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Anthropocene: What, When and How?
Original title: Antropocen : vad, när och hur?
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This Swedish-language thesis examines the concept of the Anthropocene — the proposed geological epoch defined by human impacts on Earth — reviewing its scientific definition and potential stratigraphic markers. It provides context for understanding how plastic pollution is one of the defining markers of human influence on the planet.
The term Anthropocene has begun to be used to emphasize that conditions on Earth are governed by human activity and not by natural processes, as in the Holocene. However, the Anthropocene is not yet fully defined, neither temporally nor stratigraphically. The purpose of this study is therefore to define what characterizes the Anthropocene, investigate stratigraphic markers that define its beginning and thus find its start date. The study was based on a litterature review of scientific articles published in peer-review journals. The selected articles were limited to studies published after 2002 and which treated Anthropocene from a geological perspective. The study shows that the Great Acceleration (from 1950 onwards) is the time period that has given rise to the largest number of markers for the Anthropocene. Results indicate that the primary marker should either be fly ash (SCP) or δ13C, whereas artificial radionuclides (14C, 239Pu), δ15N and microplastics could be used as secondary markers. In the distant future, the effects of temperature rise and the sixth mass extinction are likely to be the clearest traces of the Anthropocene's beginning.
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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.
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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.
Palaeontological evidence for defining the Anthropocene
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This paper argues that palaeontological methods — including biostratigraphic analysis of fossil assemblages — can be used to formally define the Anthropocene as a geological epoch, as human impacts have created a distinct stratigraphic signature in the rock and sediment record. The presence of novel markers including plastic particles and industrial pollutants supports this designation.
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This paper proposes reframing traditional geological concepts—from sedimentology to stratigraphy and the Anthropocene epoch—in light of widespread plastic integration into sedimentary environments. Plastics are described as emerging stratigraphic markers that alter erosion, transport, and deposition patterns, threatening marine biodiversity and challenging the view of rocks as purely natural inorganic formations.
Part 1: Anthropocene Series/Epoch: stratigraphic context and justification of rank The Anthropocene Epoch and Crawfordian Age: proposals by the Anthropocene Working Group
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This paper by the Anthropocene Working Group proposes formally defining the Anthropocene as a new geological epoch, marked by human-caused changes starting around the 1950s. Among the stratigraphic signals used to define this era, microplastics are listed as a key marker, alongside nuclear fallout and synthetic chemicals. The inclusion of microplastics as a defining feature of a geological epoch underscores just how widespread and permanent plastic pollution has become in Earth's systems.
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