A New Epoch: Welcome to the Anthropocene!

Humans have really made their impact on Earth. Welcome to the Anthropocene Epoch! Scientists representing the Working Group on the Anthropocene announced at the 35th International Geological Congress that we've entered a new epoch in Earth's geological time scale! And this one is all about you! Okay, not you specifically, but all you humans out there. And the ones in here too. Essentially, the Anthropocene is an epoch in which human influences are shaping the Earth in a geologically significant way. So let's back up and brush up on our geology. The geological time scale consists of eons, eras, periods, epochs and ages. Geologists define these chunks of time by looking at layers of rock. Changes in the strata mark transitions from one chunk of time to another. So these chunks aren't defined by a specific number of years but instead by changes to the Earth itself. Eons are the largest time chunks and ages are the smallest.

The Anthropocene is an epoch and a subdivision of the Quaternary Period. We map these chunks of time on the Geological Time Scale, more officially known as the International Chronostratigraphic Chart. That's hard to say. According to the Working Group, we were in the post Ice Age Holocene Epoch from about 11,500 years ago until 1950... on a Tuesday. So what happened in 1950 to justify updating all our geology textbooks? Actually, a lot of stuff happened. The human population was booming. We began consuming more fossil fuels, producing tons of plastic, increasing our use of fertilizers, and testing nuclear weapons. You can see this activity recorded in transitions to the rock strata themselves. Those changes are also global in scale. And yeah they don't necessarily fit into the “yay, us” category. Changes in the carbon cycle, areas of mass erosion, increases in nitrogen and phosphorous levels from fertilizers, and radioactive deposits are all markers of the Anthropocene Epoch.

While the Working Group recommends we acknowledge that we're in the Anthropocene, it's not yet official. Some geologists might argue that we should bump down Anthropocene to the status of an Age rather than an Epoch. Other might say that's thinking too small and that we've entered a new geological Period. The decision will move to an international committee of scientists, who will consider the Working Group's proposal. If approved, bang, we boldly enter a new Epoch we've been in since 1950. And outside of geology, maybe we can take time to consider we're the major influence on this epoch. Our choices are the ones recorded in Earth itself. So maybe this will help guide us into making good decisions.

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