Total mass of Earth's 'technosphere' weighs 30 trillion tons
Digital Reporter
Saturday, December 3, 2016, 6:54 PM - A new study has found the total mass of all technology humans have developed now weighs a staggering 30 trillion tons.
This includes everything from cars and skyscrapers to computers and smartphones, with scientists referring to this massive conglomeration as the "technosphere."
"The physical technosphere includes a large, rapidly growing diversity of complex objects that are potential trace fossils or 'technofossils,'" the study highlights.
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The research, conducted by an international team led by the University of Leicester's department of Geology in England, suggests that the sum of 'technofossils' on the planet is more than the total amount of living matter on Earth.
As CBC's Bob McDonald points out, "the total amount of living matter, including people, plants, animals, insects and bacteria is estimated to be around 4 trillion tons of carbon. Our technology and everything that comes with it is literally larger than life."
Some 30 trillion tons represents a mass of more than 50 kilograms for every square metre of the Earth's surface, the report notes.
"Humans and human organisations form part of it, too - although we are not always as much in control as we think we are, as the technosphere is a system, with its own dynamics and energy flows - and humans have to help keep it going to survive," says professor Jan Zalasiewicz from the University of Leicester in a press release.
The technosphere competes with the biosphere for resources and space. However, contrary to the Earth's biosphere, the research team says the technosphere does not recycle much of its waste, as seen in our overflowing landfill sites and overwhelming amount of space junk orbiting the planet.
"The technosphere may be geologically young, but it is evolving with furious speed, and it has already left a deep imprint on our planet," adds Zalasiewicz.
With archaeologists uncovering the past by discovering fossilized bones and teeth of historic creatures, one can only imagine what kind of technofossils will be left behind millions of years from now.
