Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1133
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1133
08 May 2024
 | 08 May 2024

Resolving the Technosphere

Eric Galbraith, Abdullah-Al Faisal, Tanya Matitia, William Fajzel, Ian Hatton, Helmut Haberl, Fridolin Krausmann, and Dominik Wiedenhofer

Abstract. The global assemblage of human-created buildings, infrastructure, machinery and other artifacts has been called the `technosphere', and plays a major role in the present-day dynamics of the Earth system. It enables the rapid extraction and processing of materials from other spheres, combusts fossil fuels causing climate change, and transports materials and people across the planet surface. It provides a vast range of services to humans, such as supporting the production of food, shelter, long-distance communication, and entertainment. However, Earth system science has been slow to explicitly incorporate the technosphere as an integrated part of its conceptual and quantitative frameworks. Here we propose a refined definition of the technosphere, intended to assist in developing functional integration with other Earth system spheres, and an End-Use Technosphere categorization, EUTEC, that is theoretically aligned with human activities and wellbeing. The formal definition and resolved categorization enable basic attributes of the technosphere to be delineated, including its mass distribution among components and in space, as well as its temporal dynamics. In particular, of the roughly 1 Tt of technosphere mass, we estimate that one third is comprised of residential buildings and one third by the transportation system, both of which we map at one-degree resolution. Moreover, we show that reconstructions of technosphere mass since 1900 follow exponential growth with long-run growth rates of >3 % y-1, consistent with autocatalytic behaviour, allowing it to become an ever-more dominant component of the Earth system. The quantitative understanding of the technosphere remains rudimentary, and is in great need of further work to better integrate it with Earth system science.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
Eric Galbraith, Abdullah-Al Faisal, Tanya Matitia, William Fajzel, Ian Hatton, Helmut Haberl, Fridolin Krausmann, and Dominik Wiedenhofer

Status: final response (author comments only)

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-1133', Anonymous Referee #1, 25 May 2024
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Eric Galbraith, 31 May 2024
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-1133', Anonymous Referee #2, 07 Jun 2024
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Eric Galbraith, 18 Jul 2024
  • RC3: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-1133', Anonymous Referee #3, 12 Jun 2024
    • AC3: 'Reply on RC3', Eric Galbraith, 18 Jul 2024
Eric Galbraith, Abdullah-Al Faisal, Tanya Matitia, William Fajzel, Ian Hatton, Helmut Haberl, Fridolin Krausmann, and Dominik Wiedenhofer
Eric Galbraith, Abdullah-Al Faisal, Tanya Matitia, William Fajzel, Ian Hatton, Helmut Haberl, Fridolin Krausmann, and Dominik Wiedenhofer

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Short summary
The technosphere, including buildings, infrastructure and all other non-living human creations, has become a major part of the Earth system. Here we provide a refined definition of the technosphere, and an end-use classification aligned with the physical outcomes of human activities. We use these definitions to describe the composition and spatial distribution of technosphere mass, and discuss the exponential character of its growth since 1900, which presents a challenge for sustainability.