A question of uniformitarianism: Has the geological past become the key to humanity’s future?

Paul, Jonathan

doi:10.1016/j.ancene.2015.05.005

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The most pertinent aspect of this discussion is what effect the formalization of the Anthropocene could have on geomorphology as a discipline, as there is the distinct risk that it could require reconsideration of its uniformitarian underpinnings (cf. Knight and Harrison, ; Paul, ). It follows that geomorphology, by definition, should provide the authority and substance for morphostratigraphy, even if this is not divisible into human versus natural forcing.…”

Section: Human Versus Nature In the Anthropocenementioning

confidence: 99%

The geomorphology of the Anthropocene: emergence, status and implications

Brown

Tooth

Bullard

et al. 2016

Earth Surf Processes Landf

206

121

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Anthropocene is proposed as a new interval of geological time in which human influence on Earth and its geological record dominates over natural processes. A major challenge in demarcating the Anthropocene is that the balance between human-influenced and natural processes varies over spatial and temporal scales owing to the inherent variability of both human activities (as associated with culture and modes of development) and natural drivers (e.g. tectonic activity and sea level variation). Against this backdrop, we consider how geomorphology might contribute towards the Anthropocene debate by focusing on human impact on aeolian, fluvial, cryospheric and coastal process domains, and how evidence of this impact is preserved in landforms and sedimentary records. We also consider the evidence for an explicitly anthropogenic geomorphology that includes artificial slopes and other human-created landforms. This provides the basis for discussing the theoretical and practical contributions that geomorphology can make to defining an Anthropocene stratigraphy. It is clear that the relevance of the Anthropocene concept varies considerably amongst different branches of geomorphology, depending on the history of human actions in different process domains. For example, evidence of human dominance is more widespread in fluvial and coastal records than in aeolian and cryospheric records, so geomorphologically the Anthropocene would inevitably comprise a highly diachronous lower boundary. Even to identify this lower boundary, research would need to focus on the disambiguation of human effects on geomorphological and sedimentological signatures. This would require robust data, derived from a combination of modelling and new empirical work rather than an arbitrary ?war of possible boundaries' associated with convenient, but disputed, ?golden? spikes. Rather than being drawn into stratigraphical debates, the primary concern of geomorphology should be with the investigation of processes and landform development, so providing the underpinning science for the study of this time of critical geological transition. Copyright ? 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.authorsversionPeer reviewe

show abstract

Section: Human Versus Nature In the Anthropocenementioning

confidence: 99%

The geomorphology of the Anthropocene: emergence, status and implications

Brown

Tooth

Bullard

et al. 2016

Earth Surf Processes Landf

206

121

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The above are just a few example areas where paleoenvironmental research can provide records which are meaningful in both providing context and understanding potential outcomes of present and future environmental conditions, regardless of the rapid and extensive changes human activity has generated. A number of recent considerations of uniformitarianism in the context of the Anthropocene and the question “Is the past no longer the key to the present and the future?” have similarly found continuing value in paleoenvironmental analyses (Baker ; Paul ). As Baker (, 76) puts it “However, when properly understood, there is great scientific merit in analogical reasoning that uses the immense reservoir of Earth's past operations to see how the full complexity of that planet's present and future operations combine to produce patterns of process operation that evolve into a future that is increasingly being dominated by human influences.”…”

Section: A Future For Paleoenvironmental Studies?mentioning

confidence: 94%

“…A number of recent considerations of uniformitarianism in the context of the Anthropocene and the question "Is the past no longer the key to the present and the future?" have similarly found continuing value in paleoenvironmental analyses (Baker 2014;Paul 2015). As Baker (2014, 76) puts it "However, when properly understood, there is great scientific merit in analogical reasoning that uses the immense reservoir of Earth's past operations to see how the full complexity of that planet's present and future operations combine to produce patterns of process operation that evolve into a future that is increasingly being dominated by human influences."…”

Section: The New Naturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Criticism about the usefulness of a uniformitarianistic perspective in understanding important features of the geologic past continues today, including calls for a general rethinking of earth sciences education (Romano ). However, more germane here are the recent explicit reconsiderations of uniformitarianism in the context of the Anthropocene and how the study of past environments and environmental phenomena may or may not be relevant to the understanding, adapting to, and/or mitigating future anthropogenic environmental changes such as those likely to be produced by increasing levels of greenhouse gases (Baker ; Knight and Harrison ; Paul ). In these cases, it is not methodological uniformitarianism that is being debated, but rather substantive uniformitarianism which seeks to use past conditions or rates of change as analogues for the future.…”

Section: Does the Past Have A Future?mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The new nature: Limitations and prospects of the paleoenvironmental tradition in biogeography in the 21^st century

MacDonald

2017

Canadian Geographies / Géographies canadiennes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Paleoenvironmental research is an important component of biogeography. The profound environmental changes wrought by human activity over the past 300 years challenge the previous focus on past “natural” systems and the use of past environmental conditions to anticipate future anthropogenic environmental changes. In many cases, due to profound environmental changes brought on by humans, the past may not be the key to the present nor the future. Jettisoning strict nature‐human distinctions and uniformitarianistic expectations of past environmental analogues for current and future conditions does, however, open the door to a multitude of important research questions for biogeographers working in the paleoenvironmental tradition. Embracing research programs that seek to use paleoenvironmental records to inform questions of human‐environment interactions not only provides individuals with new research opportunities, but also can serve to strengthen bonds within the discipline. La nouvelle nature : les limites et perspectives de la tradition paléoenvironnementale en biogéographie au XXIe siècle La recherche paléoenvironnementale est l'un des principaux volets de la biogéographie. Les profondes mutations de l'environnement causées par l'activité humaine des 300 dernières années remettent en question, d'une part, la perspective traditionnelle sur les systèmes « naturels » antérieurs et, d'autre part, l'utilisation des conditions environnementales du passé pour prévoir les tendances en matière de changements environnementaux anthropiques. Dans de nombreux cas, en raison des profondes mutations de l'environnement provoquées par les humains, le passé pourrait ne pas être garant ni du présent ni du futur. En supprimant la séparation nette de la nature et des humains et le principe de l'uniformitarisme qui postule que les conditions environnementales du passé correspondent à celles d'aujourd'hui et de demain, on dégage une panoplie de grandes questions de recherche pour les biogéographes travaillant dans la tradition paléoenvironnementale. L'adoption de programmes de recherche qui envisagent d'utiliser les archives paléoenvironnementales pour éclairer les questions sur les interactions entre les humains et l'environnement offre non seulement de nouvelles avenues de recherche, mais peut aussi servir à renforcer les liens disciplinaires.

show abstract

“…Paul (2015) claimed that uniformitarianism is "a salient pillar of geology", as even in its "weak form" it implies that "suggestions based on present-day observations [can be] applied to past or future" and that, for example, processes in the Middle Pliocene will be replicated by those in the 21st Century with similar levels of carbon dioxide (Salzmann et al, 2008). Uniformitarianism is assumed in many natural sciences, e.g.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The prospect of global environmental relativities after an Anthropocene tipping point

Grainger

2017

Forest Policy and Economics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While there is vigorous debate on whether the Anthropocene epoch began in 1800, as originally proposed, less attention has been paid to the transition from Stage 2 of the existing three stage chronology, in which carbon dioxide emissions accelerated after 1945, to Stage 3, in which after 2015 acceleration is expected to reach criticality, and the Earth System is predicted to pass through an irreversible "tipping point" to a warmer state, unless this is averted by a new planetary stewardship. This paper critically evaluates this chronology and finds (a) that there is insufficient evidence for an imminent irreversible tipping point, and (b) that the international community established a new planetary stewardship in 1992 when it agreed on new conventions on climate change and biodiversity in response to three decades of warnings about global environmental problems. The paper proposes an alternative framework for conceptualizing the transition between Stages 2 and 3 of the Anthropocene. This generates the hypothesis that after the actual carbon dioxide concentration of the atmosphere has exceeded a critical threshold level, some biophysical processes will change at rates proportional to the difference between the carbon dioxide concentration of the atmosphere and the threshold level, and to the rate of climate change. Evidence is presented which suggests that this new reversible tipping point could have been passed before 1980, when enhanced forest growth was first observed in mature forests in Amazonia. Modelling simulations suggest that this temporal relativity effect could soon be joined by a spatio-temporal relativity effect, as species become committed to extinction and/or form new species assemblages in the 21st Century when climate zones shift. Since this new tipping point is reversible there is still time for planetary stewardship to become more effective and minimize the harmful effects of climate change.

show abstract

A question of uniformitarianism: Has the geological past become the key to humanity’s future?

Cited by 5 publications

References 39 publications

The geomorphology of the Anthropocene: emergence, status and implications

The geomorphology of the Anthropocene: emergence, status and implications

The new nature: Limitations and prospects of the paleoenvironmental tradition in biogeography in the 21^st century

The prospect of global environmental relativities after an Anthropocene tipping point

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

A question of uniformitarianism: Has the geological past become the key to humanity’s future?

Cited by 5 publications

References 39 publications

The geomorphology of the Anthropocene: emergence, status and implications

The geomorphology of the Anthropocene: emergence, status and implications

The new nature: Limitations and prospects of the paleoenvironmental tradition in biogeography in the 21st century

The prospect of global environmental relativities after an Anthropocene tipping point

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

The new nature: Limitations and prospects of the paleoenvironmental tradition in biogeography in the 21^st century