A New Epoch in the Earth’s Timeline

Throughout the span of Earth's history, the planet has undergone profound transformations in its terrain, climate, and biodiversity, all of which are meticulously preserved beneath the surface.

Layers within the Earth's crust serve as a repository of clues documenting pivotal junctures that have profoundly reshaped the Earth, encompassing episodes like the ice age and impacts by asteroids. Utilizing this geological time scale, scientists have recently designated the Anthropocene as the forthcoming significant epoch.

In this visual representation, the Visual Capitalist team delves into the depths of Earth's geological timeline to unveil the transitions between epochs, shedding light on the specific occurrences that demarcate these distinct eras.

Earth's geological past is categorized into numerous distinct units, spanning from expansive eons down to specific ages. The duration of each unit varies, shaped by significant occurrences, such as the disappearance and emergence of new species.

Imagine slicing a mountain in half—an intriguing tapestry of layers would come into view, each narrating the progression of time. These strata are distinguished by variations in chemical composition and the sediment amassed over the ages.

Certain divisions are particularly clear and extensively apparent in the geological record, earning them the moniker "golden spikes." These distinctive markers can encompass changes of climatic, magnetic, biological, or isotopic (chemical) characteristics.

The Earth's journey has encompassed numerous epochs, culminating in the contemporary Anthropocene era.

These periods span diverse epochs, such as the Early Devonian, initiating the emergence of initial shell organisms 400 million years ago, and the trio of Jurassic epochs, witnessing the ascendancy of dinosaurs as predominant land vertebrates.

For the past 11,700 years, we've resided in the Holocene epoch, a notably steady phase that facilitated the rise of human civilization. Yet, in the wake of millennia of human influence, this epoch is rapidly yielding to the arrival of the Anthropocene.

The Anthropocene is characterized by a multitude of marks left on the Earth, such as the widespread dispersion of plastic particles and a conspicuous rise in carbon dioxide levels within sediments.

Epoch	Its start (MYA = Million Years Ago)
Anthropocene	70 Years Ago
Holocene	0.01 MYA
Pleistocene	2.58 MYA
Pliocene	5.33 MYA
Miocene	23.04 MYA
Oligocene	33.90 MYA
Eocene	56.00 MYA
Paleocene	66.00 MYA
Cretaceous	145.0 MYA
Jurassic	201.40 MYA
Triassic	251.90 MYA
Lopingian	259.50 MYA
Guadalupian	273.00 MYA
Cisuralian	300.00 MYA
Pennsylvanian	323.40 MYA
Mississippian	359.30 MYA
Devonian	419.00 MYA
Silurian	422.70 MYA
Ludlow	426.70 MYA
Wenlock	432.90 MYA
Llandovery	443.10 MYA
Ordovician	486.90 MYA
Furongian	497.00 MYA
Miaolingian	521.00 MYA
Terreneuvian	538.80 MYA

The most unequivocal indicator of this shift in the geological era, and the designated "golden spike" for the Anthropocene, is the presence of radioactive plutonium resulting from nuclear tests in the 1950s.

The best example has been discovered in the sediment of Ontario's Crawford Lake. This lake features two separate layers of water that remain distinct, causing settling sediments to accumulate in discernible strata at the lakebed across time.

Although the International Commission on Stratigraphy proclaimed the inception of the new epoch in July 2023, Crawford Lake's recognition as the epoch-defining site is still pending. If chosen, our planet will formally enter the Crawfordian Age of the Anthropocene.

To learn more about Anthropocene, have a look at the following books and movies:

• The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet
• Learning to Die in the Anthropocene: Reflections on the End of a Civilization
• Anthropocene: The Human Epoch