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Geochemical Fingerprint and Stratigraphic Marker
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This chapter explains how the global spread of plastic pollution — from ocean floors to mountain glaciers — makes plastic particles useful as geological markers of the Anthropocene era. The accumulation of microplastics in sediment layers provides a distinctive chemical and physical signature that will be readable in the geological record for millennia.
The ubiquitous presence of plastic pollutants in every environmental system and their distribution from abyssal plains to remote polar and mountainous glaciated regions have found their utilities to be stratigraphic markers and geochemical fingerprints of the Anthropocene era. This chapter defines these traits and utilities. A typical marker of human activity is the overwhelming amount of plastics produced, used, and thrown into the environment as wastes. Owing to the magnitude of production, the usage, and the presence of plastics in every environmental niche, the present era is referred to as the Plasticene era, and the sediment layer with microplastics distinguishes itself with a unique geochemical fingerprint and marks the commencement of the Anthropocene boundary in stratigraphic records.
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Potential role of microplastic in sediment as an indicator of Anthropocene
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Researchers reviewed global data on microplastic deposits in lake and ocean sediment cores, arguing that microplastics have the potential to serve as a geological marker for the Anthropocene — the human-dominated era — because they are widespread, persistent, and tightly linked to human industrial activity. Alpine lake sediments are recommended as ideal sites for this research due to their stable, high-resolution depositional records.
Microplastics and the Anthropocene: Toward a new class of planetary markers
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Since the 1950s, tiny plastic particles have become so widespread in soil, sediment, and ice that scientists say they could serve as a geological marker of humanity's impact on Earth—similar to how ash layers mark volcanic eruptions. This review doesn't directly study health effects, but it underscores just how thoroughly plastics have saturated our environment over the past 70 years, which matters since these same persistent particles are increasingly found in our food, water, and even our bodies. The researchers call for more consistent testing methods so scientists can better track exactly how much plastic pollution has built up and where it's concentrated.
Progress in assessment of the Anthropocene Series in the Geological Time Scale (GTS)
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This paper reviews the progress in formally recognizing the Anthropocene as a new geological epoch, with human-made markers including microplastics now preserved in sediments worldwide. The widespread presence of microplastics in geological layers is one of the key signals of humanity's permanent impact on the planet.
Candidate sites and other reference sections for the Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point of the Anthropocene series
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This paper reviews 12 proposed sites around the world that could serve as the official geological marker for the start of the Anthropocene, the proposed new epoch defined by human impact on the planet. Among the key markers of human influence found at these sites are microplastics, which appear in sediment layers starting around the mid-20th century. The widespread presence of microplastics in geological records underscores just how profoundly plastic pollution has altered the planet.
Stratigraphic relevance of macro- and microplastics in alluvial sediments – a first assessment
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This study examines macro- and microplastics as stratigraphic markers in alluvial sediment cores, finding that plastic abundance and type reflect historical changes in production and use since the mid-20th century. Researchers propose plastics as a useful chronological marker for the Anthropocene in fluvial sedimentary records.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.