As We Enter into the Anthropocene

Of particular importance in the Earth System are surface water and air, the two great fluids in Earth s environment. The great fluids can move and transport materials and energy. Air heated in equatorial regions expands and flows away from the equator carrying heat energy as 

FIGURE 1.6 The Earth System is essentially a closed system with respect to matter, which circulates within the five spheres of the environment. Energy enters the Earth System in the form of sunlight and leaves primarily as infrared radiation. The balance between these two flows largely determines Earth s climate and conditions leading to the Anthropocene. 

The time scale employed is important in studying and understanding the Earth System. In some cases, the time scale is very large, for example, hundreds of thousands of years in deducing past climate fluctuations from ice core data and millions of years from fossil records. It is important (and in a sense a bit frightening) to note that some major changes in the Earth System in the past have occurred very abruptly, within a decade or so. 

In answering all questions, it is assumed that the reader has access to the Internet from which general information, statistics, constants, and mathematical formulas required to solve problems may be obtained. These questions are designed to promote inquiry and thought rather than just finding material in the text. So in some cases, there may be several right answers. Therefore, if your answer reflects intellectual effort and a search for information from available sources, it may be considered to be right.  

Much of what is known about Earth s past history is based on paleoenvironmental studies. Doing some research on the Internet, suggest what is meant by these studies. How can past climatic conditions, temperature, and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels be inferred going back hundreds of thousands of years based on ice cores and even millions of years based on fossils  

---