We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Papers
61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to CORE 100 The Anthropocene
ClearCORE 100 First Year Seminar: the Anthropocene
This is a course description for a first-year interdisciplinary seminar examining the Anthropocene — the era of human-dominated Earth systems. It covers topics including plastic pollution as one of the defining features of human impact on planetary systems.
Potential role of microplastic in sediment as an indicator of Anthropocene
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.
Candidate sites and other reference sections for the Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point of the Anthropocene series
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.
Part 1: Anthropocene Series/Epoch: stratigraphic context and justification of rank The Anthropocene Epoch and Crawfordian Age: proposals by the Anthropocene Working Group
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.
Microplastics: Contaminants of Global Concern in the Anthropocene
This review summarizes the state of knowledge on microplastics as a global contaminant, covering their sources, distribution in different environments, and potential ecological and health effects. It frames microplastics as a defining pollution challenge of the Anthropocene era.
Geochemical Fingerprint and Stratigraphic Marker
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.
Progress in assessment of the Anthropocene Series in the Geological Time Scale (GTS)
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.
Antropocen : vad, när och hur?
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.
Human-environment interactions in the Anthropocene – a case study on reservoir sediments in Central Europe
Researchers analyzed sediment cores from Central European reservoirs to reconstruct a century of changing sediment fluxes, heavy metal contamination, and microplastic inputs linked to human land use change and climate-driven erosion. Microplastics appeared in cores beginning in the mid-20th century, with accelerating accumulation rates tracking regional industrialization and plastic production growth.
The use of microplastics as a reliable chronological marker of the Anthropocene onset in Southeastern South America
Researchers analyzed microplastics in sediment cores from the world's largest coastal lagoonal system in southeastern South America, identifying a clear transition from microplastic-free sediments to contaminated layers that aligns with the onset of the Anthropocene.
Anthropocene Ouroboros
This ethnographic study explores how plastic objects on an Indian Ocean island shatter and disperse into microplastics, complicating our understanding of geological time. Researchers argue that because microplastics can migrate through sedimentary layers and infiltrate earlier geological strata, they disrupt the very framework used to delineate the Anthropocene. The paper examines the cultural and temporal implications of plastic pollution as a defining material of the modern era.
Palaeontological evidence for defining the Anthropocene
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.
Anthropocene Antarctica
This chapter outlines how Antarctica is both essential to understanding Earth's past climate and deeply threatened by human-caused changes, including microplastic pollution and ocean acidification. It situates Antarctica within broader Anthropocene debates about the planet's future.
Por uma arqueologia do antropoceno: tempo, identidade e novos artefactos numa nova era
This Portuguese-language archaeology paper discusses the emergence of 'Anthropocene Archaeology' — the study of human artifacts and materials from the current geological era of human dominance. Plastics, including microplastics, are among the defining material markers of the Anthropocene that will be part of this archaeological record.
Are microplastics the ‘technofossils’ of the Anthropocene?
Researchers reviewed dating methods and microplastic data from sedimentary cores globally, establishing a chronological sequence of microplastic polymer types in sediment records and validating it against 39 published dated cores, demonstrating that microplastic composition can serve as a supplementary dating tool for Anthropocene sediments on a centennial scale.
Tracing the Anthropocene through microplastic sedimentary records: Drivers and spatiotemporal heterogeneity in Baiyangdian Lake, North China
Scientists found that tiny plastic pieces in lake sediment can track how human activities have changed over the past 80 years, with plastic pollution spiking after dam construction in 1963 and again around 2000 due to increased development. The study shows that microplastics are now everywhere in our environment, even in protected nature areas, though at lower levels than in more developed zones. This matters because these tiny plastics can enter our food and water supply, and understanding where they accumulate most helps us better protect both ecosystems and human health.
Climate change? Archaeology and Anthropocene
This archaeological perspective uses marine debris on drift beaches in Norway and Iceland as a lens for thinking about how human activity shapes environments across time. It connects archaeological methods to contemporary Anthropocene concerns, including plastic pollution.
Anthropocene Modernisms: Ecological Expressions of the "Human Age" in Eliot, Williams, Toomer, and Woolf
This literary dissertation examines how early 20th-century authors expressed ecological themes related to the Anthropocene concept. This is a humanities study with no connection to microplastics or environmental science.
A Thousand Plateaus
This essay examines the concept of the Anthropocene — the geological era defined by humanity's dominant influence on Earth's systems — exploring how anthropogenic waste products including microplastics, nuclear waste, and industrial carbon have created a new detectable stratum enveloping the planet's surface. The work investigates the ecological destabilization arising from this interference with natural systems and its implications for planetary sustainability.
Executive Summary: The Anthropocene Epoch and Crawfordian Age: proposals by the Anthropocene Working Group
This executive summary presents the Anthropocene Working Group's proposal to formalize the Anthropocene as a geological epoch, marked by widespread human impact on Earth's systems. The report documents how synthetic materials including plastics now appear as distinctive markers in geological deposits worldwide, serving as evidence of humanity's transformative influence on the planet.
Anthropocene Antarctica: Approaches, issues and debates
This essay examines Antarctica in the context of the Anthropocene, highlighting how the continent has become central to global environmental discussions including climate change and pollution. Antarctica, once considered pristine, now shows evidence of microplastic contamination in its waters and wildlife.
The rapid increases in microplastics in urban lake sediments
Researchers used sediment cores from an urban lake in Wuhan, China, combined with high-resolution dating techniques, to track microplastic accumulation over the past 60 years. They found that microplastic abundance increased more than tenfold, from 741 to 7,707 items per kilogram, with fibers from textiles being the dominant type. The study suggests that microplastics could serve as geological markers of the Anthropocene era, similar to fossils in the sediment record.
¿Antropoceno? Riesgos eco‐sociales y geopolítica global: una visión desde la ecología política.
This Spanish-language political ecology essay examines the concept of the Anthropocene — the proposed new geological epoch defined by human influence on Earth systems — and its geopolitical implications. The author discusses how the Great Acceleration of industrial activity has created eco-social risks including plastic pollution and climate change that affect all of humanity.
The Global Microplastic Cycle in the Ecosphere
This review examines the global microplastic cycle across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems during the Anthropocene, tracing how persistent organic pollutants and microplastics move through environmental compartments. Researchers synthesized evidence showing that microplastic accumulation continues to increase alongside other persistent pollutants, posing growing risks to ecosystem stability.