Earth's Amphibious Transformation

In the first history of the oceanic Anthropocene, Stefan Huebner explores the twentieth-century extension of human habitats into oceanic spaces. He shows how the effects of this amphibious transformation have followed a very different trajectory from human-driven change on land, in terms of both socioeconomic development and environmental degradation. The extension of the human habitat through artificial islands such as seabed-fixed and floating structures has granted vertical access to Earth's different spatial layers, from the fossil fuels beneath the seabed to outer space. Huebner asks why this transformation occurred; how it has been shaped by political, economic, and environmental factors; and how it has altered marine environments. A deeper understanding of Earth's amphibious transformation compels us to reconsider the history and future of climate change, sea level rise, energy transitions, human–marine species interactions, globalization, and even urbanization, including floating cities. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.