The Anthropocene Confirms Human Transformation of the Earth System

Abstract

Human influences in the Earth System are now as important as variations in Earth抯 orbit around the sun and plate tectonics in controlling climate and many other Earth System processes, at least on societally relevant timescales. Humans move sediment, affect plant and animal populations, and emit greenhouse gases with magnitudes and rates that are well above preanthropogenic backgrounds, even compared to periods of abrupt change visible in geologic time. Traces of human activity are detectable in all major planetary spheres, from the lithosphere to the atmosphere, in the deep oceans, and in every terrestrial ecosystem. While geologists chose not to define the anthropocene as a geologic epoch, it remains a critical concept in the Earth sciences for recognizing the increasingly powerful influence of human societies in shaping the Earth System. Viewing the anthropocene as a complex and heterogeneous event that began gradually with the emergence of modern humans and continues to accelerate to the present acknowledges the way human societies have altered this planet, first locally and eventually globally, both inadvertently and intentionally. This deeper history of human-environment interactions is apparent from current evidence.