Crawford Lake in Canada: A Defining Site for the Anthropocene Age

Scientists from the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) have identified a remote lake near Toronto, Canada, as the potential birthplace of the Anthropocene epoch, a new geological time period characterized by humanity's significant impact on the planet. Sediment at the bottom of Crawford Lake contains evidence of environmental changes caused by human activity, including the presence of plutonium from nuclear testing in the 1950s. The AWG has proposed a start date for the Anthropocene between 1950 and 1954, but the final decision will be made at a conference in 2024.