Earth Entering New Geologic Epoch?

Jan. 28, 2008 -- Human effects on the planet have reached the point where many scientists think we have entered a new geologic epoch.

Instead of the Holocene Epoch, defined as about 11,500 years ago to present, we may be already a couple of hundred years into the Anthropocene Epoch as human effects begin to dominate the planet. Those influences will leave a profound mark in the geologic record.

The case for officially designating 1800 A.D. onward as the Anthropocene is now being made by members of the Geological Society of London.

Their case is outlined in an article in the February issue of GSA Today. The scientific body that decides such matters is the International Commission on Stratigraphy.

"What we've done is examine it in geological terms," said geologist Jan Zalasiewicz of the University of Leicester. Put another way, they have asked whether the present-day activities of humans will be reflected as a globally significant force in the kinds of sediments that are collected today and will be preserved in Earth's geologic record.