Spheroidal carbonaceous fly ash particles provide a globally synchronous stratigraphic marker for the Anthropocene

Environmental Science & Technology
N L Rose

Abstract

Human impacts on Earth are now so great that they have led to the concept of a new geological epoch defined by this global human influence: the Anthropocene. While not universally accepted, the term is increasingly popular and widely used. However, even among proponents, there is considerable debate regarding when the epoch may have started, from coeval with the Holocene, through the Industrial Revolution, to the mid-20th century when unprecedented human activities resulted in exponential increases in population, resource consumption, and pollutant emission. Recently, this latter period, known as the Great Acceleration, appears to be becoming the more widely accepted start date. To define any start point, a global stratigraphic marker or Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) is typically required. Here, spheroidal carbonaceous fly ash particles (SCPs), byproducts of industrial fossil-fuel combustion, are proposed as a primary marker for a GSSP at the time of the Great Acceleration. Data from over 75 lake sediment records show a global, synchronous, and dramatic increase in particle accumulation starting in c. 1950 driven by the increased demand for electricity and the introduction of fuel-oil combustion, in additi...Continue Reading

References

Aug 11, 2007·Science·Joseph R McConnellJonathan D W Kahl
Oct 3, 2007·Journal of Environmental Monitoring : JEM·Roland KallenbornAndreas Stohl
Nov 29, 2008·Environmental Pollution·Mark J Benotti, Bruce J Brownawell

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Citations

Mar 4, 2018·Environmental Geochemistry and Health·Neil L RoseStuart Harrad
Jul 11, 2019·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·John P Smol
Jan 23, 2020·Scientific Reports·Mingtan DongYue Sun
Nov 16, 2019·The Science of the Total Environment·Mehwish BibiShahid Iqbal
Jan 28, 2021·The Science of the Total Environment·Mingtan DongZejiao Luo
May 19, 2021·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Gen K LiJunfeng Ji

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