Ocean Space and the Anthropocene, new notions in geosciences? – An essay

2013 ◽  
Vol 92 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 193-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.H. Stel
Keyword(s):  
Marine Environment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Management Style ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Geological Time Scale ◽  
Human Scale ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Media

AbstractTwo notions, Ocean Space and the Anthropocene, are discussed. The first is occasionally used in legal and governance literature, and in the media. The Anthropocene, however, is widely applied in the global change research community and the media. The notion of ocean space stands for a holistic, system science approach combined with 4D thinking from the ocean, and the processes within it, towards the land. Ocean space is in fact a social-ecological concept that deals with sustainability challenges which are the consequence of the complex interactions between humans and the marine environment on all scales. Ocean space is, on a human scale, impressively large. On a planetary scale, however, it is insignificant, although it has been an ancient feature of the Earth for the last four billion years or so. Yet, ocean space is a critical player in the Earth System; it is central to climate regulation, the hydrological and carbon cycles and nutrient flows, it balances levels of atmospheric gases, it is a source of raw materials vital for medical and other uses, and a sink for anthropogenic pollutants. The notion also encompasses issues such as exploration, adventure, science, resources, conservation, sustainability, etc., and should be an innovative and attractive outreach instrument for the media. Finally, it marks the fundamental change in ocean exploration in the twenty-first century in which ocean-observing systems, and fleets of robots, are routinely and continuously providing quality controlled data and information on the present and future states of ocean space. Advocates of the notion of the Anthropocene argue that this new epoch in geological time, commenced with the British industrial revolution. To date, the Anthropocene has already been subdivided into three stages. The first of these coincides with the beginning of the British industrial revolution around 1800. This transition quickly transformed a society which used natural energy sources into one that uses fossil fuels. The present high-energy society of more than seven billion people mostly with highly improved living standards and birth rates, and a global economy, is the consequence. The downside of this development comprises intensive resource and land use as well as large-scale pollution of the (marine) environment. The first stage of the Anthropocene ended abruptly after the Second World War when a new technology push occurred, leading to the second stage: ‘the Great Acceleration’ (1945-2015) followed by the third: ‘Stewards of the Earth’. Here it is concluded that the notion of the Anthropocene reflects a hierarchical or individualistic perspective, often leading to a ‘business as usual’ management style, and ‘humanises’ the geological time scale. The use of this notion is not supported. However, it is already very popular in the media. This again might lead to overestimating the role of humans in nature, and might facilitate an even more destructive attitude towards it, through the application of geo-engineering. The latter could be opening another Pandora's box. Instead we should move to a more sustainable future in which human activities are better fine tuned to the environment that we are part of. In this respect, transition management is an interesting new paradigm.

scholarly journals Rheological profiles in the Central- Eastern Mediterranean

1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Viti ◽  
D. Albarello ◽  
E. Mantovani
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flow ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Mediterranean Area ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Western Turkey ◽  
Geological Time Scale ◽  
Total Strength ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Wet Rocks

Seismological investigations have provided an estimate of the gross structnral features of the crust/upper mantle system in the Mediterranean area. However, this information is only representative of the short-term me- chanical behaviour of rocks and cannot help us to understand slow deformations and related tectonic processes on the geological time scale. In this work strength envelopes for several major structural provinces of the Mediterranean area have been tentatively derived from seismological stratification and heat flow data, on the assumption of constant and uniforrn strain rate (10-16 S-1), wet rocks and conductive geotherm. It is also shown how the uncertainties in the reconstruction of thermal profiles can influence the main rheological prop- erties of the lithosphere, as thickness and total strength. The thickest (50-70 km) and strongest mechanical lithospheres correspond to the coldest zones (with heat flow lower than or equal to 50 mW m-2), i.e., the Io- nian and Levantine mesozoic basins, the Adriatic and Eurasian foreland zones and NW Greece. Heat flows larger than 65 mW m-2, generally observed in extensional zones (Tyrrhenian, Sicily Channel, Northern Aegean, Macedonia and Western Turkey), are mostly related to mechanical lithospheres thinner than 20 km. The characteristics of strength envelopes, and in particular the presence of soft layers in the crust, suggest a reasonable interpretation of some large-scale features which characterize the tectonic evolution of the Central- Eastem Mediterranean.

Introduction

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Berner
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Carbon Cycle ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Quaternary Period ◽  
Geological Time Scale ◽  
The Earth

The cycle of carbon is essential to the maintenance of life, to climate, and to the composition of the atmosphere and oceans. What is normally thought of as the “carbon cycle” is the transfer of carbon between the atmosphere, the oceans, and life. This is not the subject of interest of this book. To understand this apparently confusing statement, it is necessary to separate the carbon cycle into two cycles: the short-term cycle and the long-term cycle. The “carbon cycle,” as most people understand it, is represented in figure 1.1. Carbon dioxide is taken up via photosynthesis by green plants on the continents or phytoplankton in the ocean. On land carbon is transferred to soils by the dropping of leaves, root growth, and respiration, the death of plants, and the development of soil biota. Land herbivores eat the plants, and carnivores eat the herbivores. In the oceans the phytoplankton are eaten by zooplankton that are in turn eaten by larger and larger organisms. The plants, plankton, and animals respire CO2. Upon death the plants and animals are decomposed by microorganisms with the ultimate production of CO2. Carbon dioxide is exchanged between the oceans and atmosphere, and dissolved organic matter is carried in solution by rivers from soils to the sea. This all constitutes the shortterm carbon cycle. The word “short-term” is used because the characteristic times for transferring carbon between reservoirs range from days to tens of thousands of years. Because the earth is more than four billion years old, this is short on a geological time scale. As the short-term cycle proceeds, concentrations of the two principal atmospheric gases, CO2 and CH4, can change as a result of perturbations of the cycle. Because these two are both greenhouse gases—in other words, they adsorb outgoing infrared radiation from the earth surface—changes in their concentrations can involve global warming and cooling over centuries and many millennia. Such changes have accompanied global climate change over the Quaternary period (past 2 million years), although other factors, such as variations in the receipt of solar radiation due to changes in characteristics of the earth’s orbit, have also contributed to climate change.

scholarly journals Phenomenology of magnetic black holes with electroweak-symmetric coronas

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Bai ◽  
Joshua Berger ◽  
Mrunal Korwar ◽  
Nicholas Orlofsky
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Dark Matter ◽  
Hawking Radiation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Planck Scale ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Magnetic Monopoles ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Parker Bound

Abstract Magnetically charged black holes (MBHs) are interesting solutions of the Standard Model and general relativity. They may possess a “hairy” electroweak-symmetric corona outside the event horizon, which speeds up their Hawking radiation and leads them to become nearly extremal on short timescales. Their masses could range from the Planck scale up to the Earth mass. We study various methods to search for primordially produced MBHs and estimate the upper limits on their abundance. We revisit the Parker bound on magnetic monopoles and show that it can be extended by several orders of magnitude using the large-scale coherent magnetic fields in Andromeda. This sets a mass-independent constraint that MBHs have an abundance less than 4 × 10−4 times that of dark matter. MBHs can also be captured in astrophysical systems like the Sun, the Earth, or neutron stars. There, they can become non-extremal either from merging with an oppositely charged MBH or absorbing nucleons. The resulting Hawking radiation can be detected as neutri- nos, photons, or heat. High-energy neutrino searches in particular can set a stronger bound than the Parker bound for some MBH masses, down to an abundance 10−7 of dark matter.

scholarly journals Sequence of studying engineering and geological conditions of mineral deposits from exploration to development

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 83-91
Author(s):  
Irina V. Abaturova ◽  
◽  
Ivan A. Savintsev ◽  
Liubov A. Storozhenko ◽  
Elvina D. Nugmanova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Geological Environment ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Protective Measures ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Geological Processes ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Geological Conditions ◽  
Geological Information ◽  
Further Development

geological environment. Actively change all the components of engineering-geological conditions (EGC), formed during the long geological time: the topography, structure of rocks, hydrogeological and permafrost conditions, are formed by geological processes and, at the same time on the surface of the Earth formed a new strata of man-made structures, and often man-made deposits. The scale of technogenesis in mining today is comparable to the results of geological activity that took place over many millions of years. Therefore, even at the early stages of studying the EGC MD, it is necessary to understand the dynamics of changes in the EGC in order to provide preliminary protective measures. Purpose of work. Consideration of striking examples of the dynamics of the EGC MD (from exploration to development), in order to provide methods for managing these changes. Methodology. The article considers the stages of obtaining engineering and geological information for the period of MD operation, which will solve the problems of rational use of the subsoil and protection of the geological environment. Results. For example, the number of objects marked all the stages of learning to yoke the dynamics of their changes, which led to the formation of engineering-geological processes that adversely affect the further testing of MD. Summary. The reaction of the geological environment in the development of MD is not long in coming and is expressed in the development of large-scale engineering and geological processes, which often do not allow further development of MD and threaten people's lives. Therefore, even at the early stages of studying the EGC MD, it is necessary to understand the dynamics of changes in the EGC in order to provide preliminary protective measures.

To Reconcile Historical Geology with Isostasy: Continental Drift

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Oreskes
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
English Language ◽  
Continental Drift ◽  
The United States ◽  
Island Arcs ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Geological Features ◽  
Historical Geology

Alfred Wegener (1880–1930) first presented his theory of continental displacement in 1912, at a meeting of the Geological Association of Frankfurt. In a paper entitled “The geophysical basis of the evolution of the large-scale features of the earth’s crust (continents and oceans),” Wegener proposed that the continents of the earth slowly drift through the ocean basins, from time to time crashing into one another and then breaking apart again. In 1915, he developed this idea into the first edition of his now-famous monograph, Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane, and a second edition was published in 1920. The work came to the attention of American geologists when a third edition, published in 1922, was translated into English, with a foreword, by John W. Evans, the president of the Geological Society of London and a fellow of the Royal Society, in 1924 asThe Origin of Continents and Oceans. A fourth and final edition appeared in 1929, the year before Wegener died on an expedition across Greenland. In addition to the various editions of his book, Wegener published his ideas in the leading German geological journal, Geologische Rundschau, and he had an abstract read on his behalf in the United States at a conference dedicated to the topic, sponsored by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, in 1926. The Origin of Continents and Oceans was widely reviewed in English-language journals, including Nature, Science, and the Geological Magazine. Although a number of other geologists had proposed ideas of continental mobility, including the Americans Frank Bursey Taylor, Howard Baker, and W. H. Pickering, Wegener’s treatment was by far the best developed and most extensively researched. Wegener argued that the continents are composed of less dense material than the ocean basins, arid that the density difference between them permitted the continents to float in hydrostatic equilibrium within the denser oceanic substrate. These floatin continents can move through the substrate because it behaves over geological time as a highly viscous fluid. The major geological features of the earth, he suggested — mountain chains, rift valleys, oceanic island arcs—were caused by the horizontal motions and interactions of the continents.

scholarly journals Prospects for strangelet detection with large-scale cosmic ray observatories

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (14) ◽  
pp. 1650103 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. Pshirkov
Keyword(s):  
Quark Matter ◽  
High Velocity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Cosmic Ray ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Pierre Auger Observatory ◽  
Ultra High Energy ◽  
Telescope Array ◽  
Strange Matter ◽  
The Earth

Quark matter which contains [Formula: see text]-quarks in addition to [Formula: see text]- and [Formula: see text]- could be stable or metastable. In this case, lumps made of this strange matter, called strangelets, could occasionally hit the Earth. When travelling through the atmosphere they would behave not dissimilar to usual high-velocity meteors with only exception that, eventually, strangelets reach the surface. As these encounters are expected to be extremely rare events, very large exposure is needed for their observation. Fluorescence detectors utilized in large ultra-high energy cosmic ray observatories, such as the Pierre Auger observatory and the Telescope Array are well suited for a task of the detection of these events. The flux limits that can be obtained with the Telescope Array fluorescence detectors could be as low as 2.5 × 10−22 cm−2s−1sr−1 which would improve by two orders of magnitude of the strongest present limits obtained from ancient mica crystals.

Education in the Anthropocene

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Gough
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Nuclear Age ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Opportunities For Learning ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Human World ◽  
Starting Date

The term “Anthropocene” was coined in 2000 by Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer to denote the present time interval as a new epoch of geological time dominated by human impact on the Earth. The starting date for the epoch is contentious—around the beginning of the Industrial Revolution (ca. 1800 ce), at the start of the nuclear age, or some other time, both earlier and later than these dates. The term itself is also contentious because of its humanist and human supremacy focus, and the way it hides troublesome differences between humans (including gender and cultural differences) and the intimate relationships among technology, humans, and other animals. Endeavors such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals aim to achieve gender equality by empowering women to participate in society. However, within this goal is the assumption that women and “other marginalized Others” can be assimilated within the dominant social paradigm rather than questioning the assumptions that maintain the subordination of these social groups. The goals also overlook the divergent impacts on women around the globe. Education in an Anthropocene context necessitates a different pedagogy that provides opportunities for learning to live in and engage with the world and acknowledges that we live in a more-than-human world. It also requires learners to critique the Anthropocene as a concept and its associated themes to counter the humanist perspective, which fails to consider how the nonhuman and material worlds coshape our mutual worlds. In particular, education in the Anthropocene will need to be interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, or cross-disciplinary; intersectional; ecofeminist or posthumanist; indigenous; and participatory.

2. Geology: the early days

2018 ◽  
pp. 9-23
Author(s):  
Jan Zalasiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Song Dynasty ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Geological Time Scale ◽  
Charles Lyell ◽  
The Song Dynasty ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Georges Cuvier ◽  
History Of ◽  
Vedic Period

‘Geology: the early days’ provides a brief history of ideas on the Earth and its processes. Among the earliest recorded scientific speculations on the Earth were those of the ancient Greeks, such as Anaximander of Miletus and Pythagoras. Other cultures that independently developed ideas include the Vedic Period of India (c.1300–300 bc) and the Song Dynasty of China (960–1279 ad). Huge strides were made during the Enlightenment period, and the key contributions of figures such as Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, James Hutton, Baron Georges Cuvier, Mary Anning, William Buckland, Charles Lyell, Abraham Gottlob Werner, and Adam Sedgwick are discussed, with the creation of the Geological Time Scale.

The Anthropocene

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Zalasiewicz ◽  
Colin Waters
Keyword(s):  
Time Scale ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
The Body ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Geological Time Scale ◽  
Earth Systems ◽  
Species Invasions ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Sixth Mass Extinction

The Anthropocene hypothesis—that humans have impacted “the environment” but also changed the Earth’s geology—has spread widely through the sciences and humanities. This hypothesis is being currently tested to see whether the Anthropocene may become part of the Geological Time Scale. An Anthropocene Working Group has been established to assemble the evidence. The decision regarding formalization is likely to be taken in the next few years, by the International Commission on Stratigraphy, the body that oversees the Geological Time Scale. Whichever way the decision goes, there will remain the reality of the phenomenon and the utility of the concept. The evidence, as outlined here, rests upon a broad range of signatures reflecting humanity’s significant and increasing modification of Earth systems. These may be visible as markers in physical deposits in the form of the greatest expansion of novel minerals in the last 2.4 billion years of Earth history and development of ubiquitous materials, such as plastics, unique to the Anthropocene. The artefacts we produce to live as modern humans will form the technofossils of the future. Human-generated deposits now extend from our natural habitat on land into our oceans, transported at rates exceeding the sediment carried by rivers by an order of magnitude. That influence now extends increasingly underground in our quest for minerals, fuel, living space, and to develop transport and communication networks. These human trace fossils may be preserved over geological durations and the evolution of technology has created a new technosphere, yet to evolve into balance with other Earth systems. The expression of the Anthropocene can be seen in sediments and glaciers in chemical markers. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen by ~45 percent above pre–Industrial Revolution levels, mainly through combustion, over a few decades, of a geological carbon-store that took many millions of years to accumulate. Although this may ultimately drive climate change, average global temperature increases and resultant sea-level rises remain comparatively small, as yet. But the shift to isotopically lighter carbon locked into limestones and calcareous fossils will form a permanent record. Nitrogen and phosphorus contents in surface soils have approximately doubled through increased use of fertilizers to increase agricultural yields as the human population has also doubled in the last 50 years. Industrial metals, radioactive fallout from atomic weapons testing, and complex organic compounds have been widely dispersed through the environment and become preserved in sediment and ice layers. Despite radical changes to flora and fauna across the planet, the Earth still has most of its complement of biological species. However, current trends of habitat loss and predation may push the Earth into the sixth mass extinction event in the next few centuries. At present the dramatic changes relate to trans-global species invasions and population modification through agricultural development on land and contamination of coastal zones. Considering the entire range of environmental signatures, it is clear that the global, large and rapid scale of change related to the mid-20th century is the most obvious level to consider as the start of the Anthropocene Epoch.

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