Env issues - Unit one - Anthropocene

Anthropocene

an unofficial period in earths history defined by the profound permanent impact of human activity on the planets climate, land, and ecosystems.

Epoch

Specific perios of time marked by a special event/major change

Levels of the geologic time scales

Eons, Eras, Periods, Epochs

Geologic time scale

Compex layers of earth with respect to time

Eons

Billions of years

Eras

hundreds of millions of years

Period

tens of millions of years.

Epoch

Tems of thoulsands to millions of years

three things that represent global changes

Significant, Mappable, and geologically synchronous

Stratigraphic legacy

the permanent physical archive that humanity is leaving behind in earths layers. ex. plastic, clothing waste, nuclear waste, co2

The aral sea

Shows dramatic human impacts and stratigraphic signatures

what happened with the aral sea

Evaporation is greater than water flowing in. Natural resource across international borders - needs cross border coorporation.

Lithostratigraphic markers

ex. aluminum, glass, plastic- things that accumulate - there are about 200,000 of these