As the end of the year approaches, we may not only be saying goodbye to 2023, but also the geochronological time unit in which we have lived. In 2024, scientists will decide whether we have entered the Anthropocene, a new era characterized by human impact on the planet.
Broadly speaking, the Anthropocene (derived from Greek) Human racemeaning “man”; scene (meaning “new”) refers to an era of global change that has occurred as a direct result of human activity, such as increased burning of fossil fuels and increased deforestation. This idea was first popularized by the late meteorologist in his 2000 year. paul crutzen.
Currently, the scientific community is unsure whether the Anthropocene has officially begun and whether it is any different from the Holocene (the current era), which began about 11,700 years ago.important question What needs to be addressed is whether human activities have changed Earth’s systems enough to be reflected in rock formations.
In July 2023, a group of scientists responsible for defining this potentially new era will Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) – We looked to Crawford Lake in Canada as a case study to help us make our decisions. They chose this location because plutonium isotopes from nuclear weapons tests were found at the bottom of the lake, and they believe that the beginning of the Anthropocene occurred in the early 1950s.
The fact that the news about Crawford Lake has already come to light is somewhat unusual. Typically, such information is released only after approval by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). However, he believes that the AWG believes that deviations from this standard are extremely important and the implications are significant for everyone. However, this is not without controversy.
Is it here now or is it emerging?
The AWG’s activities have attracted criticism since the news broke earlier this year. But rather than focusing on whether human activity has had a significant impact on the planet (the evidence for that is overwhelming), opponents are focusing on when the Anthropocene began. .
Some scientists disagree with the working group’s definition of the Anthropocene, such as Arlie Ellis, a former AWG member from the University of Maryland who resigned after Crawford Lake was selected.
For Ellis, Restrict The Anthropocene reduces the impact humans had on the planet before the mid-20th century.th century. There is plenty of evidence that our species was leaving its mark long before the Industrial Revolution, when atmospheric carbon dioxide levels began to rise. increase.
Rather than seeing this as the dawn of a new era, people like Ellis argue that the Anthropocene should be viewed as an ongoing event.
In its defense, AWG has asserted the following since mid-2020:th Even in the 20th century, the level of human impact on the planet cannot be ignored, and it was during this period that “great changes” occurred with the advent of the atomic age.
The next steps in the decision-making process include acceptance of the AWG’s proposal, submitted in October 2023, by its parent Subcommittee on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS). If accepted, the proposal would need to pass two further votes by the International Commission on Stratigraphy and the International Union of Geological Sciences.
If the proposal passes these tests, by August 2024 we will officially be living in a new era brought about by our joint action.