The Anthropocene as an Event, not an Epoch

Abstract

Over the course of the last decade the concept of the Anthropocene has become widely established within and beyond the geoscientific literature but its boundaries remain undefined. Formal definition of the Anthropocene as a chronostratigraphical series and geochronological epoch following the Holocene, at a fixed horizon and with a precise global start date, has been proposed, but fails to account for the diachronic nature of human impacts on global environmental systems during the late Quaternary. By contrast, defining the Anthropocene as an ongoing geological event more closely reflects the reality of both historical and ongoing human-environment interactions, encapsulating spatial and temporal heterogeneity, as well as diverse social and environmental processes that characterize anthropogenic global changes. Thus, an Anthropocene Event incorporates a substantially wider range of anthropogenic environmental and cultural effects, while at the same time applying more readily in different academic contexts than would be the case with a rigidly defined Anthropocene Series/Epoch.

The proposed Anthropocene Epoch/Series is underpinned by an extensive array of mid‐20th century stratigraphic event signals

“…However, we agree that an episode shaped by interdisciplinary characteristics and encompassing these earlier human impacts (Gibbard et al , 2021) could, if appropriately named, be complementary to a formally defined Anthropocene epoch. For instance, archaeological periods, including the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age, are useful because their time‐transgressive boundaries accommodate the varying onsets of particular technological developments around the world, as Gibbard et al (2022) note. But this diachroneity is revealed only when a time scale is added.…”

“…Functionally, this would be analogous to the impact fallout used as the primary guide to the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary (Molina et al , 2006), as both signals are near‐isochronous and global in extent. However, Gibbard et al (2022) question whether such a guide would be welcomed by the international geological community given its association with weapons of mass destruction. Here it must be emphasized that the AWG has adopted a scientific approach, not a sociopolitical one, where stratigraphic utility determines the selection of the primary guide.…”

“…Gibbard et al (2022) in the Journal of Quaternary Science ( JQS ) recently proposed that the Anthropocene be considered a prolonged, diachronous ‘geological event’ encompassing all transformative impacts of humans upon Earth, rather than a formally defined chronostratigraphic unit. The proposal restated arguments published by the same authors in the journal Episodes (Gibbard et al , 2021), a repetition justified on the grounds that ‘ Episodes might not be widely read by Quaternary scientists’.…”

“…Their proposal prompts a novel appraisal of the Anthropocene concept, and anthropogenic impacts generally, through the lens of geological event stratigraphy, and has stimulated discussion of how events are recognized and used in stratigraphy (Waters et al , accepted). Here we focus on: the characterization of the Anthropocene by Gibbard et al (2021, 2022); the question of whether a chronostratigraphic Anthropocene should be at age/stage or series/epoch level; the event interpretation by Gibbard et al (2021, 2022) vis‐à‐vis the usual meaning of events in geology and particularly within the Quaternary; whether an ‘Anthropocene event’ may be geologically robust; and how this suggested conceptualization might relate to an Anthropocene epoch.…”

Public-minded reflections from the Anthropocene Working Group meeting in Germany

“…Fortunately, there is a way to forge progress that avoids any association with mid-20 th century atomic bomb tests. Mindful of a large and still growing body of other geological and non-geological opinions, as summarized below, this reflection builds on the proposal by Gibbard et al (2021Gibbard et al ( , 2022) that the Anthropocene be viewed as a GTS event stretching back thousands of years by coupling it with the standard approach for naming other transformative events in human history, as summarized below. It also builds on this viewpoint: "Geology uniquely brings big time and space perspectives to the planning table as an essential frame of reference.…”