Developing Lyell’s Legacy: contributions to the geosciences of the anthropocene

Abstract

[Excerpt] In this new edition of the Geoscience of the Built Environment [1], we hope to continue our contribution to the development of Geosciences studies in the Anthropocene, considering classical issues that are at least as old as Charles Lyell’s major works [2,3], which can be considered the founding literary works of modern Geology. The Anthropocene is currently being discussed as a possible Unit in the Geological Time Scale [4], and its definition is still a controversial issue [5]. It has also been proposed that the Anthropocene marks the end of “a time of great epistemic stability” [6] and that new approaches and ways of thinking will be necessary [6,7]; a question that is also implicitly considered in a forthcoming issue of this journal [8]. The Geosciences of the future (as is discussed in the proposal of [8]), done in the Anthropocene, will have to go beyond the geological record and embrace studies on the relations between humans and Earth, including the evolution of built objects due to geological processes. I will attempt to discuss some of the kinds of issues to be considered using the papers of this Special Issue and in the light of the major works of Lyell (attempting to show the links of these issues to the founding concepts of Geology). [...]