The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Stratigraphy of the Anthropocene

Stratigraphy of the Anthropocene
Stratigraphy of the Anthropocene
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.
1364-503X
1036-1055
Zalasiewicz, J.
72e81408-f5ea-4e16-94f9-3892c11ffa30
Williams, M.
cb14ede8-6813-493f-870b-e0cc586f3b90
Fortey, R.
c31ef7d7-e808-4f03-88f2-c7bbcaeede7a
Smith, A.
f115f8cb-6c76-444b-ba80-7a1d54276da8
Barry, T.L.
23a8f470-d0e6-414a-ba48-0c1dd4bf1d4b
Coe, A.L.
7bd9d73c-e237-496f-bcb1-eb8632434f3a
Bown, P.R.
366246c0-8af5-4444-991f-7231257808eb
Rawson, P.F.
2bf09011-8c9d-41f6-bf14-fcb05003022a
Gale, A.
496874cd-1bd1-4573-b4d3-901c2b8d4246
Gibbard, P.
4501731a-6351-478d-ada7-7b3a90f84218
Gregory, F.J.
70f53c75-4fd8-42da-b5d4-636b9d2eadf7
Hounslow, M.W.
97ad0187-8b8e-4936-bda6-b0db2d6e3684
Kerr, A.C.
1f551144-ebf7-41c5-b0b1-de4d1ec8583b
Pearson, P.
712d05d8-d919-41ba-b398-eb07cfc5814a
Knox, R.
841fbd8e-623c-4f47-9876-e5be868ac07e
Powell, J.
1d6c27f4-dc09-4347-b580-df054b2f9cc9
Waters, C.
fcb702d4-162d-4cae-a6c0-a7bbd73b8754
Marshall, J.
cba178e3-91aa-49a2-b2ce-4b8d9d870b06
Oates, M.
891eca82-7d15-46c5-b372-aff463c57472
Stone, P.
f1f833e8-14e1-4d58-acab-5a861a7bd442
Zalasiewicz, J.
72e81408-f5ea-4e16-94f9-3892c11ffa30
Williams, M.
cb14ede8-6813-493f-870b-e0cc586f3b90
Fortey, R.
c31ef7d7-e808-4f03-88f2-c7bbcaeede7a
Smith, A.
f115f8cb-6c76-444b-ba80-7a1d54276da8
Barry, T.L.
23a8f470-d0e6-414a-ba48-0c1dd4bf1d4b
Coe, A.L.
7bd9d73c-e237-496f-bcb1-eb8632434f3a
Bown, P.R.
366246c0-8af5-4444-991f-7231257808eb
Rawson, P.F.
2bf09011-8c9d-41f6-bf14-fcb05003022a
Gale, A.
496874cd-1bd1-4573-b4d3-901c2b8d4246
Gibbard, P.
4501731a-6351-478d-ada7-7b3a90f84218
Gregory, F.J.
70f53c75-4fd8-42da-b5d4-636b9d2eadf7
Hounslow, M.W.
97ad0187-8b8e-4936-bda6-b0db2d6e3684
Kerr, A.C.
1f551144-ebf7-41c5-b0b1-de4d1ec8583b
Pearson, P.
712d05d8-d919-41ba-b398-eb07cfc5814a
Knox, R.
841fbd8e-623c-4f47-9876-e5be868ac07e
Powell, J.
1d6c27f4-dc09-4347-b580-df054b2f9cc9
Waters, C.
fcb702d4-162d-4cae-a6c0-a7bbd73b8754
Marshall, J.
cba178e3-91aa-49a2-b2ce-4b8d9d870b06
Oates, M.
891eca82-7d15-46c5-b372-aff463c57472
Stone, P.
f1f833e8-14e1-4d58-acab-5a861a7bd442

Zalasiewicz, J., Williams, M., Fortey, R., Smith, A., Barry, T.L., Coe, A.L., Bown, P.R., Rawson, P.F., Gale, A., Gibbard, P., Gregory, F.J., Hounslow, M.W., Kerr, A.C., Pearson, P., Knox, R., Powell, J., Waters, C., Marshall, J., Oates, M. and Stone, P. (2011) Stratigraphy of the Anthropocene. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 369 (1938), 1036-1055. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2010.0315).

Record type: Article

Abstract

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.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 2011

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 179311
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/179311
ISSN: 1364-503X
PURE UUID: 3175a9b8-0165-4b04-aaa1-a3529d5d96a7
ORCID for J. Marshall: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-9242-3646

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 31 Mar 2011 14:06
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 02:35

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: J. Zalasiewicz
Author: M. Williams
Author: R. Fortey
Author: A. Smith
Author: T.L. Barry
Author: A.L. Coe
Author: P.R. Bown
Author: P.F. Rawson
Author: A. Gale
Author: P. Gibbard
Author: F.J. Gregory
Author: M.W. Hounslow
Author: A.C. Kerr
Author: P. Pearson
Author: R. Knox
Author: J. Powell
Author: C. Waters
Author: J. Marshall ORCID iD
Author: M. Oates
Author: P. Stone

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×