GEOG 1220 Lecture 7: March 1
3 Mar 2017
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Document Summary
Anthropocene: a geologic epoch distinguished by human impact. Functionally distinct: from holocene: observed changes are outside the range of natural variability in terms of the pace and extent of change that have characteristics the. Stratigraphically distinct: from holocene: indicators are permanent, lasting beyond any future break from the anthropocene. Human activity is the primary cause of these factors (hence anthropo) The willingness to accept that our grandparents were born in the holocence but us in the. Earths systems are operating in ways that are different from ways that they operated in the holocene. The carbon cycle in an example of this. It has risen so dramatically that it is outside the bounds of what we have measured before. There is a decrease in the ratio of carbon 12 and carbon 13. The theory is that given that fossil fuels are plants and as we burn fossil fuels more carbon 12 is being released so the ratio to carbon 13 decreases.
