climate regime and with little further biospheric change. In contrast, a continuation of the present Anthropocene trajectory of growing human pressures will likely lead to biotic impoverishment and a much warmer climate with a significant loss of polar ice. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Steffen, W Leinfelder, R Zalasiewicz, J Waters, CN Williams, M Summerhayes, C Barnosky, AD Cearreta, A Crutzen, P Edgeworth, M Ellis, EC Fairchild, IJ Galuszka, A Grinevald, J Haywood, A Ivar do Sul, J Jeandel, C McNeill, JR Odada, E Oreskes, N Revkin, A Richter, DDB Syvitski, J Vidas, D Wagreich, M Wing, SL Wolfe, AP Schellnhuber, HJ |
author_facet |
Steffen, W Leinfelder, R Zalasiewicz, J Waters, CN Williams, M Summerhayes, C Barnosky, AD Cearreta, A Crutzen, P Edgeworth, M Ellis, EC Fairchild, IJ Galuszka, A Grinevald, J Haywood, A Ivar do Sul, J Jeandel, C McNeill, JR Odada, E Oreskes, N Revkin, A Richter, DDB Syvitski, J Vidas, D Wagreich, M Wing, SL Wolfe, AP Schellnhuber, HJ |
author_sort |
Steffen, W |
title |
Stratigraphic and Earth System approaches to defining the Anthropocene |
title_short |
Stratigraphic and Earth System approaches to defining the Anthropocene |
title_full |
Stratigraphic and Earth System approaches to defining the Anthropocene |
title_fullStr |
Stratigraphic and Earth System approaches to defining the Anthropocene |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stratigraphic and Earth System approaches to defining the Anthropocene |
title_sort |
stratigraphic and earth system approaches to defining the anthropocene |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21241 |
geographic |
Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Ice Sheet |
op_relation |
Earth's Future 10.1002/2016EF000379 2328-4277 https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21241 |
_version_ |
1782341599804522496 |