The Anthropocene: Are humans now overwhelming the great forces of nature
The Anthropocene: Are humans now overwhelming the great forces of nature
复制标题
DOI：
10.1579/0044-7447(2007)36
复制
发表时间：
2007-12-01
期刊：
影响因子：
6.5
通讯作者：
McNeill, John R.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Steffen, Will;Crutzen, Paul J.;McNeill, John R.
我们探索人类世的发展，人类和我们的社会已经成为全球地球物理力量的当前时代。人类世开始于1800年左右，工业化开始，其中心特征是化石燃料的使用大幅扩张。我们使用大气二氧化碳浓度作为一个单一的，简单的指标来跟踪人类世的进展。到1950年，大气中的二氧化碳含量从工业化前的270-275 ppm上升到310 ppm左右。从那时起，人类的事业经历了一次非凡的爆炸，大加速，对地球系统的运作产生了重大的影响。自1950年以来，大气中的二氧化碳浓度从310 ppm上升到380 ppm，自工业化前时代以来，大约一半的上升发生在过去的30年里。大加速正在达到临界点。无论如何，未来几十年肯定会成为人类世进化的一个转折点。
We explore the development of the Anthropocene, the current epoch in which humans and our societies have become a global geophysical force. The Anthropocene began around 1800 with the onset of industrialization, the central feature of which was the enormous expansion in the use of fossil fuels. We use atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration as a single, simple indicator to track the progression of the Anthropocene. From a preindustrial value of 270-275 ppm, atmospheric carbon dioxide had risen to about 310 ppm by 1950. Since then the human enterprise has experienced a remarkable explosion, the Great Acceleration, with significant consequences for Earth System functioning. Atmospheric CO2 concentration has risen from 310 to 380 ppm since 1950, with about half of the total rise since the preindustrial era occurring in just the last 30 years. The Great Acceleration is reaching criticality. Whatever unfolds, the next few decades will surely be a tipping point in the evolution of the Anthropocene.