ANTHROPOCENE
GSSP (global boundary stratotype section and point)
(An internationally agreed )reference point on a stratigraphic section that defines the lower boundary) of a stage on the geologic timescale
1920s predecessor to the Anthropocene concept
(Teilhard de Chardin & Vernadsky's term) Noosphere (signified growing influence of human thought and (thus) action (and shaping the planetary environment)
2011
'Welcome to the Anthropocene' front cover of the economist (key cultural event)
5 requirements of the anthropocene
(environmental changes), (planetary-wide scale), (significant on Earth's timescale), (multifaceted), (shift in planetary functioning)
2000
Crutzen & Stoermer's paper 'The Anthropocene'
Geologic time scale (divisions largest to smallest)
Eon, era, period, epoch, age
current era
cenozoic
Technofossils
structures and artefacts created by human technology (that are preservable in the fossil record)
What made Crutzen's 2002 Geology of Mankind paper so influential
(The idea was not new, just )framing it in one word gave it currency
why are plastics technofossils
(developed in 1900, but) surged in use after 1950, now equal to human biomass (marine particles)
why is concrete a technofossil
(invented by the romans but) mostly in use after WW2
why is elemental aluminium a technofossil
98% of production since 1950
GSSA (global standard stratigraphic age)
A chronological reference point in the geological record used to define boundaries between geologic times
2002
Crutzen's 'Geology of mankind' in Nature (attracts wider attention)
Requirements for formalisation (/)
Detailed description of the stratigraphic record / geologically widespread locations
2013-14
Exponential increase in publications (including 'The Anthropocene', 'Elementa: science of the Anthropocene', and 'The anthropocene review)
Anthropos (ancient greek meaning)
Human
What is the parent body of the AWG
ICS (international commission on stratigraphy)
What is the parent body of the ICS
IUGS (International union of geological sciences)
Main Points of Crutzen's Geology of Mankind (3) / between
Magnitude of human impacts on the Earth system / through deforestation, energy use, air pollution, fisheries, climate change / need for geoengineering to 'optimise' climate
2016
The AWG made a recommendation that the Anthropocene be established as a new geological epoch (with a start date in the mid-20th century)
2009
Working group on the Anthropocene (AWG) (WGA) headed by Zalasiewicz (set up)
why is carbon 14 a technofossil
caused by nuclear detonations (in 1950s and early 1960s) from nitrogen 14 with a halflife of 5730 years
what type of geologic time scale division is the Anthropocene
epoch
last epoch
holocene
why is plutonium 239 a technofossil
it has a halflife of 24100 years and will stay identifiable in sediments for 100,000 years and will decay to a layer enriched in uranium 235 and unstable lead 207 = a long term stratigraphic record
last era
mesozoic
Anthropocene definition
modern human activity is causing global-scale environmental changes which are altering the functioning of the planet
last period
neogene
current eon
phanerozoic
epoch before holocene
pleistocene
Examples of technofossils (/)
pure elemental aluminium / concrete / plastics / black carbon / IASs / SCPs / carbon 14 / plutonium 239
Current period
quaternary
Kainos (ancient greek meaning)
recent
