Global peak in atmospheric radiocarbon provides a potential definition for the onset of the Anthropocene Epoch in 1965
Anthropogenic activity is now recognised as having profoundly and permanently altered the Earth system, suggesting we have entered a human-dominated geological epoch, the 'Anthropocene'. To formally define the onset of the Anthropocene, a synchronous global signature within geological-form...
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ftsouthampton:oai:eprints.soton.ac.uk:476101 2023-07-30T04:07:02+02:00 Global peak in atmospheric radiocarbon provides a potential definition for the onset of the Anthropocene Epoch in 1965 Turney, Chris S.M. Palmer, Jonathan Maslin, Mark A. Hogg, Alan Fogwill, Christopher J. Southon, John Fenwick, Pavla Helle, Gerhard Wilmshurst, Janet M. McGlone, Matt Bronk Ramsey, Christopher Thomas, Zoë Lipson, Mathew Beaven, Brent Jones, Richard T. Andrews, Oliver Hua, Quan 2018-12-01 https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/476101/ English eng Turney, Chris S.M., Palmer, Jonathan, Maslin, Mark A. and Thomas, Zoë , et al. (2018) Global peak in atmospheric radiocarbon provides a potential definition for the onset of the Anthropocene Epoch in 1965. Scientific Reports, 8 (1), [3293]. (doi:10.1038/s41598-018-20970-5 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-20970-5>). Article PeerReviewed 2018 ftsouthampton https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-20970-5 2023-07-09T22:59:17Z Anthropogenic activity is now recognised as having profoundly and permanently altered the Earth system, suggesting we have entered a human-dominated geological epoch, the 'Anthropocene'. To formally define the onset of the Anthropocene, a synchronous global signature within geological-forming materials is required. Here we report a series of precisely-dated tree-ring records from Campbell Island (Southern Ocean) that capture peak atmospheric radiocarbon (14C) resulting from Northern Hemisphere-dominated thermonuclear bomb tests during the 1950s and 1960s. The only alien tree on the island, a Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), allows us to seasonally-resolve Southern Hemisphere atmospheric 14C, demonstrating the 'bomb peak' in this remote and pristine location occurred in the last-quarter of 1965 (October-December), coincident with the broader changes associated with the post-World War II 'Great Acceleration' in industrial capacity and consumption. Our findings provide a precisely-resolved potential Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) or 'golden spike', marking the onset of the Anthropocene Epoch. Article in Journal/Newspaper Southern Ocean University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton Southern Ocean Campbell Island ENVELOPE(169.500,169.500,-52.500,-52.500) Bomb Peak ENVELOPE(169.250,169.250,-77.533,-77.533) Scientific Reports 8 1 |
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Open Polar |
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University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton |
op_collection_id |
ftsouthampton |
language |
English |
description |
Anthropogenic activity is now recognised as having profoundly and permanently altered the Earth system, suggesting we have entered a human-dominated geological epoch, the 'Anthropocene'. To formally define the onset of the Anthropocene, a synchronous global signature within geological-forming materials is required. Here we report a series of precisely-dated tree-ring records from Campbell Island (Southern Ocean) that capture peak atmospheric radiocarbon (14C) resulting from Northern Hemisphere-dominated thermonuclear bomb tests during the 1950s and 1960s. The only alien tree on the island, a Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), allows us to seasonally-resolve Southern Hemisphere atmospheric 14C, demonstrating the 'bomb peak' in this remote and pristine location occurred in the last-quarter of 1965 (October-December), coincident with the broader changes associated with the post-World War II 'Great Acceleration' in industrial capacity and consumption. Our findings provide a precisely-resolved potential Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) or 'golden spike', marking the onset of the Anthropocene Epoch. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Turney, Chris S.M. Palmer, Jonathan Maslin, Mark A. Hogg, Alan Fogwill, Christopher J. Southon, John Fenwick, Pavla Helle, Gerhard Wilmshurst, Janet M. McGlone, Matt Bronk Ramsey, Christopher Thomas, Zoë Lipson, Mathew Beaven, Brent Jones, Richard T. Andrews, Oliver Hua, Quan |
spellingShingle |
Turney, Chris S.M. Palmer, Jonathan Maslin, Mark A. Hogg, Alan Fogwill, Christopher J. Southon, John Fenwick, Pavla Helle, Gerhard Wilmshurst, Janet M. McGlone, Matt Bronk Ramsey, Christopher Thomas, Zoë Lipson, Mathew Beaven, Brent Jones, Richard T. Andrews, Oliver Hua, Quan Global peak in atmospheric radiocarbon provides a potential definition for the onset of the Anthropocene Epoch in 1965 |
author_facet |
Turney, Chris S.M. Palmer, Jonathan Maslin, Mark A. Hogg, Alan Fogwill, Christopher J. Southon, John Fenwick, Pavla Helle, Gerhard Wilmshurst, Janet M. McGlone, Matt Bronk Ramsey, Christopher Thomas, Zoë Lipson, Mathew Beaven, Brent Jones, Richard T. Andrews, Oliver Hua, Quan |
author_sort |
Turney, Chris S.M. |
title |
Global peak in atmospheric radiocarbon provides a potential definition for the onset of the Anthropocene Epoch in 1965 |
title_short |
Global peak in atmospheric radiocarbon provides a potential definition for the onset of the Anthropocene Epoch in 1965 |
title_full |
Global peak in atmospheric radiocarbon provides a potential definition for the onset of the Anthropocene Epoch in 1965 |
title_fullStr |
Global peak in atmospheric radiocarbon provides a potential definition for the onset of the Anthropocene Epoch in 1965 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Global peak in atmospheric radiocarbon provides a potential definition for the onset of the Anthropocene Epoch in 1965 |
title_sort |
global peak in atmospheric radiocarbon provides a potential definition for the onset of the anthropocene epoch in 1965 |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/476101/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(169.500,169.500,-52.500,-52.500) ENVELOPE(169.250,169.250,-77.533,-77.533) |
geographic |
Southern Ocean Campbell Island Bomb Peak |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean Campbell Island Bomb Peak |
genre |
Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
Turney, Chris S.M., Palmer, Jonathan, Maslin, Mark A. and Thomas, Zoë , et al. (2018) Global peak in atmospheric radiocarbon provides a potential definition for the onset of the Anthropocene Epoch in 1965. Scientific Reports, 8 (1), [3293]. (doi:10.1038/s41598-018-20970-5 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-20970-5>). |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-20970-5 |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1772820112533880832 |