This book explores the broad trajectory of the Holocene epoch in a region defined as the North Atlantic Polar Triangle (NAPT). The text is multi-disciplinary and synthetic, and focuses on the area extending from the North Pole to the Equator, and covers 60 degrees of longitude, encompassing the entire North Atlantic and significant parts of the land-masses that surround it. It discusses the physical, ecological and cultural history of the NAPT and its bordering regions after the end of the Last Glacial Maximum. It outlines the long-term changing relationships between environmental processes and humans within this single space, providing insight into the broader and more complex interactions happening globally. The author proposes, on the basis of the changes that can be documented in the NAPT, probable trajectories of change in other equally complex but less well-documented, and less geographically constrained Earth systems. It contributes to the ongoing discussion of human transformation of the world, and the current debate about the designation of a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. It concludes by supporting the proposition that the Anthropocene is best understood as a boundary event, marking the upper limit of the Holocene, rather than as a new epoch. The intended audience includes physical geographers, anthropologists and readers exploring the synthetic analyses of the crisis humans currently confront as the world enters a period of extraordinary change
Author(s): Matthew Bampton
Series: Springer Polar Sciences
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 146
City: Cham
Preface
References
Acknowledgements
Contents
Chapter 1: Magnitude, Frequency, and Change in Earth Systems
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Geological Time and Chronostratigraphy
1.3 Extinctions
1.4 Climate Change
1.5 The North Atlantic Polar Triangle
1.6 The Anthropocene
1.7 Structure of the Book
References
Chapter 2: Before the Holocene
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Precambrian Eons
2.2.1 Hadean
2.2.2 Archean
2.2.3 Proterozoic
2.3 Phanerozoic
2.4 Paleozoic Periods
2.4.1 Cambrian
2.4.2 Ordovician
2.4.3 Silurian
2.4.4 Devonian
2.4.5 Carboniferous
2.4.6 Permian
2.5 Mesozoic Periods: Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous
2.5.1 Triassic
2.5.2 Jurassic
2.5.3 Cretaceous
2.6 Cenozoic Periods: Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary
2.6.1 Paleogene
2.6.2 Neogene: Miocene and Pliocene
2.6.3 Quaternary: Pleistocene
References
Chapter 3: The Greenlandian
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Climate and Ocean
3.3 Geography
3.4 Ecology
3.5 Culture
3.6 The End of the Greenlandian
References
Chapter 4: The Northgrippian
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Climate
4.3 Geography
4.4 Ecology and Culture
4.4.1 Ceramics
4.4.2 Domestication
4.4.3 Villages and Agroecosystems
4.4.4 Smelting
4.5 End of the Northgrippian
References
Chapter 5: The Meghalayan
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Climate
5.2.1 The Neoglacial
5.2.2 The Roman Warm Period
5.2.3 The Dark Ages Cold Period
5.2.4 The Medieval Climate Optimum
5.2.5 The Little Ice Age
5.3 Ecosystems
5.3.1 Eliminating the Competition
5.3.2 The Enhancement of Soils
5.3.3 The Management of Grazing Systems
5.3.4 The Manipulation of Hydrology
5.3.5 The Effects on Geomorphology
5.4 Culture
5.5 The End of the Meghalayan
References
Chapter 6: The Anthropocene Boundary Event
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Atmosphere
6.3 Cryosphere
6.4 Hydrosphere
6.5 Biosphere
6.6 Culture
6.6.1 Places and Connectivity
6.6.2 Materials and Machinery
6.6.3 Knowledge and Memory
6.6.4 Energy
6.7 The End of the Holocene
References
Epilogue
Thoughts and Hopes
References
Index
