Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries

| October 31, 2023 | Leave a Comment

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Publication Info: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh2458

Date of Publication: September

Year of Publication: 2023

Publication City: Washington, DC

Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science - AAAS

Author(s): Katherine Richardson, Will Steffen, Wolfgang Lucht et al.

Journal: Science Advances

Volume: 9 | Issue 37

Abstract

This planetary boundaries framework update finds that six of the nine boundaries are transgressed, suggesting that Earth is now well outside of the safe operating space for humanity. Ocean acidification is close to being breached, while aerosol loading regionally exceeds the boundary. Stratospheric ozone levels have slightly recovered. The transgression level has increased for all boundaries earlier identified as overstepped.

As primary production drives Earth system biosphere functions, human appropriation of net primary production is proposed as a control variable for functional biosphere integrity. This boundary is also transgressed. Earth system modeling of different levels of the transgression of the climate and land system change boundaries illustrates that these anthropogenic impacts on the Earth system must be considered in a systemic context.

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