[H-QR05] Quaternary, Diachronic dynamics of human-environment interactions

[HQR05-01] Anthropogenic fingerprints in global geological archives - toward defining the Anthropocene onset

*Michinobu Kuwae¹, Yusuke Yokoyama², Stephen Tims³, Narumi Tsugeki⁴, Hideyuki Doi⁵, Yoshiki Saito⁶ (1.Center for Marine Environmental Studies, Ehime University, 2.Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 3.Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, 4.The Faculty of Law, Matsuyama University, 5.Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, 6.Estuary Research Center, Shimane University)

Keywords:Anthropocene, the fingerprint number, the Great Acceleration, Earth system

In the context of defining the Anthropocene as a geological epoch, identifying the precise moment at which the consequences of fundamental human-induced changes in the Earth system first appear on the planet remains a long-standing challenge. This is due to the lack of a clear stratigraphic marker for the start date, as human impacts on Earth’s environments are significantly time-transgressive and spatiotemporally variable. Our study revealed that the number of anthropogenic fingerprints in global strata began to increase abruptly from 1952 ± 3 CE. This signal may reflect the onset of key human induced changes in the Earth system, providing unambiguous stratigraphic evidence. This unprecedented synchronous increase has potential significance for defining the start of the Anthropocene in the future.