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SCPs in the Anthropocene

The Anthropocene is a proposed geological epoch that reflects the profound global impact by humans on the Earth. The proposal suggests that the Anthropocene starts in mid-20th century at a time known as the Great Acceleration when a synchronous and dramatic increase in human production, consumption and exploitation of natural resources occurred. This increase is reflected by a wealth of chemical, biological and physical indicators in a wide range of natural archives around the world. 

SCPs are one of these indicators. Globally, the records of SCPs in a range of natural archives including lake and marine sediments and peat cores show a marked increase starting in the mid-20th century. This reflects a major increase in demand for electricity following the Second World War which was met by both increased coal consumption and, for the first time, the large-scale use of fuel-oil for electricity generation. Therefore, world-wide SCP records are a clear signal of great stratigraphic utility as they represent a record of a primary driving force (i.e., fossil-fuel combustion) for global anthropogenic change.

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Most historical records for SCPs within radiometrically dated sequences have been produced from lake sediments and these have been recorded from every continent on Earth (see Site Locations).  Dated SCP records from marine sediments, peats and ice cores have also been recorded but are much less common. As part of a research project funded by the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW; Berlin) to define the start point for the Anthropocene, a series of natural archives were assessed for a wide range of chemical and biological determinands, including SCPs, to decide which marker should constitute the epochal boundary and precisely where it should be placed. 

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The SCP records from a selection of the analysed archives are shown below and show the globally synchronous increase in SCP inputs from the mid-20th century. While these archives were assessed as potential candidates for the Anthropocene, hundreds of other sediment sequences around the world also show the same pattern of a rapid increase in SCP contamination starting from the mid-20th century. 

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Rose, N.L. (2015) Spheroidal carbonaceous fly-ash particles provide a globally synchronous stratigraphic marker for the Anthropocene. Environmental Science and Technology 49: 4155-4162. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b00543

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