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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Stratigraphy of the Anthropocene
AU - Zalasiewicz, J
AU - Williams, M
AU - Fortey, R
AU - Smith, Alan
AU - Barry, Tiffany L.
AU - Coe, Angela L.
AU - Bown, Paul R.
AU - Rawson, Peter F.
AU - Gale, Andrew
AU - Gibbard, Philip
AU - Gregory, F. .J.
AU - Hounslow, Mark
AU - Kerr, Andrew C.
AU - Pearson, Paul
AU - Knox, Robert
AU - Powell, John
AU - Waters, Colin
AU - Marshall, John
AU - Oates, Michael
AU - Stone, Philip
PY - 2011/3
Y1 - 2011/3
N2 - The Anthropocene, an informal term used to signal the impact of collective human activity on biological, physical and chemical processes on the Earth system, is assessed using stratigraphic criteria. It is complex in time, space and process, and may be considered in terms of the scale, relative timing, duration and novelty of its various phenomena. The lithostratigraphic signal includes both direct components, such as urban constructions and man-made deposits, and indirect ones, such as sediment flux changes. Already widespread, these are producing a significant ‘event layer’, locally with considerable long-term preservation potential. Chemostratigraphic signals include new organic compounds, but are likely to be dominated by the effects of CO2 release, particularly via acidification in the marine realm, and man-made radionuclides. The sequence stratigraphic signal is negligible to date, but may become geologically significant over centennial/millennial time scales. The rapidly growing biostratigraphic signal includes geologically novel aspects (the scale of globally transferred species) and geologically will have permanent effects.
AB - The Anthropocene, an informal term used to signal the impact of collective human activity on biological, physical and chemical processes on the Earth system, is assessed using stratigraphic criteria. It is complex in time, space and process, and may be considered in terms of the scale, relative timing, duration and novelty of its various phenomena. The lithostratigraphic signal includes both direct components, such as urban constructions and man-made deposits, and indirect ones, such as sediment flux changes. Already widespread, these are producing a significant ‘event layer’, locally with considerable long-term preservation potential. Chemostratigraphic signals include new organic compounds, but are likely to be dominated by the effects of CO2 release, particularly via acidification in the marine realm, and man-made radionuclides. The sequence stratigraphic signal is negligible to date, but may become geologically significant over centennial/millennial time scales. The rapidly growing biostratigraphic signal includes geologically novel aspects (the scale of globally transferred species) and geologically will have permanent effects.
KW - Anthropocene
KW - geological time
KW - stratigraphy
KW - biodiversity
KW - climate
KW - anthropogenic deposits
U2 - 10.1098/rsta.2010.0315
DO - 10.1098/rsta.2010.0315
M3 - Journal article
VL - 369
SP - 1036
JO - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A
JF - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A
SN - 0264-3820
IS - 1938
ER -