Anthropocene

== English == === Etymology === From a combination of anthropo- +‎ -cene modeled on Holocene, Pleistocene, and similar. First attested in the 1960s in the translations of Russian-language scientific articles, possibly with a different meaning. Supposedly coined independently in the 1980s by American biologist Eugene Stoermer and later popularized by Dutch atmospheric chemist Paul J. Crutzen in 2000. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈæn.θɹə.pəˌsiːn/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈæn.θɹə.pəˌsin/, /ænˈθɹɑp.əˌsin/ Hyphenation: An‧thro‧po‧cene === Proper noun === the Anthropocene (geology, formal, strictly) A proposed but rejected geological epoch, in which the effect of human activities on the global environment has disrupted the natural variability of the Holocene, ending the Holocene. (It was rejected as formal scientific nomenclature in 2024 owing to not meeting a bar for how a geological epoch is formally defined.) [from 1960s] Holonyms: Quaternary (current period), Age of Man (dated) Coordinate term: Holocene (as separate epoch) (loosely, informal) The era of human impact on the environment, irrespective of its nomenclatural status as a geological event or epoch; especially, the era of large impact (i.e., on industrial and postindustrial scale). Holonyms: Holocene (current epoch) < Quaternary (current period), Age of Man (dated) Meronym: assholocene (informal) ==== Usage notes ==== The term has not been adopted in the official geological nomenclature. Defining the time of human impact on the environment as a geological event within the Holocene (rather than a separate epoch) has also been proposed. It is widely acknowledged that a loose and informal sense of the term lives on in popular usage, irrespective of nomenclatural status as a geological event or epoch. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== === References === === Further reading === Anthropocene on Wikipedia.Wikipedia