Anthropocene – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

A literary view of the human era: ‘Anthropocene Reading’

By Guest PostMay 1, 2018ScienceAnthropocene, anthropocene epoch, anthropocene reading, geologic record, human era, jesse oak taylor, tobias menely

The Anthropocene epoch — the proposed name for this time of significant human effect on the planet and its systems — represents a new context in which to study literature. A new book of essays co-edited by a UW English faculty member argues that literary studies, in turn, also can help us better understand the Anthropocene. (more…)

Study Offers Economical Solutions for Maintaining Critical Delta Environments

By Guest PostDecember 20, 2013Environment1954, age of humans, Anthropocene, black sea, bulgaria, Chernobyl, danube river delta, deforestation, delta environments, economical solutions, floodplain, frequency, Germany, historic data, hungary, iron gates dams, liviu giosan, main european waterway, nuclear bomb testing, nuclear reactor, radiocarbon analysis, radioisotope cesium 137, rising sea level, romania, sandy barriers, sea level, warming climate, wave dominated deltas, whoi

Millions of people across the world live or depend on deltas for their livelihoods.

Formed at the lowest part of a river where its water flow slows and spreads into the sea, deltas are sediment-rich, biodiverse areas, a valuable source of seafood, fertile ground for agriculture, and host to ports important for transportation.

At least half of the deltas around the world are so-called “wave dominated deltas” – open to the sea and under the impact of wave erosion. And many more deltas will come under wave dominance as dammed rivers carry less and less sediment. In a warming climate, sea levels are rising and storms are increasing in frequency and severity, posing threats to these deltas and the people and habitats dependent on them. (more…)

Nitrogen From Humans Pollutes Remote Lakes For More Than A Century

By Guest PostJanuary 4, 2012Environmentacid rain, agricultural fertilizers, alexander wolfe, Anthropocene, aquatic archeology, atmosphere, atmospheric currents, biologically active nitrogen, bottom deposits, carbon, chemical composition, chemical signals, climate, daniel schindler, double whammy, earth, effects of pollution, excess nitrogen, fertilizer use, fingerprint, global biogeochemical cycles, gordon holtgrieve, high lake, historical changes, human activities, human derived nitrogen, journal science, lakes, natural sources of nitrogen, new geological era, nitrogen, nitrogen characteristics of lake sediments, nitrogen cycle, nitrogen pollution, northern europe, northern hemisphere, peter leavitt, planetary scale changes, remote ecosystems, smog, southwest alaska, statistical models, university of Alberta, university of washington, us rocky mountains, vital nutrient for life, water pollution

Nitrogen derived from human activities has polluted lakes throughout the Northern Hemisphere for more than a century and the fingerprint of these changes is evident even in remote lakes located thousands of miles from the nearest city, industrial area or farm.

The findings, published in the journal Science Dec. 16, are based on historical changes in the chemical composition of bottom deposits in 36 lakes using an approach similar to aquatic archeology. More than three quarters of the lakes, ranging from the U.S. Rocky Mountains to northern Europe, showed a distinctive signal of nitrogen released from human activities before the start of the 20^th century, said Gordon Holtgrieve, a postdoctoral researcher at University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences and lead author of the report. The UW and a dozen other research institutions contributed to the research. (more…)

Man-made Global Warming Started With Ancient Hunters

By Guest PostJuly 2, 2010Environment, Scienceadam wolf, agriculture, agu, alaska, american geophysical union, Anthropocene, asia, beringia, betula, birch trees, california, carnegie institution, carnegie institution for science, chris doughty, chris field, climate, ecology, elephants, emissions, geological age, geophysical research letters, global warming, grassland, greenhouse gas, impact on climate, mammoths, NASA, North America, prehistoric farmers, russia, science in Stanford, Siberia, yukon territory

WASHINGTON — Even before the dawn of agriculture, people may have caused the planet to warm up, a new study suggests.

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Hello to ‘Anthropocene’ or still in Holocene!!

By ShamsFebruary 1, 2008EnvironmentAnthropocene, climate changes, Dutch Nobel prize winner, ecosystem, Holocene, industrial revolution, Paul Crutzen

‘Anthropocene’ is probably the first human induced geological time unit in Earth’s history.

Human induced!! …….because it’s all about climate changes and its consequence on the ecosystem. Anthropocene (Greek word ‘Anthropo’ means