The Anthropocene Era: How Humans are Changing the Earth System

Abstract

The planet is now dominated by human activities. Human changes to the Earth System are multiple, complex, interacting, often exponential in rate and glo- bally significant in magnitude. They affect every Earth System component – land, coastal zone, atmosphere and oceans. The human driving forces for these changes – both proximate and ultimate – are equally complex, in- teractive and frequently teleconnected across the globe. The magnitude, spatial scale, and pace of human-in- duced change are unprecedented. Today, humankind has begun to match and even exceed some of the great forces of nature in changing the biosphere and impact- ing other facets of Earth System functioning. In terms of fundamental element cycles and some climatic pa- rameters, human-driven changes are pushing the Earth System well outside of its normal operating range. In addition, the structures of the terrestrial and marine biospheres have been significantly altered directly by human activities. There is no evidence that the Earth System has previously experienced these types, scales, and rates of change; the Earth System is now in a no- analogue situation, best referred to as a new era in the geological history of Earth, the Anthropocene.