--- title: Scientists Say Geological Epoch the Anthropocene Is Here description: The earth has entered a new geological epoch created by humans, scientists say canonical: https://time.com/4470514/anthropocene-geological-epoch-earth-scientists/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-29T14:10:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:26.275Z article:section: Science og:title: Scientists Say a New Geological Epoch Called the Anthropocene Is Here og:description: Nuclear tests and plastic pollution define a new epoch influenced by humans, scientists say og:url: https://time.com/4470514/anthropocene-geological-epoch-earth-scientists/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d0ce24f6bad7a50/6988a3fafb4eac94d188ee6f/anthropocene-epoch-new-geological-age.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Mushroom cloud from the first test of a hydrogen bomb, 1952. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Scientists Say a New Geological Epoch Called the Anthropocene Is Here twitter:description: Nuclear tests and plastic pollution define a new epoch influenced by humans, scientists say twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d0ce24f6bad7a50/6988a3fafb4eac94d188ee6f/anthropocene-epoch-new-geological-age.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Scientists Say a New Geological Epoch Called the Anthropocene Is Here > Sponsored content. 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Aug 29, 2016 2:10 PM UTC  The mushroom cloud produced by the first explosion by the Americans of a hydrogen bomb at Eniwetok Atoll in the South Pacific. The mushroom cloud produced by the first explosion by the Americans of a hydrogen bomb at Eniwetok Atoll in the South Pacific. Science and Society Picture Library/Getty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Aug 29, 2016 2:10 PM UTC The Earth has entered a new geological epoch defined by human impact, scientists say. Humanity’s influence on the Earth is so great, an entirely new geological epoch called the Anthropocene should be declared, according to scientists from the Working Group on the Anthropocene, who recommended the change to the International Geological Congress in Cape Town on Monday, the [_Guardian_](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/29/declare-anthropocene-epoch-experts-urge-geological-congress-human-impact-earth?CMP=twt%5Fa-science%5Fb-gdnscience) reported. The Anthropocene epoch should begin in about 1950, as man-made developments ended the geological time defined by the current epoch, the Holocene, the scientists said. The Holocene encompasses the 12,000 years since the last ice age. Mid-20th century phenomena, such as carbon dioxide emissions, rising sea levels, the global mass extinction of species and deforestation, have ended the Holocene epoch, the scientists said. The Anthropocene would be defined geologically by the effects of nuclear bomb tests, plastic pollution, concrete and more, according to scientists. “The significance of the Anthropocene is that it sets a different trajectory for the Earth system, of which we of course are part,” Prof. Jan Zalasiewicz, a geologist at the University of Leicester and chair of the [Working Group on the Anthropocene](http://quaternary.stratigraphy.org/workinggroups/anthropocene/) told the _Guardian_. The Working Group on the Anthropocene has researched the epoch since 2009. “If our recommendation is accepted, the Anthropocene will have started just a little before I was born,” Zalasiewicz said. “We have lived most of our lives in something called the Anthropocene and are just realizing the scale and permanence of the change.” ## Transcript [00:50] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4470514/anthropocene-geological-epoch-earth-scientists/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4470514/anthropocene-geological-epoch-earth-scientists/"},"headline":"Scientists Say a New Geological Epoch Called the Anthropocene Is Here","datePublished":"2016-08-29T14:10:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:04:26.275Z","description":"Nuclear tests and plastic pollution define a new epoch influenced by humans, scientists say","url":"https://time.com/4470514/anthropocene-geological-epoch-earth-scientists/","keywords":["Environment"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d0ce24f6bad7a50/6988a3fafb4eac94d188ee6f/anthropocene-epoch-new-geological-age.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2d0ce24f6bad7a50/6988a3fafb4eac94d188ee6f/anthropocene-epoch-new-geological-age.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mushroom cloud from the first test of a hydrogen bomb, 1952.","caption":"The mushroom cloud produced by the first explosion by the Americans of a hydrogen bomb at Eniwetok Atoll in the South Pacific.","creditText":"Science and Society Picture Library/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4470514/anthropocene-geological-epoch-earth-scientists/","name":"Scientists Say a New Geological Epoch Called the Anthropocene Is Here"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch the Possible Effects of Global Warming Around the World","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/TgZ183yY/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-11-30T23:49:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/TgZ183yY.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4470514/anthropocene-geological-epoch-earth-scientists/","duration":"PT51S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4470514/anthropocene-geological-epoch-earth-scientists/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```