GEOG 1050: Lecture 2 Review (Introduction 2: Welcome to the Anthropocene)

Flashcards covering essential vocabulary, definitions, and concepts from the Anthropocene lecture.

Anthropocene

The period of Earth's history during which human activity has a decisive influence on the state, dynamics, and future of the Earth system. (An unofficial unit of geologic time!)

Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP)

An internationally agreed-upon stratigraphic section serving as the official reference section for a boundary on the geologic time scale, also known as a golden spike.

The Great Acceleration

The post-1945 period during which key socioeconomic indicators and Earth system parameters began increasing significantly and exponentially.

No-Analog Future

A term used by Elizabeth Kolbert to describe unprecedented future climates and ecosystems shaped by human activity that have no historical equivalent in Earth's history.

Spatial Unevenness

The geographical framework analyzing how the drivers, resource usage, demographic changes, and impacts of global environmental change are unequally distributed across the globe.

Human Exceptionalism Critique

A critique arguing against the Anthropocene narrative on the grounds that other biological forces have altered the planet in past geological eras.

International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)

The scientific organization whose governing body voted not to formally designate the Anthropocene as an official geological epoch.