The Anthropocene as a Geological Time Unit

Jan Zalasiewicz is a Professor of Paleobiology at the University of Leicester and Chair of the Anthropocene Working Group. His research interests include mudrock processes; early Palaeozoic and Quaternary stratigraphy and sedimentology; and stratigraphic analysis, notably the study of the Anthropocene concept. Colin N. Waters is an Honorary Professor in the Department of Geology at the University of Leicester, and secretary of the Anthropocene Working Group with a central role in coordinating activities of the Working Group members. He recently retired as a Principal Mapping Geologist at the British Geological Survey, where he specialised in geological mapping of the UK and parts of the Sahara Desert, and stratigraphical analysis, principally of the Carboniferous and Anthropocene. Mark Williams is a Professor of Palaeobiology at the University of Leicester. He is interested in the evolution of the biosphere over geological timescales, with an emphasis on understanding the rate and degree of current biological change. He was the first secretary of the Anthropocene Working Group from 2009 to 2011. Colin Summerhayes is an Emeritus Associate of the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge. He is a marine geologist and oceanographer with expertise in the role of climate in forming marine sediments, and in interpreting the history of climate from sedimentary records. He is a former Manager of the Stratigraphy Branch of the Exploration Division of BP Research, and former Director of the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences Deacon Laboratory, Wormley.

• 1. History and development of the Anthropocene as a stratigraphical concept Jan Zalasiewicz, Colin Waters, Mark Williams, Colin Summerhayes, Martin Head, Reinhold Leinfelder, Jacques Grinevald, John McNeill, Naomi Oreskes, Will Steffen, Scott Wing, Phil Gibbard, Davor Vidas, Trevor Hancock and Anthony Barnosky; 2. Stratigraphic signatures of the Anthropocene Bob Hazen, Jan Zalasiewicz, Colin Waters, Andy Smith, Neil Rose, Agnieszka Gałuszka, An Zhisheng, Simon Price, Daniel deB. Richter, Sharon A Billings, James Syvitski and Colin Summerhayes; 3. The biostratigraphical signature of the Anthropocene Mark Williams, Anthony Barnosky, Jan Zalasiewicz, Martin Head, Ian Wilkinson, David Aldridge, Colin Waters, Valentin Bault and Reinhold Leinfelder; 4. The tectonosphere and its physical stratigraphical record Peter Haff, Jan Zalasiewicz, Colin Waters, Mark Williams, Anthony Barnosky, Reinhold Leinfelder and Juliana Ivar do Sul; 5. Anthropocene chemostratigraphy Ian Fairchild, Jan Zalasiewicz, Colin Summerhayes, Colin Waters, Reinhold Leinfelder, Agnieszka Gałuszka, Michael Wagreich, Neil Rose, Irka Hajdas and Catherine Jeandel; 6. Climate change and the Anthropocene Colin Summerhayes and Alejandro Cearreta; 7. The stratigraphical boundary of the Anthropocene Jan Zalasiewicz, Colin Waters, Mark Williams, Colin Summerhayes, Eric Odada, Michael Wagreich, Erich Draganits, Matt Edgeworth, J. R. McNeill, Will Steffen and Martin Head; References; Index.

'A very timely account of the progress and problems in defining the Anthropocene from its geological signature. The authors have brought together a plethora of scattered evidence to clarify where the science is now, and how it will impact on so many fields, from atmospheric and ocean chemistry to the legal system. This book will be hard to beat as a summary of the impact of humankind on the permanent record that will be entombed in the rocks of the future.' Richard Fortey, FRS, Natural History Museum