Purpose

Humanity has been modifying the planet in a measurable way for thousands of years. Recently, this influence has been such that some feel we are in a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. This review will describe how soil erosion and sediment dynamics have (i) been used to assess the impact of humans on the planet and (ii) affected the global climate and influenced water security. Emphasis is placed on changes since the middle of the twentieth century, as this coincides with what many suggest is the start of the Anthropocene Epoch.

Results and discussion

The use of sediment archives has been instrumental in our understanding of how environmental systems have developed over time, both naturally and in response to anthropogenic activities. Additional information has come from measurement and monitoring programs, and tracing and fingerprinting studies. In turn, models have been developed that enable forecasting. Some of the main global impacts of enhanced soil erosion and changes in sediment dynamics and sediment composition include: changes in radiative energy balances and impacts on the cryosphere; the global carbon cycle; and greenhouse gas emissions. Impacts on water security include: effects on freshwater biota, including wild salmon populations; fluxes of contaminants, including microplastics; and reservoir and river channel sedimentation, including flooding. Sediment archives and monitoring programs have also been used to document the effect of mitigation measures and environmental policies.

Conclusion

Sediment archives enable us to assemble information over a variety of timescales (i.e., 10⁰ to 10⁵ years and longer) and a range of spatial scales (from sub-watershed to continental), in addition to environments ranging from arid to tropical to polar. Often the temporal resolution is better than other paleoenvironmental reconstruction approaches. As such, sedimentary records, when combined with measurement and monitoring approaches and other sources of information, have enabled us to determine changes in atmospheric, terrestrial, and aquatic systems, especially over the last 100 years. While soil erosion and sediment dynamics have provided a wealth of information and greatly enhanced our understanding of the role of humanity in modifying the planet, suggestions are given for further research.

中文翻译：

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人类世的土壤侵蚀和沉积动力学：全球环境快速变化时期人类对人类影响的回顾

目的

数千年来，人类一直在以一种可衡量的方式改造地球。最近，这种影响已经使某些人感到我们处在一个新的地质时代，人类世。本文将描述土壤侵蚀和沉积物动力学如何（i）用于评估人类对地球的影响，以及（ii）如何影响全球气候和水安全。自20世纪中叶以来，人们一直将重点放在变化上，因为这与人类世纪的开始相吻合。

结果和讨论

沉积物档案的使用对我们理解环境系统随着时间的推移自然发展以及对人为活动的响应起到了重要作用。其他信息来自测量和监视程序以及跟踪和指纹研究。反过来，已经开发了可以进行预测的模型。加剧的土壤侵蚀以及沉积物动力学和沉积物成分变化的一些主要全球影响包括：辐射能平衡的变化以及对冰冻圈的影响；全球碳循环；和温室气体排放。对水安全的影响包括：对淡水生物群的影响，包括野生鲑鱼种群；污染物通量，包括微塑料；水库和河道的沉积，包括洪水。

结论

沉积物档案库使我们能够在各种时间范围内（即10 ⁰到10 ⁵ 年和更长的时间）以及一系列的空间尺度（从分水岭到大陆），以及从干旱到热带再到极地的各种环境。通常，时间分辨率优于其他古环境重建方法。因此，沉积记录与测量和监测方法以及其他信息来源相结合，使我们能够确定大气，陆地和水生系统的变化，尤其是在过去的100年中。尽管水土流失和沉积物动力学提供了丰富的信息，并大大增强了我们对人类在地球变迁中的作用的理解，但仍提出了进一步研究的建议。