Microplastics in Sediments Proposed as Key Indicator of Human Impact on Earth's Geology

Researchers propose using microplastic particles found in sediment layers as markers for the Anthropocene, a proposed new geological epoch characterized by significant human activity. This review highlights how human actions have altered Earth's sediments over decades, with new synthetic materials continuously entering the environment and being deposited. The study, published in Earth-Science Reviews, underscores the undeniable human influence on the planet's geological record, despite the Anthropocene Working Group's prior rejection of the formal epoch proposal.