Defining the Anthropocene

摘要

认为"全新世"已经结束、被称为"人类世"(Anthropocene)的一个由人类主导的新的地质时期已经开始的观点正在受到广泛讨论。关于"人类世"是什么时候开始的目前还没有正式结论，同时确定作为一个正式地质时间单位的一个地质时期的开始需要找到在地层材料中所记录的地球状态变化的一个全球性标记。Simon Lewis和Mark Maslin针对认可一个新地质时期的正式要求分析了地质记录中由人类因素所产生的特征，识别出了可能标志着"人类世"之开始的两个时间——1610年和1964年。另请参阅本期Nature第144页上发表的News Feature文章。封面图片：Alberto Seveso。%Time is divided by geologists according to marked shifts in Earth's state. Recent global environmental changes suggest that Earth may have entered a new human-dominated geological epoch, the Anthropocene. Here we review the historical genesis of the idea and assess anthropogenic signatures in the geological record against the formal requirements for the recognition of a new epoch. The evidence suggests that of the various proposed dates two do appear to conform to the criteria to mark the beginning of the Anthropocene: 1610 and 1964. The formal establishment of an Anthropocene Epoch would mark a fundamental change in the relationship between humans and the Earth system.