Global Change and the Earth System: A Planet Under PressureThe interactions between environmental change and human societies have a long, complex history spanning many millennia, but these have changed fundamentally in the last century. Human activities are now so pervasive and profound that they are altering the Earth in ways which threaten the very life support system upon which humans depend. This book describes what is known about the Earth System and the impact of changes caused by humans. It considers the consequences of these changes with respect to the stability of the Earth System and the well-being of humankind; as well as exploring future paths towards Earth System science in support of global sustainability. |
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Page 5
... areas increased from 30% to 47% and is projected to increase to 56% by 2020. The number of megacities (10 million or more inhabitants) increased from five in 1975 to 19 in 2000. (FAOSTAT 2002; UNFPA 2001); and the interconnectedness of ...
... areas increased from 30% to 47% and is projected to increase to 56% by 2020. The number of megacities (10 million or more inhabitants) increased from five in 1975 to 19 in 2000. (FAOSTAT 2002; UNFPA 2001); and the interconnectedness of ...
Page 6
... areas and increasing demand for marine resources, which in turn leads to further conversion of natural coastal ecosystems. These changes are compounded by land-use changes upstream, altering the mix and amount of suspended and dissolved ...
... areas and increasing demand for marine resources, which in turn leads to further conversion of natural coastal ecosystems. These changes are compounded by land-use changes upstream, altering the mix and amount of suspended and dissolved ...
Page 11
... areas of Earth System functioning where human influences are still thought to be relatively small. The timeframe considered here is the last one million years of the evolution of the Earth System, as this is the period against which the ...
... areas of Earth System functioning where human influences are still thought to be relatively small. The timeframe considered here is the last one million years of the evolution of the Earth System, as this is the period against which the ...
Page 14
... areas, essentially in Antarctica and Greenland, the top layer of the ice sheets (the first 50 to 130 m) results from the compaction of the surface snow through sintering. In this porous firn layer air readily enters the open spaces and ...
... areas, essentially in Antarctica and Greenland, the top layer of the ice sheets (the first 50 to 130 m) results from the compaction of the surface snow through sintering. In this porous firn layer air readily enters the open spaces and ...
Page 19
... areas of the globe, hydrological changes are much more crucial for human survival than are changes in temperature ... area (for example, the so-called Medieval Warm Epoch and Little Ice Age) (Bradley et al. 2003). Variability may also ...
... areas of the globe, hydrological changes are much more crucial for human survival than are changes in temperature ... area (for example, the so-called Medieval Warm Epoch and Little Ice Age) (Bradley et al. 2003). Variability may also ...
Contents
1 | |
6 | |
18 | |
24 | |
Department of Geography Richey Jeffrey | 41 |
New Insights into the Connectivity of the Earth System over Space and Time | 51 |
Dalhousie University Canada Scholes R | 54 |
New Insights into Nonlinearities Surprises and Thresholds | 64 |
How Humans are Changing the Earth System | 81 |
Mitra A | 110 |
Climate Environmental Physics Physics Institute Fu Congbin | 162 |
5 | 194 |
National Physical Laboratory University of Bern Switzerland | 197 |
New Delhi India | 278 |
Appendix | 305 |
Index | 311 |
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aerosol aerosol particles agricultural anthropogenic areas assessment atmos atmospheric CO2 Berlin Heidelberg biodiversity Biogeochem Cy biogeochemical cycles biological biomass biosphere carbon cycle century chemical climate change climate system CO2 concentration coastal zone complex decades deforestation dynamics ecosys ecosystems effects emissions ENSO environment environmental estimated example extinction feedbacks fertilisation fluxes forcing forest fossil fuel Gaia gases Geophys Res glacial Global Change Series greenhouse Greenland Heidelberg New York Holocene human activities human-driven hydrological cycle ice core IGBP IGBP Global Change impacts important increase interactions IPCC land cover land-cover land-use marine natural nitrogen North Atlantic nutrient ocean organic ozone past patterns perturbation phytoplankton plants population processes production radiative forcing record reefs regions responses river role scale Science sediment significant simulations soil species temperature terrestrial ecosystems Tg N yr–1 thermohaline circulation tion transport trends tropical tropospheric variability vegetation warming Younger Dryas