Antropozenoa: "Urre koloreko iltze"-aren bila

Abstract

The term Anthropocene refers to the geological time interval in which humans have become a significant geological force capable of altering the previous relatively stable natural dynamics of the Holocene Epoch. Since 2009 the Anthropocene Working Group has been focused on defining the Anthropocene from a geological point of view, following the standards established by the International Commission on Stratigraphy and, thus, proposing what type of chronostratigraphic unit it represents, the age of the lower boundary and its main stratigraphic indicators. Artificial radionuclides (¹³⁷Cs, ²⁴¹Am, ²³⁹Pu, ²⁴⁰Pu) appear to offer great potential owing to their synchronous onset in the environment, coinciding approximately with the “Great Acceleration” of about 1950. However, more in-depth studies are still needed to find the appropriate GSSP that meets all the necessary stratigraphic criteria to formalize this geological time. This work is intended to summarize the activity of the Anthropocene Working Group, the main elements of discussion that vertebrate the Anthropocene concept and the main conclusions reached so far.