Mapping the Planetary Boundaries: Visualizing Human-Environment Relationships in the Anthropocene

• Main Author: McCullough, Riley
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: Anthropocene Environmental Action Climate Change Biodiversity Land Systems Freshwater Chemicals Ocean Acidification Pollution Earth System; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: http://openresearch.ocadu.ca/id/eprint/2816/; http://openresearch.ocadu.ca/id/eprint/2816/7/McCullough_Riley_2019_MDes_SFI_MRP_Updated.pdf

The Anthropocene marks the current period in which humanity is living beyond the means of planet Earth and threatening the stability of the climate and other environmental processes that have allowed us to thrive over the past 10,000 years. With increasing anthropogenic stress on the Earth System, the Planetary Boundaries framework aims to determine the thresholds that humanity must operate within to ensure that conditions on Earth remain favourable for human life. This project uses a systems approach to demonstrate the complexity of the Earth System by mapping the relationships between the nine boundaries identified in the Planetary Boundaries framework, as well as the role of anthropogenic actions on those boundaries. This project presents this information in the form of two interactive visualizations that the user can explore to understand the impacts of human activity on the natural environment and the interconnectedness and delicate balance of the Earth System.