13 results on '"Zalasiewicz, Jan"'
Search Results
2. The Anthropocene
- Author
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Zalasiewicz, Jan and Waters, Colin
- Published
- 2015
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3. Klimat Ziemi od archaiku po antropocen
- Author
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Zalasiewicz, Jan, Williams, Mark, and Pałasz, Michał
- Subjects
katastrofa klimatyczna ,climate changes ,carbon dioxide levels ,global warming ,great acceleration ,paleoklimat ,carbon dioxide concentration ,Międzynarodowa Komisja Stratygrafii ,antropocen ,wielkie przyspieszenie ,koncentracja dwutlenku węgla ,stężenie dwutlenku węgla ,zmiany klimatu ,efekt szklarniowy ,warstwy geologiczne ,efekt cieplarniany ,hipertermalia ,International Commission on Stratigraphy ,globalne ocieplenie ,hyperthermals ,hipertermalium ,hothouse earth ,climate change ,geological layers ,hyperthermal ,katastrofa klimatyczno-ekologiczna ,glasshouse effect ,anthropocene ,kryzys klimatyczny ,kryzys klimatyczno-ekologiczny ,paleogeologia ,ziemia supercieplarniana ,Anthropocene Working Group ,climate-ecological disaster ,zmiana klimatu ,climate crisis ,ziemia śnieżka ,paleoclimate ,greenhouse state ,modelowanie klimatu ,Grupa Robocza ds. Antropocenu ,stratigraphy ,greenhouse effect ,snowball earth ,climate modelling ,paelogeology ,stratygrafia ,climate disaster ,climate-ecological crisis ,okres cieplarniany - Abstract
Koncentrujemy się tu na porównaniu współczesnych zmian klimatu z naszym rozumieniem tego, jak klimat zmieniał się w przeszłości. Takie porównanie jest użyteczne, a nawet ze względów krytycznych ważne, gdyż pokazuje, w jaki sposób można tworzyć powiązania między teraźniejszością a odległą przeszłością, a także na podstawie czego klimat jest coraz częściej traktowany jako fundamentalny – być może najważniejszy – regulator zdolności Ziemi do podtrzymywania życia, także naszego. Być może trudno zdać sobie sprawę z powagi sytuacji, jeśli uwzględnić nasze osobiste doświadczenia dotyczące zmieniającej się jak w kalejdoskopie pogody oraz naszą ogólną świadomość tego, że klimat bywał w przeszłości bardzo odmienny, jak w czasie geologicznie nie tak znów odległych epok lodowcowych, które ukształtowały krajobraz, który znamy dziś. Jednak świadectwa zapisane w skałach ukazują, jak ściśle życie i klimat są powiązane. Kiedy już uświadomimy sobie siłę i znaczenie tych połączeń oraz pojmiemy faktyczną prędkość i skalę zachodzących obecnie zmian, nie sposób myśleć o nich bez niepokoju, a nawet głębokiej troski o losy przyszłych pokoleń. Stawka w tej grze naprawdę nie może być już wyższa. We focus here on comparing contemporary climate change with our understanding of how climate has changed in the past. This kind of comparison is useful, indeed critical, because it demonstrates how connections can be made between the present and the deep past, and also because it shows how climate is increasingly understood to be a fundamental control – and perhaps the most important control – on Earth’s suitability to support life – including now our own lives. This importance can be difficult to appreciate, given our personal experiences of kaleidoscopically changing weather, and our general awareness that climate has been very different in the past, as in the geologically recent ice ages, that shaped the landscape that we now walk on. But the evidence now emerging from the rocks shows just how closely life and climate are intertwined. And, once the strength and significance of these connections are realised, and the true speed and scale of today’s ongoing changes are understood, it is impossible to contemplate them without feelings of apprehension, and indeed of grave concern for the lives of future generations. The stakes around this planetary phenomenon really could not be any higher.
- Published
- 2022
4. Stratigraphy of the Anthropocene
- Author
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Zalasiewicz, Jan, Williams, Mark, Fortey, Richard, Smith, Alan, Barry, Tiffany L., Coe, Angela L., Bown, Paul R., Rawson, Peter F., Gale, Andrew, Gibbard, Philip, Gregory, F. John, Hounslow, Mark W., Kerr, Andrew C., Pearson, Paul, Knox, Robert, Powell, John, Waters, Colin, Marshall, John, Oates, Michael, and Stone, Philip
- Published
- 2011
5. The Anthropocene: a comparison with the Ordovician–Silurian boundary
- Author
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Zalasiewicz, Jan and Williams, Mark
- Published
- 2014
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6. Palaeontological signatures of the Anthropocene are distinct from those of previous epochs.
- Author
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Williams, Mark, Zalasiewicz, Jan, Barnosky, Anthony D., Leinfelder, Reinhold, Head, Martin J., Waters, Colin N., McCarthy, Francine M.G., Cearreta, Alejandro, Aldridge, David C., McGann, Mary, Hamilton, Paul B., Summerhayes, Colin P., Syvitski, Jaia, Zinke, Jens, Cundy, Andrew B., Fiałkiewicz-Kozieł, Barbara, McNeill, J.R., Kuwae, Michinobu, Rose, Neil L., and Turner, Simon D.
- Subjects
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GEOLOGICAL time scales , *ANTHROPOCENE Epoch , *MEDIUM density fiberboard , *INTRODUCED species , *HOLOCENE Epoch , *LANDFILLS - Abstract
The "Great Acceleration" beginning in the mid-20th century provides the causal mechanism of the Anthropocene, which has been proposed as a new epoch of geological time beginning in 1952 CE. Here we identify key parameters and their diagnostic palaeontological signals of the Anthropocene, including the rapid breakdown of discrete biogeographical ranges for marine and terrestrial species, rapid changes to ecologies resulting from climate change and ecological degradation, the spread of exotic foodstuffs beyond their ecological range, and the accumulation of reconfigured forest materials such as medium density fibreboard (MDF) all being symptoms of the Great Acceleration. We show: 1) how Anthropocene successions in North America, South America, Africa, Oceania, Europe, and Asia can be correlated using palaeontological signatures of highly invasive species and changes to ecologies that demonstrate the growing interconnectivity of human systems; 2) how the unique depositional settings of landfills may concentrate the remains of organisms far beyond their geographical range of environmental tolerance; and 3) how a range of settings may preserve a long-lived, unique palaeontological record within post-mid-20th century deposits. Collectively these changes provide a global palaeontological signature that is distinct from all past records of deep-time biotic change, including those of the Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
7. Invasive mollusc faunas of the River Thames exemplify biostratigraphical characterization of the Anthropocene.
- Author
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Himson, Stephen J., Kinsey, Naome P., Aldridge, David C., Williams, Mark, and Zalasiewicz, Jan
- Subjects
CORBICULA fluminea ,MOLLUSKS ,ZEBRA mussel ,BALLAST water ,RIVERS ,CLAMS ,MANILA clam - Abstract
Profound changes to the species configuration of ecosystems globally during the 19th to 21st centuries, resulting from the introduction of neobiota, have produced a distinctive palaeontological signature in sedimentary deposits, here exemplified by those of the River Thames. Coring near Teddington Lock (ca. 4.3 m above sea level, ca. 89 km upstream from the mouth of the Thames estuary) yielded dense assemblages of shells of the invasive Asian clam Corbicula fluminea (recently invaded in 2004) and the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha (invaded 1824), which together accounted for 96% of individuals sampled. Population densities of C. fluminea of over 6000 individuals per m2 were maintained for a depth of 1 m indicating that the Asian clam is an important biostratigraphical marker in the Thames for sedimentary deposits accumulating since 2004. The first modern European occurrence of C. fluminea was in Portugal in 1980. In 1987, the first occurrence of C. fluminea on the northern coast of South America was observed in the Caripe River, Venezuela. The non‐native range of D. polymorpha was restricted to continental Europe for over 200 years until it appeared in the Great Lakes, USA, in 1986 having been transported in ballast water. Within three years, it reached populations of over 750,000 individuals per m2 and it is presently recorded in 35 states. Therefore, the pan‐Atlantic range expansion of D. polymorpha, coupled with the recent invasion history of C. fluminea in Venezuela and Portugal, identifies a biostratigraphical interval in sedimentary deposits forming from the early 1980s that can be correlated between Europe and the Americas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
8. The stratigraphical signature of the Anthropocene in England and its wider context.
- Author
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Zalasiewicz, Jan, Waters, Colin, Williams, Mark, Aldridge, David C., and Wilkinson, Ian P.
- Abstract
The Anthropocene deposits of England, here regarded as those formed after ∼1950 CE, are now extensive, take various forms, and may be characterized and recognized by a number of stratigraphic signals, such as artificial radionuclides, pesticide residues, microplastics, enhanced fly ash levels, concrete fragments and a novel variety of ‘technofossils’ and neobiotic species. They include the uppermost parts of both ‘natural’ deposits such as the sediment layers formed in lakes and estuaries, and more directly human-made or human-influenced ones such as landfill deposits and the ‘artificial ground’ beneath urban areas and around major constructions. ‘Negative deposits’ include the worked areas of quarries and regions such as the English Fenland, where thick peat deposits have ablated to leave a strongly modified underlying landscape, and extend beneath into the subterranean realm as mine workings, metro systems and boreholes. The production of these is still rapidly increasing and evolving in character, while the early signs of global change, such as warming, sea level rise, and modifications to biotic assemblages, are beginning to further modify the emerging geology of this new phase of Earth history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
9. Petrifying Earth Process: The Stratigraphic Imprint of Key Earth System Parameters in the Anthropocene.
- Author
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Zalasiewicz, Jan, Williams, Mark, Steffen, Will, Leinfelder, Reinhold, and Waters, Colin
- Subjects
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STRATIGRAPHIC geology , *ANTHROPOCENE Epoch , *EARTH system science , *GEOLOGICAL time scales - Abstract
The Anthropocene concept arose within the Earth System science (ESS) community, albeit explicitly as a geological (stratigraphical) time term. Its current analysis by the stratigraphical community, as a potential formal addition to the Geological Time Scale, necessitates comparison of the methodologies and patterns of enquiry of these two communities. One means of comparison is to consider some of the most widely used results of the ESS, the ‘planetary boundaries’ concept of Rockström and colleagues, and the ‘Great Acceleration’ graphs of Steffen and colleagues, in terms of their stratigraphical expression. This expression varies from virtually non-existent (stratospheric ozone depletion) to pronounced and many-faceted (primary energy use), while in some cases stratigraphical proxies may help constrain anthropogenic process (atmospheric aerosol loading). The Anthropocene concepts of the ESS and stratigraphy emerge as complementary, and effective stratigraphic definition should facilitate wider transdisciplinary communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017
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10. Stratigraphic and Earth System approaches to defining the Anthropocene.
- Author
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Steffen, Will, Leinfelder, Reinhold, Zalasiewicz, Jan, Waters, Colin N., Williams, Mark, Summerhayes, Colin, Barnosky, Anthony D., Cearreta, Alejandro, Crutzen, Paul, Edgeworth, Matt, Ellis, Erle C., Fairchild, Ian J., Galuszka, Agnieszka, Grinevald, Jacques, Haywood, Alan, Ivar do Sul, Juliana, Jeandel, Catherine, McNeill, J.R., Odada, Eric, and Oreskes, Naomi
- Subjects
ANTHROPOCENE Epoch ,STRATIGRAPHIC geology ,EARTH system science - Abstract
Stratigraphy provides insights into the evolution and dynamics of the Earth System over its long history. With recent developments in Earth System science, changes in Earth System dynamics can now be observed directly and projected into the near future. An integration of the two approaches provides powerful insights into the nature and significance of contemporary changes to Earth. From both perspectives, the Earth has been pushed out of the Holocene Epoch by human activities, with the mid-20th century a strong candidate for the start date of the Anthropocene, the proposed new epoch in Earth history. Here we explore two contrasting scenarios for the future of the Anthropocene, recognizing that the Earth System has already undergone a substantial transition away from the Holocene state. A rapid shift of societies toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals could stabilize the Earth System in a state with more intense interglacial conditions than in the late Quaternary climate regime and with little further biospheric change. In contrast, a continuation of the present Anthropocene trajectory of growing human pressures will likely lead to biotic impoverishment and a much warmer climate with a significant loss of polar ice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
11. When did the Anthropocene begin? A mid-twentieth century boundary level is stratigraphically optimal.
- Author
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Zalasiewicz, Jan, Waters, Colin N., Williams, Mark, Barnosky, Anthony D., Cearreta, Alejandro, Crutzen, Paul, Ellis, Erle, Ellis, Michael A., Fairchild, Ian J., Grinevald, Jacques, Haff, Peter K., Hajdas, Irka, Leinfelder, Reinhold, McNeill, John, Odada, Eric O., Poirier, Clément, Richter, Daniel, Steffen, Will, Summerhayes, Colin, and Syvitski, James P.M.
- Subjects
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ANTHROPOCENE Epoch , *HOLOCENE Epoch , *INDUSTRIAL revolution , *RADIOISOTOPES , *CHEMOSTRATIGRAPHY - Abstract
We evaluate the boundary of the Anthropocene geological time interval as an epoch, since it is useful to have a consistent temporal definition for this increasingly used unit, whether the presently informal term is eventually formalized or not. Of the three main levels suggested – an ‘early Anthropocene’ level some thousands of years ago; the beginning of the Industrial Revolution at ∼1800 CE (Common Era); and the ‘Great Acceleration’ of the mid-twentieth century – current evidence suggests that the last of these has the most pronounced and globally synchronous signal. A boundary at this time need not have a Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP or ‘golden spike’) but can be defined by a Global Standard Stratigraphic Age (GSSA), i.e. a point in time of the human calendar. We propose an appropriate boundary level here to be the time of the world's first nuclear bomb explosion, on July 16th 1945 at Alamogordo, New Mexico; additional bombs were detonated at the average rate of one every 9.6 days until 1988 with attendant worldwide fallout easily identifiable in the chemostratigraphic record. Hence, Anthropocene deposits would be those that may include the globally distributed primary artificial radionuclide signal, while also being recognized using a wide range of other stratigraphic criteria. This suggestion for the Holocene–Anthropocene boundary may ultimately be superseded, as the Anthropocene is only in its early phases, but it should remain practical and effective for use by at least the current generation of scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2015
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12. Dating the Cambrian Purley Shale Formation, Midland Microcraton, England.
- Author
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WILLIAMS, MARK, RUSHTON, ADRIAN W. A., COOK, ALAN F., ZALASIEWICZ, JAN, MARTIN, ADAM P., CONDON, DANIEL J., and WINROW, PAUL
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ZIRCON ,BENTONITE ,SHALE ,FOSSIL animals ,RADIOMETRY ,RADIOCARBON dating - Abstract
Zircons from a bentonite near the base of the Purley Shale Formation in the Nuneaton area, Warwickshire, yield a 206Pb/238U age of 517.22 ± 0.31 Ma. Based on the fauna of small shelly fossils and the brachiopod Micromitra phillipsii in the underlying Home Farm Member of the Hartshill Sandstone Formation, trilobite fragments that are questionably referred to Callavia from the basal Purley Shale Formation, and the presence of trilobites diagnostic of the sabulosa Biozone 66 m above the base of the Purley Shale Formation, the bentonite likely dates an horizon within Cambrian Stage 3, at about the level of the Fallotaspis or basal Callavia Biozone. This is consistent with bentonite ages from other localities in southern Britain, which constrain the age of the lower and uppermost parts of Cambrian Stage 3. The new date provides additional chronological control on the earliest occurrence of trilobites in the Midland Microcraton, a date for the marine transgression at the base of the Purley Shale Formation, and is the first radiometric age from the Cambrian succession of Warwickshire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2013
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
13. A refined graptolite biostratigraphy for the late Ordovician–early Silurian of central Wales.
- Author
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BLACKETT, EDWARD, PAGE, ALEX, ZALASIEWICZ, JAN, WILLIAMS, MARK, RICKARDS, BARRIE, and DAVIES, JEREMY
- Subjects
GRAPTOLITES ,ORDOVICIAN stratigraphic geology ,SILURIAN stratigraphic geology ,SEPTUM (Brain) - Abstract
Morphometric analysis of graptolites from the persculptus and acuminatus biozones of central Wales identifies four successive morphospecies of normalograptids. These graptolites can be used for biostratigraphical subdivision of these strata as follows: (i) an early persculptus Biozone interval containing broad forms with geniculate thecae that have the morphology of Persculptograptus persculptus with an early insertion point for the full median septum (theca 1
1 ); (ii) a supra-adjacent level of early persculptus Biozone age, with narrower, parallel-sided forms, that have been referred to as Normalograptus? aff. parvulus and have a slightly later insertion point for the full median septum (theca 12 ); (iii) a third interval, encompassing the later part of the persculptus Biozone to the early acuminatus Biozone, with Normalograptus? cf. parvulus, which has the full median septum delayed to the level of theca 3–7; and (iv) a younger interval, in the mid- acuminatus Biozone with Persculptograptus cf. persculptus specimens that do not display the median septum on its reverse side. These taxa can be used for refined biostratigraphy and correlation in the late Ordovician and early Silurian of central Wales. The progressive delay in the insertion of the median septum in these taxa may have wider application for the correlation of the interval immediately after the Hirnantian glacial maximum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2009
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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