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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Results 1-5 of 78
Page v
... centuries ago , this transformation has undergone a profound acceleration during the second half of the twentieth century . During the last 100 years the population of humans soared from little more than one to six billion and economic ...
... centuries ago , this transformation has undergone a profound acceleration during the second half of the twentieth century . During the last 100 years the population of humans soared from little more than one to six billion and economic ...
Page 3
... century . How- ever , the fact that these planetary cycles themselves are closely interlinked and the suggestion that life itself is an active and necessary player in planetary dynamics ( e.g. , the Gaia hypothesis ; Lovelock 1979 ) are ...
... century . How- ever , the fact that these planetary cycles themselves are closely interlinked and the suggestion that life itself is an active and necessary player in planetary dynamics ( e.g. , the Gaia hypothesis ; Lovelock 1979 ) are ...
Page 4
... centuries , and that are giving rise to global change , are complex and profound . They are almost cer- tainly unprecedented in the history of the Earth . The expansion of humankind , both in numbers and per capita exploitation of the ...
... centuries , and that are giving rise to global change , are complex and profound . They are almost cer- tainly unprecedented in the history of the Earth . The expansion of humankind , both in numbers and per capita exploitation of the ...
Page 9
... century without compromising the sustainabili- ty of the Earth's life support system . ▫ The final chapter considers a new scientific approach aimed at a fully developed Earth System science . It points the way towards reducing the ...
... century without compromising the sustainabili- ty of the Earth's life support system . ▫ The final chapter considers a new scientific approach aimed at a fully developed Earth System science . It points the way towards reducing the ...
Page 14
... centuries for Antarctic low accumulation/ low temperature sites (Schwander and Stauffer 1984). Fur- thermore, because the enclosure process occurs 50 to 130 m below surface, the gas is younger than the surrounding ice and the difference ...
... centuries for Antarctic low accumulation/ low temperature sites (Schwander and Stauffer 1984). Fur- thermore, because the enclosure process occurs 50 to 130 m below surface, the gas is younger than the surrounding ice and the difference ...
Contents
1 | |
6 | |
Harvard University USA The University of Newcastle | 60 |
Claussen Martin | 75 |
How Humans are Changing the Earth System | 81 |
3 | 109 |
Magnitudes Rates and Significance of Human Changes | 131 |
4 | 142 |
Department of Geosciences Harvey Nick | 166 |
5 | 203 |
NASA Headquarters Washington DC USA Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research | 234 |
Dalhousie University Canada Scholes R | 251 |
References | 299 |
Mitra A | 305 |
Acknowledgements | 307 |
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aerosol aerosol particles Africa agricultural anthropogenic areas Asia atmos atmospheric CO2 Berlin Heidelberg biodiversity Biogeochem Cy biological biomass biosphere Cambridge carbon cycle century chemical climate change climate system CO₂ coastal zone complex concentration decades deforestation dynamics Earth System functioning ecosys ecosystems effects emissions ENSO environment environmental estimated example extinction feedbacks fertilisation flux forcing forest fossil fuel Gaia Geophys Res glacial Greenland growth Heidelberg New York Holocene human activities human-driven hydrological hydrological cycle ice core IGBP IGBP Global Change impacts important increase influence interactions IPCC land-cover Lovelock marine natural nitrogen North Atlantic nutrients ocean organic ozone past patterns perturbation photosynthesis phytoplankton plant population processes production radiative forcing record regions responses river role scale Science sediment significant simulations soil solar species surface temperature terrestrial ecosystems Tg N yr–1 thermohaline circulation tion transport trends tropical tropospheric variability vegetation warming Younger Dryas