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Anthroposphere

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Part of the environment that is affected by humans

The anthroposphere refers to that part of the Earth system that is made or modified by humans for use in human activities and human habitats. The term has been suggested for inclusion as one of the Earth's spheres, while others use the related term technosphere. The term "anthroposphere" was first coined by Austrian geologist Eduard Suess in 1862.

The anthroposphere can be viewed as a human-generated equivalent to the biosphere. While the biosphere is the total biomass of the Earth and its interaction with its systems, the anthroposphere is the total mass of human-generated systems and materials, including the human population, and its interaction with the Earth's systems. A recent study estimated the mass of anthropogenic creations as 1.1 trillion tons in 2020, equivalent to the mass of all living organisms that comprise the biosphere. However, while the biosphere is able to efficiently produce and recycle materials through processes like photosynthesis and decomposition, the anthroposphere is highly inefficient at sustaining itself. As human technology becomes more evolved, such as that required to launch objects into orbit or to cause deforestation, the impact of human activities on the environment potentially increases. The anthroposphere is the youngest of all the Earth's spheres, yet has made an enormous impact on the Earth and its systems in a very short time.

Some consider the term anthroposphere to be synonymous with the noosphere, though the noosphere is often used to refer specifically to the sphere of rational human thought, or ‘the terrestrial sphere of thinking substance’. The anthroposphere is also closely related to the concept of the "technosphere" developed by geologist Peter Haff, historian of science Jürgen Renn, and others. The technosphere refers to all of the technological objects and systems manufactured and created by humans, as contrasted for instance to the biosphere. The technosphere is also distinct from the anthroposphere in these sense that the anthroposphere encompasses not only technologies but cultural, social, economic, and political systems, as well as human behaviors and practices.

Aspects of the anthroposphere include: mines from which minerals are obtained; mechanized agriculture and transportation which support the global food system; oil and gas fields; computer-based systems including the Internet; educational systems; landfills; factories; atmospheric pollution; artificial satellites in space, both active satellites and space junk; forestry and deforestation; urban development; transportation systems including roads, highways, and subways; nuclear installations; warfare.

Technofossils are another interesting aspect of the anthroposphere. These can include objects like mobile phones that contain a diverse range of metals and man-made materials, raw materials like aluminum that do not exist in nature, and agglomerations of plastics created in areas like the Pacific Garbage Patch and on the beaches of the Pacific Islands.

See also

References

  1. Kuhn, A.; Heckelei, T. (4 June 2010). "Anthroposphere". In Speth, Peter; Christoph, Michael; Diekkrüger, Bernd (eds.). Impacts of Global Change on the Hydrological Cycle in West and Northwest Africa. pp. 282–341. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-12957-5_8. ISBN 978-3-642-12956-8.
  2. Hermann-Pillath, Carsten (2018). "The Case for a New Discipline: Technosphere Science". Ecological Economics. 149: 212–225. Bibcode:2018EcoEc.149..212H. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.03.024.
  3. Suess E (1862) Der Boden der Stadt Wien nach seiner Bildungsweise, Beschaffenheit und seinen Beziehungen zum Bürgerlichen Leben. Eine geologische Studie. Wien: Wilhelm Braumüller, 326 pp.
  4. Elhacham, Emily; Ben-Uri, Liad; Grozovski, Jonathan; Bar-On, Yinon; Milo, Ron (2020). "Global human-made mass exceeds all living biomass". Nature. 588 (7838): 442–444. Bibcode:2020Natur.588..442E. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-3010-5. PMID 33299177.
  5. Haff, P. K. (2013-10-24). "Technology as a geological phenomenon: implications for human well-being". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 395 (1). Geological Society of London: 301–309. doi:10.1144/sp395.4. ISSN 0305-8719.
  6. Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre (1964). The Future of Man. London: Collins. p. 157.
  7. Renn, Jürgen (June 2022). "From the History of Science to Geoanthropology". Isis. 113 (2): 377–385. doi:10.1086/719703.https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/719703
  8. Zalasiewicz, Jan (28 March 2018). "The unbearable burden of the technosphere". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  9. "Technosphere".
  10. Zalasiewicz, Jan (2017). "Scale and diversity of the physical technosphere: A geological perspective". The Anthropocene Review. 4 (1): 9–22. Bibcode:2017AntRv...4....9Z. doi:10.1177/2053019616677743. hdl:11250/2553087.

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