On Unease and Discomfort About the Anthropocene

Abstract The proposal for a formal inclusion of the Anthropocene as a new unit of the Geologic Time Scale (GTS) was rejected in part on the grounds that it would sit uncomfortably in the GTS. The durations of all GTS units tend to become shorter toward the present. The proposed Anthropocene epoch and Crawfordian age fit that trend comfortably. Unease about the connection of the definition of the Anthropocene with the detonation of nuclear weapons may be addressed by considering redefinition of the additionally proposed nominal precision enhancement of the stratigraphically determined date. Unease about the short duration of the emergent Anthropocene may be addressed by emphasizing the standard possibility of future reassessment and revision of chronostratigraphic units.