Mark Maslin

Potassium in our soil is running low, threatening global food security – new study proposes a way out — University of Edinburgh Research Explorer Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content University of Edinburgh Research Explorer Home University of Edinburgh Research Explorer Logo Help & FAQ Home Research output Profiles Research units Projects Datasets Prizes Activities Press/Media Equipment Search by expertise, name or affiliation Potassium in our soil is running low, threatening global food security – new study proposes a way out Will Brownlie, Mark Maslin, Peter Alexander School of Geosciences Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article Overview Projects (1) Original language English Specialist publication The Conversation Publication status Published - 19 Feb 2024 Access to Document https://…

Food security and healthy ecosystems are placed in jeopardy by poor potassium management. Six actions may prevent declines in crop yield due to soil potassium deficiency, safeguard farmers from potash price volatility and address environmental concerns associated with potash mining.

EconPapers: Why it was right to reject the Anthropocene as a geological epoch EconPapers Economics at your fingertips EconPapers Home About EconPapers Working Papers Journal Articles Books and Chapters Software Components Authors JEL codes New Economics Papers Advanced Search EconPapers FAQ Archive maintainers FAQ Cookies at EconPapers Format for printing The RePEc blog The RePEc plagiarism page Why it was right to reject the Anthropocene as a geological epoch Mark Maslin (), Matthew Edgeworth, Erle C. Ellis and Philip L. Gibbard Nature, 2024, vol. 629, issue 8010, 41-41 Abstract: Letter to the Editor Keywords: Geology; Environmental sciences; Climate change; Sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers) Date: 2024 References: Add references at CitEc Citations: Downloads: (external link) https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01268-1 Abstract (text/html) Access to …

Current debate on the status and character of the Anthropocene is focussed on whether this interval of geological time should be designated as a formal unit of epoch/series rank in the International Chronostratigraphic Chart/Geological Time Scale, or whether it is more appropriate for it to be considered as an informal ‘event’ comparable in significance with other major transformative events in deeper geological time. The case for formalizing the Anthropocene as a chronostratigraphical unit with a base at approximately 1950 CE is being developed by the Anthropocene Working Group of the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy. Here we outline the alternative position and explain why the time‐transgressive nature of human impact on global environmental systems that is reflected in the recent stratigraphical record means that the Anthropocene is better seen not as a series/epoch with a fixed lower boundary …

An epistemological lens on the development of the Anthropocene concept illuminates what have been regarded, but just as importantly what have not been regarded, as pertinent overlapping developments. Such is the intensifying impact of humanity on the Earth since the concept was proposed and became popular, the historical and contemporary dimensions of its significance are unprecedented for what began as a potentially straightforward Geological Timescale addition. The debate about defining the Anthropocene, likely to intensify during 2023 through its four-step review and decision process, has recently expanded beyond a mid-20 th century isochronous start of an epoch to include an alternative long-term, diachronous and ongoing event. The approach to an optimal definition is propelled by reminders of breakthrough perspectives linking nature and culture, the frameworks of discourse at four 2022-23 Anthropocene conferences, the advantages of a transdisciplinary approach, and a gearshift in context from the Earth to the Earth System to the Earth-Human System. The limitations of a stratigraphic definition for the Anthropocene and the value of a geologically inspired 21 st century renaissance that highlights the pressing need for greater harmony between environmental and societal movements are discussed. Mindful that the United Nations is formulating a strategy for the world beyond its 2015-2030 agenda of Sustainable Development Goals, the ‘Anthropocene Event’concept provides a robust platform to understand how human activities have deteriorated the global environment, in turn providing the baseline for a ‘Anthropocene …

The study of the mid-Holocene climate tipping point in tropical and subtropical Africa is the subject of current research, not only because there is a comparatively simple but nonlinear relationship between the change in cause (orbital forcing) and the accelerated response of the monsoon system, but also because the African monsoon is an example of a potentially positive evolution of living conditions for humans: modeling results suggest that the Sahel is expanding northward in the wake of human-induced recent global warming, with green belts spreading northward. New literature distinguishes tipping elements such as the African monsoon according to the nature of the cause and the response of the climate system. Research here focuses primarily on tipping points of the type, which is characterized by a critical slowing down and a decreasing recovery from perturbations. The African monsoon, on the other hand …

In response to our definition of the Anthropocene as a geological event analogous to the Great Oxidation Event and other complex, transformative events in the geological record (Gibbard et al., 2022a, 2022b), Waters et al. (2022) offers a suite of detailed and novel terminology for the Anthropocene with little or no previous support in the geological literature. The term “event” is already widely used as a general term in geology. We maintain that the Anthropocene is best understood through this general definition as a complex, heterogenous and ongoing event composed of manifold identifiable events occurring within it.

The food we consume has a massive impact on our planet. Agriculture takes up half the habitable land on Earth, destroys forests and other ecosystems and produces a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Meat and dairy specifically accounts for around 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate justice is not just a financial transaction to protect the environment. It needs to be seen as the protection of the most vulnerable in society after centuries of resource exploitation. African countries disproportionately face impacts of climate change on their environments, their economies, their resources and their infrastructure. This leads to greater vulnerability and increased exposure to the negative effects of a changing climate. In this article, we highlight the importance of climate justice and its role within the United Nations negotiations, and ultimately in concrete action. We discuss current climate impacts across key sectors in the African region, with a focus on health, infrastructure, food and water scarcity, energy and finance. All sectors are affected by climate change. They are interconnected and under threat. This triggers a ripple effect, where threats in one sector have a knock-on effect on other sectors. We …

The last 35 years have been a period of intense and continuous international negotiations to deal with climate change. During the same period of time humanity has doubled the amount of anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. There has, however, been progress and some notable successes in the negotiations. In 2015, at COP21 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 196 countries adopted the Paris Agreement stating that they would limit global temperatures to well below 2 C above pre-industrial levels and would pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels. The first review of the Paris Agreement was at COP26 in Glasgow with many countries pledging to go to net zero emissions by the middle of the century. But currently these pledges, if fulfilled, will only limit the global average temperature to between 2.4 C and 2.8 C. At COP27 in …

The Lancet Countdown is an international research collaboration that independently monitors the evolving impacts of climate change on health, and the emerging health opportunities of climate action. In its eighth iteration, this 2023 report draws on the expertise of 114 scientists and health practitioners from 52 research institutions and UN agencies worldwide to provide its most comprehensive assessment yet.

After decades-long advocacy by developing countries, the establishment of a Loss and Damage (L&D) fund during COP27 was monumental. With the fund still in its infancy, we stress the need to understand the differentiation between the types of finance that are suitable for other forms of climate action from those required for addressing loss and damage. We consider potential applications of the funding in the fields of water resources, energy, transport, human rights and human security. Our sectoral analysis allows us to identify both some of the innovative ways in which loss and damage finance could build the climate resilience of societies while also encouraging the transition to cleaner forms of energy, transport and agriculture. We also suggest that loss and damage finance should be delivered in a way that is attentive to and able to redress some of the root causes of vulnerability while also providing developing countries with the support they most need in the face of climate impacts. We offer principles that could guide a high-functioning L&D fund: contribution into the fund, consistent contributions, clarity and governance, turnaround and response times, and transparency. Providing L&D funding should entail commitments to protecting and promoting human rights, and participatory and inclusive fund governance. Ultimately, the fund will need to be reactive to climate events yet proactive in understanding affected communities’ needs so that finance allocated is not just a band-aid solution but addresses the root causes of the …

The annual Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings are pivotal events for collective action to combat climate change. This year, as world leaders, government officials and observers convene in Dubai, UAE, for COP28, climate justice will be a central theme. In light of these negotiations, we present an updated version of UCL’s carbon footprint calculator to compare different modes of transport from the UK to COP28 in Dubai. Analysing private jet data from the 2022 COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, we then investigate the carbon footprint of private jet travel to COP28. The carbon footprint calculator demonstrates the carbon inefficiency of air travel compared to alternative modes of transport to COP28. As the most polluting form of transport, the carbon footprint of private jets is disproportionately high. We find that for a journey from London to Dubai, private jet travel is 9 times more polluting than a commercial flight, 35 times more than train transport and 52 times more than coach travel. Given the primary objective of COP conferences to discuss and negotiate climate change policies and actions, the use of private jets by prominent individuals undermines the core mission of these discussions. The research calls for transparency, accountability and informed choices in travel decisions to align with climate change commitments. Additionally, we explore the significance of the chosen COP venue in promoting equity, the associated carbon footprint and the influence of the hosting nation on negotiations.

Benthic and planktonic foraminifera faunal and stable isotopic (δ18O and δ13C) analyses on foraminiferal tests were carried out on a piston core, collected from the Campos Basin slope at a water depth of 1475 m. The core location is in front of Cape São Tomé and exhibits landslide scars features. Benthic foraminifera biofacies with ecological indexes and statistics, lithological facies, biostratigraphy and stable isotopic analysis were used to understand the paleoenvironmental evolution of the region by comparison with modern foraminiferal assemblage. Six biofacies were identified between Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 7 to MIS 1. The main ecological factors controlling the modern assemblages are: bottom currents, slope stability, oxygen concentration, and nutrient input. However, the last two factors are linked to oceanic processes associated with the Paraíba do Sul river, the influence of which has changed in the …

This paper outlines the stratigraphic basis of a proposed Anthropocene Event. It considers a diachronous event framework to be more appropriate for understanding the Anthropocene than treating it as a new geological series/epoch. Four general categories of material evidence are identified as of particular relevance: ‘artificial’ strata with natural constituents; humanly modified ground; legacy sediments; and ‘natural’ geo-deposits containing artefactual material. All these arise from the interaction and mixing of human, natural, and hybrid human-natural forces. Taken together, such stratigraphic evidence supports the case for recognising the Anthropocene as an unfolding event.

The overlooked link between fossil fuel-derived sulfur and the production of phosphate fertilizers may lower agricultural productivity and harm global food security unless action is taken.

This research examines the responsibilities of and the interactions between the various research institutes, national agencies, regional groups, and local councils involved in monitoring, disseminating, and responding to official tsunami warnings in New Zealand. Specifically, the underlying issues within the separated structure of tsunami early warning and response in New Zealand is examined as to whether this enhances or restricts risk assessment. In many countries, the same agency is responsible for both monitoring tsunami hazards and issuing tsunami warnings. However, in New Zealand, this process is split. GNS Science is the research institute responsible for monitoring tsunami hazards in New Zealand, if tsunami generation is confirmed GNS Science provides risk information to the nation's official tsunami warning agency. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is the national agency …

Over the course of the last decade the concept of the Anthropocene has become widely established within and beyond the geoscientific literature but its boundaries remain undefined. Formal definition of the Anthropocene as a chronostratigraphical series and geochronological epoch following the Holocene, at a fixed horizon and with a precise global start date, has been proposed, but fails to account for the diachronic nature of human impacts on global environmental systems during the late Quaternary. By contrast, defining the Anthropocene as an ongoing geological event more closely reflects the reality of both historical and ongoing human–environment interactions, encapsulating spatial and temporal heterogeneity, as well as diverse social and environmental processes that characterize anthropogenic global changes. Thus, an Anthropocene Event incorporates a substantially wider range of anthropogenic …

We present new high‐resolution pollen records combined with palaeoceanographic proxies from the same samples in deep‐sea cores SHAK06‐5K and MD01‐2444 on the southwestern Iberian Margin, documenting regional vegetation responses to orbital and millennial‐scale climate changes over the last 28 ka. The chronology of these records is based on high‐resolution radiocarbon dates of monospecific samples of the planktonic foraminifera Globigerina bulloides, measured from SHAK06‐5K and MD01‐2444 and aligned using an automated stratigraphical alignment method. Changes in temperate and steppe vegetation during Marine Isotope Stage 2 are closely coupled with sea surface temperature (SST) and global ice‐volume changes. The peak expansion of thermophilous woodland between ~10.1 and 8.4 cal ka bp lags behind the boreal summer insolation maximum by ~2 ka, possibly arising from …

Le changement climatique constitue l’un des quatre défis majeurs du xxie siècle, et s’ ajoute à la dégradation de l’environnement, aux inégalités et à l’insécurité mondiales. Le changement climatique continuera à faire monter la température de la Terre et à élever le niveau de la mer. Il augmentera la fréquence des phénomènes météorologiques extrêmes, tels que les périodes de grandes sécheresses, les vagues de chaleur, les inondations et les tempêtes, menaçant la santé et les moyens de subsistance de milliards de personnes. La gravité des effets du changement climatique dépendra de ce que nous ferons maintenant pour réduire les émissions de gaz à effet de serre. Au cours des trente dernières années, la quantité de dioxyde de carbone émise par les activités humaines a doublé. Cela représente un échec collectif des dirigeants du monde entier à se concentrer sur la crise climatique. Bien que les années 2020 et 2021 soient dominées par la pandémie de Covid-19, le paysage géopolitique autour du changement climatique s’ est déplacé de manière «sismique»(cf. figure 1). En juin 2019, le parlement britannique a modifié la loi de 2008 sur le changement climatique pour exiger que le gouvernement britannique réduise les émissions de gaz à effet de serre du Royaume-Uni à un niveau appelé «zéro émission nette» d’ici 2050. En 2021, le Royaume-Uni a annoncé un objectif intermédiaire de réduction de 78% des émissions de carbone d’ici 2030. La Commission européenne a annoncé que l’UE réduirait ses émissions de gaz à effet de serre d’au moins 55% par rapport aux niveaux de 1990, d’ici à 2030, au lieu