Speaker
Description
Human activity has changed the Earth system to such an extent that recent and currently forming geological deposits include anthropogenic signatures. The planetary change is stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene, which started at the end of the last major glacial epoch. Thus, the Anthropocene has been proposed as a new unit of the geologic time scale dating from the commencement of significant human impact on Earth system. The concept encompasses different geological, ecological, sociological, and anthropological changes in recent Earth history. The Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) of the International Commission of Stratigraphy proposed to place the beginning of the chronostratigraphic Anthropocene in the mid-20th century. It coincides with global spikes in fallout radionuclides from atmospheric bomb testing and particulates from fossil fuel combustion. Since 1950s, structure and functioning of the Earth system have changed; e.g., concentrations of long-lived greenhouse gases, surface temperature, ocean acidification, which are associated with socio-economic trends, including population growth, industrialization, and mineral and energy use. This is called as the “Great Acceleration” in the Earth system and socio-economic trends. Manufactured materials including aluminium, concrete, and plastics are increasingly present in the Anthropocene sediments.
In recent years, the Anthropocene has been a strongly discussed subject and a symbol for the dominance of humans on geological processes. Researchers have studied to define the base of the Anthropocene as a series within the Geological Time Scale and establish its overall nature and stratigraphic proxies. To investigate Anthropogenic signatures in coastal sediments of South Korea, researchers of University of Vienna (Vienna, Austria) and Chonnan National University (Gwangju, South Korea) combined their efforts in an international research cooperation. In 2021, core sections were collected from two islands on the west coast of South Korea. Sample preparation and analyses of macroscopic components and sedimentary features were conducted in Korea. In Vienna, select core samples were processed to determine characteristics of geochemical, mineralogical composition, microplastic contents, and their variations in the Anthropocene deposits. We introduce our preliminary results about Anthropogenic signatures in coastal sediments on the west coast of Korea. With this international research cooperation, we look forward to presenting our findings of distinctive markers indicating local and regional Anthropogenic signatures. All in an effort to correlate the Anthropocene within diverse environments across the Earth.
References
Waters et al. (2016) The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene. Science 351, 6269. DOI: 10.1126/science.aad2622
Waters and Turner (2022) Defining the onset of the Anthropocene. Science 378, 6621, 706-708. DOI: 10.1126/science.ade2310
| Keywords | Anthropocene, Quaternary, Holocene, sediment core, west coast of Korea, Yellow Sea, microplastics |
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