Bringing the Anthropocene Down to Size, or, How Can We Understand a Gigaton?

This contribution takes on the incomprehensibility of human transformation of the Earth's surface, framing it as a "Constructocene" dominated by architecture and infrastructure. Based on an idea first proposed by Jan Zalasiewicz, it then looks at the Anthropocene Square Meter as a way of making human impact tangible. Using the model as a storytelling device, it then walks through four narratives of vast and heavy anthropogenic material change.