The Anthropocene

Question 1

how does poverty impact on the environment

Answer 1

causes environmental degradation to the immediate surroundings in order to survive

Question 2

give Malthus’ argument on poverty and resource scarcity, and the anti-malthusian argument

Answer 2

reproduction is a biological phenomenon beyond our control, human pop will grow exponentially until famine or resource limits.
anti-malthusians argue technology can support a greater number of people on earth

Question 3

what factor helped to initiate and sustain human diffusion?

Answer 3

physical geography and landscape

Question 4

what is the earliest known human-made landscape?

Answer 4

the Messak, Saharan carpet of tools

consists of lithic fragments

Question 5

what may have been a factor in the creation of grasslands in Southern Africa

Answer 5

use of fire to clear land for farming

Question 6

where did humans diffuse from and when

Answer 6

East Africa, 50,000 years ago

Question 7

what allowed humans to reach the americas, and when

Answer 7

Bering land bridge, 15,000 ya

Question 8

whenabouts did farming begin

Answer 8

in the transition from pleistocene to holocene

Question 9

what river aided in the spread of humans, ideas, agriculture etc

Answer 9

the Danube corridor

Question 10

describe briefly changes to the human population over the last 10,000 years

Answer 10

huge growth
same amount of land but much more people
begin to transform the environment, accelerated by agriculture

Question 11

when did the industrial revolution roughly begin

Answer 11

1750

Question 12

how did land use change between 1700 and today

Answer 12

decrease in forest and increase in pasture land

Question 13

how much of the land surface has been modified by humans

Answer 13

over 50%

Question 14

give two regions where groundwater is being overused

Answer 14

Nevada and Dubai

Question 15

what evidence of pollution can be seen at the poles

Answer 15

cryconite- powdery windblown dust that builds up in ice/snow

made of soot, dust, microbes

Question 16

name three resources that increased exponentially in use after the industrial revolution

Answer 16

water, fertiliser and paper

Question 17

what are the three ages of the holocene according to the international union of geological sciences

Answer 17

greenlandian
northgrippian
meghalayan

Question 18

give 4 impacts on the geosphere

Answer 18

soil erosion
desertification
waste disposal
toxins

Question 19

3 impacts on the atmosphere

Answer 19

acid precipitation
smog
ozone depletion

Question 20

4 impacts on the biosphere

Answer 20

over fishing
loss of species diversity
loss of forests
coral bleaching

Question 21

give 5 impacts on the hydrosphere

Answer 21

groundwater depletion, groundwater contamination, surface water contamination and eutrophication, dams and diversions impacting sedimentation and river transport, oil spills

Question 22

how much more absorptive of infrared is methane than CO2

Answer 22

25 times

Question 23

by how much has methane increased since the indust. revolution

Answer 23

150%

Question 24

how much have global temperatures risen since 1850-1900 according to the IPCC

Answer 24

0.84-1.10 degrees

Question 25

potential impacts on the hydrosphere with increased warming

Answer 25

more evaporation, more precipitation in some places, warmer and drier interiors, expanding oceans as glaciers melt, impact on thermohaline circulation and the gulf stream, more flooding, more hurricanes

Question 26

potential impacts on the biosphere with increased warming

Answer 26

ecosystem disruption with shifting precipitation, changes to forest boundaries, drought in mid continental agricultural regions, changes to aquatic organisms

Question 27

potential changes to the cryosphere with increased warming

Answer 27

ablation, worldwide mountain glacier regression, growing ice sheets due to increased precipitation? changes to albedo

Question 28

potential impacts on the geosphere with increasing warming

Answer 28

increased rate of decomposition in the soil, more release of CO2, more release of methane as gas hydrates break down in sediments

Question 29

3 main options to deal with impact of climate change

Answer 29

mitigation adaptation intervention: geo-engineering-> limit incoming radiation, removal of CO2, enhance effectiveness of ocean to take in emissions, storing emissions underground