British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK.
Department of Geology, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.
Science. 2016 Jan 8;351(6269):aad2622. doi: 10.1126/science.aad2622.
Human activity is leaving a pervasive and persistent signature on Earth. Vigorous debate continues about whether this warrants recognition as a new geologic time unit known as the Anthropocene. We review anthropogenic markers of functional changes in the Earth system through the stratigraphic record. The appearance of manufactured materials in sediments, including aluminum, plastics, and concrete, coincides with global spikes in fallout radionuclides and particulates from fossil fuel combustion. Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles have been substantially modified over the past century. Rates of sea-level rise and the extent of human perturbation of the climate system exceed Late Holocene changes. Biotic changes include species invasions worldwide and accelerating rates of extinction. These combined signals render the Anthropocene stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene and earlier epochs.
人类活动正在给地球留下广泛而持久的印记。关于这是否值得被认可为一个新的地质时代单位，即人类世，人们仍在激烈争论。我们通过地层记录来回顾地球系统功能变化的人为标志。沉积物中人造材料的出现，包括铝、塑料和混凝土，与放射性核素和化石燃料燃烧产生的颗粒物在全球范围内的激增同时发生。过去一个世纪，碳、氮和磷循环发生了重大变化。海平面上升的速度以及人类对气候系统干扰的程度都超过了全新世和更早时期的变化。生物变化包括全球范围内的物种入侵和加速的灭绝速度。这些综合信号使得人类世在地质上与全新世和更早的时期明显不同。
