Clément Poirier - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
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Papers by Clément Poirier
Science, 2016
Human activity is leaving a pervasive and persistent signature on Earth. Vigorous debate continue... more Human activity is leaving a pervasive and persistent signature on Earth. Vigorous debate
continues about whether this warrants recognition as a new geologic time unit known as
the Anthropocene. We review anthropogenic markers of functional changes in the Earth
system through the stratigraphic record. The appearance of manufactured materials in
sediments, including aluminum, plastics, and concrete, coincides with global spikes in
fallout radionuclides and particulates from fossil fuel combustion. Carbon, nitrogen, and
phosphorus cycles have been substantially modified over the past century. Rates of
sea-level rise and the extent of human perturbation of the climate system exceed Late
Holocene changes. Biotic changes include species invasions worldwide and accelerating
rates of extinction. These combined signals render the Anthropocene stratigraphically
distinct from the Holocene and earlier epochs.
Science, 2016
Human activity is leaving a pervasive and persistent signature on Earth. Vigorous debate continue... more Human activity is leaving a pervasive and persistent signature on Earth. Vigorous debate
continues about whether this warrants recognition as a new geologic time unit known as
the Anthropocene. We review anthropogenic markers of functional changes in the Earth
system through the stratigraphic record. The appearance of manufactured materials in
sediments, including aluminum, plastics, and concrete, coincides with global spikes in
fallout radionuclides and particulates from fossil fuel combustion. Carbon, nitrogen, and
phosphorus cycles have been substantially modified over the past century. Rates of
sea-level rise and the extent of human perturbation of the climate system exceed Late
Holocene changes. Biotic changes include species invasions worldwide and accelerating
rates of extinction. These combined signals render the Anthropocene stratigraphically
distinct from the Holocene and earlier epochs.