The stratigraphical signature of the Anthropocene in England and its wider context

Abstract

The Anthropocene deposits of the UK, here regarded as those formed after ~1950 CE, are now extensive, take various forms, and may be characterized and recognized by a number of stratigraphic signals, such as artificial radionuclides, pesticide residues, microplastics, enhanced fly ash levels, concrete fragments and a novel variety of 'technofossils' and neobiotic species. They include the uppermost parts of both 'natural' deposits such as the sediment layers formed in lakes and estuaries, and more directly human-made or human-influenced ones such as landfill deposits and the 'artificial ground' beneath urban areas and around major constructions. 'Negative deposits' include the worked areas of quarries and regions such as the Fenland, where thick peat deposits have ablated to leave a strongly modified underlying landscape, and extend beneath into the subterranean realm as mine workings and boreholes. The production of these deposits is still rapidly increasing and evolving in character, while the early signs of global change, such as warming, sea level rise and modifications to biotic assemblages, are beginning to further modify the emerging geology of this new phase of Earth history.

Facing the Anthropocene: An Update

“…All were rare or nonexistent before the Second World War, and all have been widely deposited since. 1 Another recent article proposes the remains of modern broiler chickens, which are "morphologically, genetically and isotopically distinct from domestic chickens prior to the mid-twentieth century… [and] vividly symbolize the transformation of the biosphere to fit evolving human consumption patterns, and show clear potential to be a biostratigraphic marker species of the Anthropocene." 2 A golden spike must unambiguously identify the beginning of the new epoch and must be accessible for study by geologists, now and in the future.…”

Residuos urbanos e mineiros

“…Nestes lagos que ocupan os baleiros deixados pola extracción de materiais do Terciario e o Cuaternario reiníciase de novo o depósito de sedimentos (agora do Antropoceno?). Esta pegada da minaría constitúe o que se coñece como depósitos negativos, que tamén comprenden as canteiras, turbeiras espoliadas ou as minas subterráneas (Zalasiewicz et al 2017). Figura 6.…”

Why landfill deposits are a distinguishing feature of the Anthropocene

“…Humans have significantly modified the continental landscape through deforestation, farming, and the construction of settlements and then cities, leaving significant and permanent traces that which may become archeological or geological records in the future (Zalasiewicz et al, 2018). We may thus refer to the “archeosphere” (Edgeworth et al, 2015), which represents a layer of artificially transformed soil containing tools, construction rubble, polluted subsurface soil, but most of all wastes of various origins.…”