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8 - Anthropocene

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2025

Andrey Ganopolski
Affiliation:
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
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Summary

The chapter details recent and future climate changes, primarily caused by anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. This period of time is now commonly referred to as the Anthropocene. The chapter begins with a critical discussion of the hypothesis that anthropogenic activities have already begun to significantly impact the global climate since the mid-Holocene. The climate changes observed during the last century and their attribution to human activities are presented. The concept of anthropogenic emission scenarios and projections of future climate change are then described. The results of several future model simulations are shown, and the most robust aspects of future climate change projections and their potential impacts on natural systems and humanity are discussed. Finally, the possibility of predicting the very long-term future (beyond the current millennia) is discussed and possible scenarios are presented.

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  • Anthropocene
  • Andrey Ganopolski, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
  • Book: Quaternary Climate Dynamics
  • Online publication: 17 December 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108292696.008
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  • Anthropocene
  • Andrey Ganopolski, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
  • Book: Quaternary Climate Dynamics
  • Online publication: 17 December 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108292696.008
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Anthropocene
  • Andrey Ganopolski, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
  • Book: Quaternary Climate Dynamics
  • Online publication: 17 December 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108292696.008
Available formats
×