The Anthropocene

THE ANTHROPOCENE The line corresponding to 1950 highlights the Great Acceleration, the post-World War II worldwide industrialization, techno-scientific development, nuclear arms race, population explosion and rapid economic growth. These graphs were compiled in a publication of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP). The Anthropocene defines Earth's most recent geologic time period as being human-influenced, or anthropogenic, based on overwhelming global evidence that atmospheric, geologic, hydrologic, biospheric and other earth system processes are now altered by humans. POPULATION 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 TOTAL REAL GDP 2000 DAMMING OF RIVERS 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT 12 2000 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 GLOBAÏ6 WATER USE ATMOSPHERIC co, CONCENTRATION 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000 340 320 300 2000 URBAN POPULATION 1750 280 1800 350 1850 1900 1950 FERTILISER CONSUMPTION 300 250 1750 ATMOSPHERIC N20 CONCENTRATION 200 1800 150 2000 1850 300 100 1900 1750 50 1950 1800 1850 1900 1950 PAPER CONSUMPTION 2000 200 1750 1800 1850 1900 150 270 OZONE DEPLETION 2000 100 1750 1800 1750 1950 ATMOSPHERIC CH, CONCENTRATION 50 800 2000 1850 1500 MOTOR VEHICLES 600 1900 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 MCDONALD'S RESTAURANTS 400 1750 1800 NORTHERN HEMISPHERE AVERAGE SURFACE TEMP. 20 750 1850 1900 1950 2000 0.5 1750 1800 1850 1750 1800 2000 1850 1900 1950 1900 1950 TELEPHONES 600 1750 1800 1850 100 2000 OCEAN ECOSYSTEMS 2000 1900 1950 1750 GREAT FLOODS 1850 1900 1950 2000 0.03 1750 20 1800 1850 1900 000 INTERNATIONAL 0.02 2000 600 TOURISM 1750 1800 0.01 COASTAL ZONE 1950 400 1850 1900 STRUCTURES 1750 1800 200 1850 1900 1950 2000 1750 1800 LOSS OF TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS AND WOODLANDS 2000 1850 1900 1950 1750 COASTAL ZONE BIOGEOCHEMISTRY 20 1800 1850 1900 2000 1750 1800 1850 1900 AMOUNT OF DOMESTICATED LAND 1750 1800 1950 2000 1850 SOURCE: igbp.net | Steffen et al., 2005, Global Change and the Earth System, Springer, pp. 132-133 2000 1750 1800 1850 1900 GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY 1950 2000 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000 DESIGN: Globaia.org Number (million) People thoudand] fuojug) 1990 International JaguunN (million) (million] Dollars (1012) 1950 0002 Arrivals Number Tonnes of Nutrients 1998 US Dollars (million people) (thousand) (million) (billion) Fisheries Fully Exploited (%] Loss of Total (%) auozg uwnjog 00810 OSEL % of Total Shrimp Farm Production Temperature Land Area (million MT) (5.) Ajeuouy 1800 1950 0002 0002 Species Extinction (thousand) Nitrogen Flux (10 moles yr) 0061 1950