CHAPTER


DOI :10.26650/B/SS19.2024.001.01   IUP :10.26650/B/SS19.2024.001.01    Full Text (PDF)

Where is the Anthropocene?

Michael E. Meadows

A contested and even controversial term, ‘Anthropocene’ is increasingly used to symbolise the degree to which our species has impacted a whole range of Earth system processes. With more than seven million people, human activities have tested the so-called planetary boundaries to the extent of threatening our own futures. This chapter introduces the concept and reviews the debate as to whether the Anthropocene warrants formal division as a unit of geological time. What might seem like a purely academic argument as to the integrity of the Anthropocene, nevertheless exposes gaps in our appreciation and understanding of the complex history of human-environmental interactions. Accepting responsibility for the nature and extent of our human footprint is important, and this chapter presents a series of brief portraits that highlight current levels of understanding relating to a range of key global anthropogenic impacts, including climate and climate change, landforms, coastal environments, and biodiversity and ecosystems. In conclusion, the potential role of geographers and the International Geographical Union in promoting the kind of research and teaching that will foster deeper insights into the nature of the Anthropocene and its trajectory is considered. 



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  • Zalasiewicz J, Waters CN, Ivar do Sul J, et al. 2016: The geological cycle of plastics and their use as a stratigraphic indicator of the Anthropocene. Anthropocene 13: 4-17. google scholar
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  • Zalasiewicz J, Waters CN, Ellis EC, et al. 2021. The Anthropocene: comparing its meaning in geology (chronostratigraphy) with conceptual approaches arising in other disciplines. Earths Future 9: e2020EF001896 google scholar


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