BIEB 182: Biology of Global Change - Course Overview and the Anthropocene

Vocabulary and key concepts from the introductory lecture of Biology of Global Change, covering course policies, the definition of global change, and the geological debate surrounding the Anthropocene.

Holocene

The current geological Epoch that began approximately $11,650$ B.P. following the end of the last glacial period.

The Anthropocene

A term first used in 2000 to describe the time period where human impacts are at least as important as natural processes in shaping the global environment.

GSSP (Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point)

An internationally agreed method, often called the 'Golden Spike', for defining the replacement of one geological time period with another using a physical reference in a stratigraphic section.

Anthropocene Working Group

A group that proposes defining the Anthropocene based on the first appearance of a clear synchronous signal of transformative human influence on planetary processes.

The Great Acceleration

The period since the $1950s$ characterized by a rapid, exponential increase in human impacts on the structure and functioning of the Earth System.

Bomb Spike

The introduction of unusual isotopes like $\\Delta^{14}C$ into the atmosphere due to nuclear testing, serving as a potential marker for the Anthropocene.

Technofossils

Anthropogenic deposits, such as plastics, which are common today but whose long-term geological preservation remains uncertain.

Zea mays (Maize)

A New World plant species whose pollen in European marine sediment (first appearing around $1600$) serves as a marker for the New-Old World collision.

SCPs (Spheroidal Carbonaceous Particles)

A type of fly ash produced by high-temperature fossil fuel combustion, used as a stratigraphic marker in candidate sites for the Anthropocene GSSP.

Huaynaputina Eruption

A volcanic eruption in $1600$ that produced tephra and other signatures detected at both poles, serving as an auxiliary marker for potential GSSP dates.