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Global warming and the Anthropocene
Author(s) -
Summerhayes Colin P.,
Zalasiewicz Jan
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
geology today
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.188
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1365-2451
pISSN - 0266-6979
DOI - 10.1111/gto.12247
Subject(s) - volcano , weathering , global warming , atmosphere (unit) , earth science , greenhouse gas , carbon dioxide , climate change , carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere , geology , anthropocene , environmental science , greenhouse effect , ice age , carbon cycle , carbonate , atmospheric sciences , oceanography , ecosystem , meteorology , geochemistry , geography , paleontology , ecology , materials science , metallurgy , glacial period , biology
By burning fossil fuels, humans have changed the carbon cycle, loading the atmosphere with extra carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). Before the current Ice Age, high atmospheric CO 2 levels generated warm climates. The Ice Age developed as the volcanic supply of CO 2 lessened, and rock weathering increased. The CO 2 lost from the atmosphere by chemical weathering was transferred to the ocean and trapped in carbonate sediments. Humans now replicate what volcanic activity did in the distant past, our CO 2 emissions driving global warming. Earth's present climate should be cool, based on the present configuration of the Earth's orbit and the tilt of its axis, and on the decline in sunspot activity since 1990. Warming will grow further with rising emissions, further raising sea level. If business continues as usual we will end with an Eocene‐like ‘greenhouse climate’ and drowned coastal cities.