After years of research, a scientific panel declared on Tuesday that the planet has officially entered a new geological epoch. This new epoch, called the Anthropocene, signifies the “human age” and “age of humans,” according to the New York Times and the Washington Post, respectively. The panel states that this era began between 1950 and 1954 and has been characterized by the significant and lasting influence of human activities on Earth. Such activities include climate change, pollution, deforestation, global trade, and species loss.
The panel has selected Crawford Lake in Ontario as the symbol of the start of the Anthropocene epoch due to the clear evidence it holds of human impact on the global geologic record. Changes in plutonium and radiocarbon resulting from nuclear detonations, as well as fly ash from increased fossil fuel burning, are indicators of the shift that occurred in Earth’s history. This shift represents a tipping point when the Earth system deviated from its behavior over the past 11,700 years, which marked the beginning of the current epoch, the Holocene.
Epochs, though smaller than eras, are distinguished by significant changes. For instance, the Cenozoic Era started with a meteorite collision 66 million years ago, leading to the age of mammals that we still live in today. Geological time is categorized into eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages. We have been in the Quaternary Period for nearly 2.6 million years, and this will continue as long as permanent ice exists on Earth’s poles. In addition to a new epoch, the panel proposes the existence of a new age, naming it the Crawfordian Age.
However, the recognition of the Anthropocene epoch is not yet guaranteed. The panel will draft a proposal, which will then undergo voting by various committees. Some scientists remain skeptical, considering the youth of this proposed epoch. Typically, epochs are named many years after they occur. To determine a specific start date for the Anthropocene, the scientists plan to analyze plutonium levels at the bottom of Crawford Lake. (Read more geology stories.)
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