Plasticocene

Have we entered a new geological epoch? The Anthropocene, coined by Crutzen, suggests that human influence has become a significant and dominant force impacting the earths systems, and that these changes will be evident for thousands and possibly millions of years into the future. These changes must ‘be recognised in the layer of mud that will eventually form rocks’. There have been a couple of proposed start dates of the Anthropocene, including 1945. For those who advocate 1945 as the clearest measurable signal of human influence, the reasons behind doing so include the widespread presence of radionuclides and plastic within the environment. For the sake of following the topic my blog follows – plastic – I will only really be discussing the merits of their inclusion as a characteristic of the Anthropocene.

The things that make plastic great – its durability, its strength, and it being relatively inexpensive – have all contributed to its exponential production and consumption. But these qualities are the very same reason why it has become such an environmental nightmare. When littered or leaked into the environment, it doesn’t degrade. It doesn’t disappear. It accumulates within oceans, lakes, rivers, terrestrial soil, and deep sea sediments. Already, 33% of debris inMonterey Bay, USA are comprised of plastic litter, and this is evident across a range of depths, from 25 metres to almost 400m. The synthetic chemicals it leaks often prove toxic to the surrounding ecology.  These ubiquitous traces of plastics, even within the most remote of locations such as the Antarctic, can potentially provide a clear ‘marker’ for this new epoch.

The lack of any realistic or even feasible clean-up project to remove the millions of macro and micro plastics within the oceans is further evidence that plastics are here to stay. Plastiglomerate is the proposed name of a new type of stone being increasingly drawn attention to. First found on Kamilo Beach, Hawaii, this stone is composed of melting fragments of plastic (some of which are still recognisable) fused onto rocks and other sediments. This melting is the result of beach campfires, but could also form the by-product of forest fires or lava flows. As it becomes heavier, it is more likely to sink and/or be buried. This means it will not be subject to erosion, and could possibly be preserved and identifiable within the bedrock – this is exactly what a new epoch must possess to be officially classified.

Source: PATRICIA CORCORAN

Nonetheless, as with any controversial issue, debate surrounds the idea of a Plasticocene. Jerolmack doubts that plastic could withstand the temperatures and depths that rocks undergo during tectonic places. This implies that in the future, they won’t have stuck around to provide a significant marker of human influence within geology.

There is so much more to the Anthropocene - different proposed start dates, people arguing that it shouldn't even be a 'thing', many rigorous demands for a new epoch to suggested. I'm not doing it justice in this post, but I'm just exploring a small element that could possibly form evidence for the Anthropocene. Likewise, while there are an abundance of scientific articles outlining the distribution and abundance of plastics in the environment, only a few place this into the larger context of it being a possible marker of a new epoch. I persoanlly wouldn't say that plastic should be the prime marker of the Anthropocene, but I believe it could be one of many materials present that signal the massive human impact. Likewise, we still don't know enough about the lasting impacts of plastics in the environment, and all relating effects upon ecology and earth systems. 

Furthermore, I have already briefly mentioned the geological markers signalling new epochs, and how they must be distinctive to be classified. The Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), or 'golden spike' is one such reference point used as a physical identifier in geology. BUT any land-use or anthropogenic influencers that could be identified are diachronous. Land constantly being formed and reformed under anthropogenic influences, and as more materials are made and popularised, displacing the uses of others, these all potentially reflect 'the diachronous onset and development of the Anthropocene'. 

On a side note: Plastiglomerate as an anthropogenically influenced material blurs the boundaries between nature and culture – it’s scary to think that the continued prevalence of plastic within the environment almost means it is becoming an increasingly anticipated part of nature. We expect to see it, and are becoming desensitized to polluted environments. During my time in Ireland recently, I actually exclaimed 'Wow, this beach is really clean! There's no litter to be seen'. The artworks discussed in the previous blog almost signal this acceptance of plastic as part of our natural world and landscape.  Without effective action against pollution, future generations will not be able to discriminate plastic as an unnatural aspect to the natural environment.