Knowra Future of Earth Future of Earth The projected long-term evolution of Earth’s climate, biosphere, surface, and habitability, including the effects of human activity and the Sun’s eventual transformation.
Solar evolution : The Sun’s gradual changes in luminosity, structure, and activity over its lifetime. Increasing solar output will eventually destabilize Earth’s climate and end surface habitability.
Anthropocene : A proposed geological epoch defined by the extensive effects of human activity on Earth systems. Human influence may shape near-term environmental change long before solar evolution dominates.
Milankovitch cycles : Periodic changes in Earth’s orbit and axial orientation that alter the distribution of incoming sunlight. These cycles pace glacial and interglacial climate changes over thousands to hundreds of thousands of years.
Moist greenhouse : A climate state in which enough water vapor enters the upper atmosphere for substantial hydrogen escape over geological time. It could end surface habitability before the more extreme runaway greenhouse threshold is reached.
Runaway greenhouse effect : A climate state in which warming drives water vapor into the atmosphere, trapping more heat and amplifying warming. It describes one proposed route from rising solar luminosity to uninhabitable surface conditions.
Climate change : Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, caused by natural processes and human activities. Human-caused warming is changing habitability and ecosystems on timescales far shorter than stellar evolution.
Next glacial period : A future interval of expanded continental ice sheets during a natural glacial cycle. Without substantial human influence, orbital cycles could favor renewed glaciation in the coming tens of thousands of years.
Atmospheric escape : The loss of gas from a planet’s atmosphere into space. Its rate determines how quickly Earth could lose water as the upper atmosphere warms.
Carbonate–silicate cycle : A long-term cycle linking atmospheric carbon dioxide, silicate weathering, carbonate formation, and volcanic carbon release. Its response to warming helps regulate climate, but declining carbon dioxide may eventually starve plants.
Biodiversity loss : The decline in the variety of life at genetic, species, and ecosystem levels. Extinction rates and ecosystem disruption influence which forms of life persist through future environmental change.
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