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anthropogenic

 
Dictionary: an·thro·po·gen·ic   (ăn'thrə-pə-jĕn'ĭk) pronunciation
adj.
  1. Of or relating to anthropogenesis.
  2. Caused by humans: anthropogenic degradation of the environment.
anthropogenically an'thro·po·gen'i·cal·ly adv.

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Geography Dictionary: anthropogenic
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Brought about by human agency.

Archaeology Dictionary: anthropogenic
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[De]

Referring to things, events, or actions whose origins can be traced to the activities of individual people or human groups.

WordNet: anthropogenic
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The adjective has one meaning:

Meaning #1: of or relating to the study of the origins and development of human beings
  Synonym: anthropogenetic
  Pertains to noun: anthropogenesis (meaning #1)


Wikipedia: Anthropogenic
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Anthropogenic effects, processes or materials are those that are derived from human activities, as opposed to those occurring in biophysical environments without human influence.

The term is often used in the context of environmental externalities in the form of chemical or biological wastes that are produced as by-products of otherwise purposeful human activities.

The term anthropogenic designates an effect or object resulting from human activity. The term was first introduced as "anthropocene" in the mid-1970s by the atmospheric scientist Paul Crutzen.[1] Shortly after, Sherwood Rowling and Mario Molina published a series of articles putting forward the idea of the impact of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) on the stratospheric ozone.[2] The term is used in the context of pollution emissions that are produced as a result of human industry.[3]

Contents

Sources

Anthropogenic sources include industry, agriculture, botany, mining, transportation, construction, habitations and deforestation.

Industry

Agriculture

  • Conversion of woodlands into fields and pastures including slash-and-burn techniques.
  • Diversion of surface and groundwater.
  • Ground water salinization due to inadequate drainage.
  • Pollution of soil and water by chemicals found in fertilizer and pesticides.
  • dirty or unclean water

Botany

  • The human alteration of plants by breeding, selection, genetic engineering and tissue fusion (see cultigen)

Mining

Construction

Habitations

  • Concentration of human activities in discrete zones.
  • Concentration of waste products, sewage, and debris.

Tracers

Anthropogenic tracers help measure objectively the amount of human influence in a given environment. See Environmental behavior of EDTA as an example.

See also

References

  1. ^ Crutzen, Paul and Eugene Stoermer. "The 'Anthropocene'" in International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme Newsletter. 41 (May 2000): 17-18
  2. ^ * Molina, Mario and F.S. Rowling. "Stratospheric Sink for Chlorofluoromethanes: Chlorine Atom: Catalyzed Destruction of the Ozone". NAture. 249 (June 28, 1974):810-12
  3. ^ Scott, Michon (2008). "Glossary". Earth Observatory. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/glossary.php3?mode=all. Retrieved 2008-11-03. 

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Geography Dictionary. A Dictionary of Geography. Copyright © Susan Mayhew 1992, 1997, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
Archaeology Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Anthropogenic" Read more