GEOG 3020 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Great Oxygenation Event, Phanerozoic, Chronostratigraphy
10 Aug 2019
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It is based on the idea that the anthropocene began sometime around the 1950s, consistent with the argument made in this week"s reading. We will return to the issue of timing very shortly. First let"s talk about the first thread of this debate: over whether or not we are in the anthropocene (criteria 1-3). The most compelling evidence that humans have contributed to a functionally distinct" system is in the atmospheric system and climate response. Before we consider this further, let"s pause for a moment to set precedent. Humans are not the first species to play a significant role in climate change. The co-evolution of biological life and climate is as old as life itself, dating back to the precambrian eon (refer back to the chronostratigraphic chart). All planets have an atmosphere, i. e. , a collection of gases that are held closely to the planet"s surface, unable to escape into space.
