Robust evidence supports the finding that humanity has entered a new geological era, reports a new paper in Science, co-authored by Erle Ellis, professor of geography and environmental systems. The Anthropocene is defined through the impacts that human activity has had on the Earth. This latest article on the concept outlines findings to justify the establishment of the Anthropocene as a new geological epoch.
Ellis is among 24 internationally-known geoscientists who make up the Anthropocene Working Group of the International Commission on Stratigraphy, the international scientific organization in charge of the geologic time scale, which produced the Science article. He explains, “This paper represents the first major review of the scientific evidence that humans have now altered Earth so greatly that we now live in a new epoch of geologic time.”
The Anthropocene Epoch acknowledges rapid changes in Earth’s environment due in part to the increased human population and increased consumption of resources during the mid-20th century. Key markers of the prior time period, the Holocene Epoch, include how humans used the land to increase food production, and built cities.
“By recognizing the degree to which human societies are changing Earth, it may be possible to guide humanity and the planet toward better outcomes than those that will come if our current trajectory continues,” Ellis shares.
Read the full paper, “The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene,” in Science.
Read additional coverage on Reuters, The Christian Science Monitor, Science World Report, and Voice of America.
Image: Erle Ellis presenting at the 2015 UMBC Research Forum on Climate Change and the Environment. Photo by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.
