The Anthropocene as a Geological Time Unit
A Guide to the Scientific Evidence and Current Debate
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The Anthropocene, a term launched into public debate by Nobel Prize winner Paul Crutzen, has been used informally to describe the time period during which human actions have had a drastic effect on the Earth and its ecosystems. This book presents evidence for defining the Anthropocene as a geological epoch, written by the high-profile international team analysing its potential addition to the geological time scale. The evidence ranges from chemical signals arising from pollution, to landscape changes associated with urbanisation, and biological changes associated with species invasion and extinctions. Global environmental change is placed within the context of planetary processes and deep geological time, allowing the reader to appreciate the scale of human-driven change and compare the global transition taking place today with major transitions in Earth history. This is an authoritative review of the Anthropocene for graduate students and academic researchers across scientific, social science and humanities disciplines.
Jan Zalasiewicz
Jan Zalasiewicz is geologist, paleontologist, and stratigrapher. He is Emeritus Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of Leicester, UK and a member of the Anthropocene Working Group. He focuses on geology and Earth history, in particular on fossil ecosystems and environments that span over half a billion years of geological time. He has taught students how to interpret rocks and rock structures for more than 20 years in the field and lecture halls, as well as leading field trips for geological groups.
Colin N Waters
Colin N. Waters is an Honorary Professor in the Department of Geology at the University of Leicester, and secretary of the Anthropocene Working Group with a central role in coordinating activities of the Working Group members. He recently retired as a Principal Mapping Geologist at the British Geological Survey, where he specialised in geological mapping of the UK and parts of the Sahara Desert, and stratigraphical analysis, principally of the Carboniferous and Anthropocene.
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