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Anthropocene now: influential panel votes to recognize Earth’s new epoch

‘Atomic Age’ would mark the start of the current geologic time unit, if proposal receives final approval.
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  1. Meera Subramanian
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A panel of scientists voted this week to designate a new geologic epoch — the Anthropocene — to mark the profound ways in which humans have altered the planet. That decision, by the 34-member Anthropocene Working Group (AWG), marks an important step towards formally defining a new slice of the geologic record — an idea that has generated intense debate within the scientific community over the past few years.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-01641-5

Updates & Corrections

  • Clarification 21 May 2019: The story's description of Matt Edgeworth's views has been clarified.

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