The Palaeoanthropocene - The beginnings of anthropogenic environmental change

Stephen F. Foley; Detlef Gronenborn; Meinrat O. Andreae; Joachim W. Kadereit; Jan Esper; Denis Scholz; Ulrich Pöschl; Dorrit E. Jacob; Bernd R. Schöne; Rainer Schreg; Andreas Vött; David Jordan; Jos Lelieveld; Christine G. Weller; Kurt W. Alt; Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser; Kai Christian Bruhn; Holger Tost; Frank Sirocko; Paul J. Crutzen

doi:10.1016/j.ancene.2013.11.002

The Palaeoanthropocene - The beginnings of anthropogenic environmental change

Stephen F. Foley^*, Detlef Gronenborn, Meinrat O. Andreae, Joachim W. Kadereit, Jan Esper, Denis Scholz, Ulrich Pöschl, Dorrit E. Jacob, Bernd R. Schöne, Rainer Schreg, Andreas Vött, David Jordan, Jos Lelieveld, Christine G. Weller, Kurt W. Alt, Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser, Kai Christian Bruhn, Holger Tost, Frank Sirocko, Paul J. Crutzen

^*Corresponding author for this work

ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems (incorporation ARC National Key Centre for Geochemical evolution and Metallogeny of Continents (GEMOC))

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

177 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

As efforts to recognize the Anthropocene as a new epoch of geological time are mounting, the controversial debate about the time of its beginning continues. Here, we suggest the term Palaeoanthropocene for the period between the first, barely recognizable, anthropogenic environmental changes and the industrial revolution when anthropogenically induced changes of climate, land use and biodiversity began to increase very rapidly. The concept of the Palaeoanthropocene recognizes that humans are an integral part of the Earth system rather than merely an external forcing factor. The delineation of the beginning of the Palaeoanthropocene will require an increase in the understanding and precision of palaeoclimate indicators, the recognition of archaeological sites as environmental archives, and inter-linking palaeoclimate, palaeoenvironmental changes and human development with changes in the distribution of Quaternary plant and animal species and socio-economic models of population subsistence and demise.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	83-88
Number of pages	6
Journal	Anthropocene
Volume	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2013.11.002
Publication status	Published - 2013

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Foley, S. F., Gronenborn, D., Andreae, M. O., Kadereit, J. W., Esper, J., Scholz, D., Pöschl, U., Jacob, D. E., Schöne, B. R., Schreg, R., Vött, A., Jordan, D., Lelieveld, J., Weller, C. G., Alt, K. W., Gaudzinski-Windheuser, S., Bruhn, K. C., Tost, H., Sirocko, F., & Crutzen, P. J. (2013). The Palaeoanthropocene - The beginnings of anthropogenic environmental change. Anthropocene, 3, 83-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2013.11.002

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abstract = "As efforts to recognize the Anthropocene as a new epoch of geological time are mounting, the controversial debate about the time of its beginning continues. Here, we suggest the term Palaeoanthropocene for the period between the first, barely recognizable, anthropogenic environmental changes and the industrial revolution when anthropogenically induced changes of climate, land use and biodiversity began to increase very rapidly. The concept of the Palaeoanthropocene recognizes that humans are an integral part of the Earth system rather than merely an external forcing factor. The delineation of the beginning of the Palaeoanthropocene will require an increase in the understanding and precision of palaeoclimate indicators, the recognition of archaeological sites as environmental archives, and inter-linking palaeoclimate, palaeoenvironmental changes and human development with changes in the distribution of Quaternary plant and animal species and socio-economic models of population subsistence and demise.",

author = "Foley, {Stephen F.} and Detlef Gronenborn and Andreae, {Meinrat O.} and Kadereit, {Joachim W.} and Jan Esper and Denis Scholz and Ulrich P{\"o}schl and Jacob, {Dorrit E.} and Sch{\"o}ne, {Bernd R.} and Rainer Schreg and Andreas V{\"o}tt and David Jordan and Jos Lelieveld and Weller, {Christine G.} and Alt, {Kurt W.} and Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser and Bruhn, {Kai Christian} and Holger Tost and Frank Sirocko and Crutzen, {Paul J.}",

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doi = "10.1016/j.ancene.2013.11.002",

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Foley, SF, Gronenborn, D, Andreae, MO, Kadereit, JW, Esper, J, Scholz, D, Pöschl, U, Jacob, DE, Schöne, BR, Schreg, R, Vött, A, Jordan, D, Lelieveld, J, Weller, CG, Alt, KW, Gaudzinski-Windheuser, S, Bruhn, KC, Tost, H, Sirocko, F & Crutzen, PJ 2013, 'The Palaeoanthropocene - The beginnings of anthropogenic environmental change', Anthropocene, vol. 3, pp. 83-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2013.11.002

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AU - Gronenborn, Detlef

AU - Andreae, Meinrat O.

AU - Kadereit, Joachim W.

AU - Esper, Jan

AU - Scholz, Denis

AU - Pöschl, Ulrich

AU - Jacob, Dorrit E.

AU - Schöne, Bernd R.

AU - Schreg, Rainer

AU - Vött, Andreas

AU - Jordan, David

AU - Lelieveld, Jos

AU - Weller, Christine G.

AU - Alt, Kurt W.

AU - Gaudzinski-Windheuser, Sabine

AU - Bruhn, Kai Christian

AU - Tost, Holger

AU - Sirocko, Frank

AU - Crutzen, Paul J.

PY - 2013

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AB - As efforts to recognize the Anthropocene as a new epoch of geological time are mounting, the controversial debate about the time of its beginning continues. Here, we suggest the term Palaeoanthropocene for the period between the first, barely recognizable, anthropogenic environmental changes and the industrial revolution when anthropogenically induced changes of climate, land use and biodiversity began to increase very rapidly. The concept of the Palaeoanthropocene recognizes that humans are an integral part of the Earth system rather than merely an external forcing factor. The delineation of the beginning of the Palaeoanthropocene will require an increase in the understanding and precision of palaeoclimate indicators, the recognition of archaeological sites as environmental archives, and inter-linking palaeoclimate, palaeoenvironmental changes and human development with changes in the distribution of Quaternary plant and animal species and socio-economic models of population subsistence and demise.

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SN - 2213-3054

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JO - Anthropocene

JF - Anthropocene

ER -

The Palaeoanthropocene - The beginnings of anthropogenic environmental change

Abstract

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