The use of microplastics as a reliable chronological marker of the Anthropocene onset in Southeastern South America

Alves, Felipe Lopes; Pinheiro, Lara M.; Bueno, Carolina; Agostini, Vanessa Ochi; Pérez, Laura; Fernandes, Elisa Helena Leão; Weschenfelder, Jair; Leonhardt, Adriana; Domingues, M.; Pinho, Grasiela Lopes Leães; García-Rodríguez, Felipe

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159633

Cited by 14 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 71 publications

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“…This time coincides with the beginning of industrial mass production of plastic; consequently, potential of plastic deposition has been explored among the array of proxies related to the selection of an appropriate Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP). While the Anthropocene Working Group’s suggestion is debated ( 23 – 25 ), the potential of MPs in terms of time marker for the great acceleration is widely discussed ( 9 – 13 , 26 , 27 ). Only two suggested GSSP sites included temporal concentrations of MPs ( 28 , 29 ); however, a broader understanding of the possible coincidence of the earliest temporal occurrence of MPs at the beginning of the base of Anthropocene would be advantageous.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Downward migrating microplastics in lake sediments are a tricky indicator for the onset of the Anthropocene

Dimante-Deimantovica,

Saarni,

Barone

et al. 2024

Sci. Adv.

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Plastics are a recent particulate material in Earth’s history. Because of plastics persistence and wide-range presence, it has a great potential of being a global age marker and correlation tool between sedimentary profiles. In this research, we query whether microplastics can be considered among the array of proxies to delimit the Anthropocene Epoch (starting from the year 1950 and above). We present a study of microplastics deposition history inferred from sediment profiles of lakes in northeastern Europe. The sediments were dated with independent proxies from the present back to the first half of the 18th century. Regardless of the sediment layer age, microplastic particles were found throughout the cores in all sites. Depending on particles’ aspect ratio, less elongated particles were found deeper, while more elongated particles and fibers have reduced mobility. We conclude that interpretation of microplastics distribution in the studied sediment profiles is ambiguous and does not strictly indicate the beginning of the Anthropocene Epoch.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Downward migrating microplastics in lake sediments are a tricky indicator for the onset of the Anthropocene

Dimante-Deimantovica,

Saarni,

Barone

et al. 2024

Sci. Adv.

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Relationship between environmental evolution and human activities in the northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau throughout the past millennium and its implications for the onset of the Anthropocene

Pu,

Wei,

Liu

et al. 2024

Sci. China Earth Sci.

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In current research on the Anthropocene, assessing the impact of human activities via stratigraphic records of sediments and demarcating the Anthropocene epoch globally are critical scientific issues that urgently need to be addressed. The northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (QXP), where humans first settled permanently in large numbers in the QXP, has varying sedimentary environments that are extremely sensitive to human activities. In contrast to other regions of the QXP, the northeastern sector boasts a richer array of climatic and environmental reconstruction sequences. This distinctive feature renders it an exemplary locale for investigating the stratigraphic boundary of the Anthropocene. Through in-depth analysis and integration of existing paleoclimate and paleoenvironment sequences in the northeastern QXP, we draw the following conclusions: (1) Throughout the past millennium, the impact of human activities on the environment of the northeastern QXP has become increasingly significant, especially in the past 200–300 years, gradually overshadowing climatic factors. (2) Since AD 1950, multiple physicochemical indicators related to human activities in the northeastern QXP have shown exponential growth, forming a distinct peak within the past millennium and clearly depicting the global “Great Acceleration” phenomenon and its development process. (3) Intensified human activities have driven swift environmental shifts and “decoupled” the interplay between climatic variations and the ecological environment, propelling the northeastern QXP into the “Early Anthropocene” from the “Late Holocene”. On the basis of the above findings, we construct a model suitable for identifying the stratigraphic boundary of the Anthropocene in the northeastern QXP and note that since the ecological environment in the northeastern QXP has entered the “Early Anthropocene”, the climate signals of certain physicochemical indicators in sediments are gradually becoming weaker, whereas the signals of human activities are becoming stronger.

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Dynamics of low and high density microplastics in the world´s largest choked coastal lagoon under contrasting meteoceanographic conditions

Doto,

Silva,

Bouyssou

et al. 2024

Continental Shelf Research

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The use of microplastics as a reliable chronological marker of the Anthropocene onset in Southeastern South America

Cited by 14 publications

References 71 publications

Downward migrating microplastics in lake sediments are a tricky indicator for the onset of the Anthropocene

Downward migrating microplastics in lake sediments are a tricky indicator for the onset of the Anthropocene

Relationship between environmental evolution and human activities in the northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau throughout the past millennium and its implications for the onset of the Anthropocene

Dynamics of low and high density microplastics in the world´s largest choked coastal lagoon under contrasting meteoceanographic conditions

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