The floor of Crawford Lake in Ontario acts like a storybook, preserving Earth’s recent history in chronological order. Crawford Lake reveals the activities of local Iroquoian communities from the late 13th to 15th centuries, all the way through to the present day. This is because Crawford Lake is a meromictic lake, meaning that the dense bottom layer of water does not mix with the less dense upper layers. “The isolated bottom layer of water remains under disturbed, enabling the accumulation of clearly laminated valves which record precise information about the time during which they were deposited,” according to the Anthropocene Working Group. Experts have nominated Crawford Lake as representation for the start of the Anthropocene epoch, a proposed new geological era characterised by significant changes to the planet’s surface as a result of human behaviour. The Anthropocene is yet to be officially accepted as a unit of geologic time, but in 2016 a working group under the guidance of an International Commission on Stratigraphy subcommittee agreed that human behaviour has left scars so deep that they will remain evident even into the distant future. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter One of the most notable markers of the Anthropocene is the appearance of plutonium, a radioactive material that appeared in the mid-20th century as a result of hydrogen bomb tests. “The presence of plutonium gives us a stark indicator of when humanity became such a dominant force that it could leave a unique global ‘fingerprint’ on our planet,” explained Professor Andrew Cundy, Chair in Environmental Radiochemistry at the University of Southampton and member of the Anthropocene Working Group. “In nature, plutonium is only present in trace amounts. But in the early-1950s, when the first hydrogen bomb tests took place, we see an unprecedented increase and then spike in the levels of plutonium in core samples from around the world. We then see a decline in plutonium from the mid-1960s onwards when the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty came into effect.” Agreeing on a simple measure that defines the boundary between chapters in Earth’s history is just the first step. This measure requires agreement among scientists on a single location to define the boundaries. Known as the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point, or a golden spike, plays a crucial role in standardising these borders between epochs. The Anthropocene Working Group has been evaluating potential golden spike sites, from Oued Akrech, Morocco, to Alano di Piave, Italy. After spending three years assessing the qualities of a dozen potential golden spikes for the Anthropocene, finally the AGW has landed on Crawford Lake. “Crawford Lake is so special because it allows us to see at annual resolution the changes in Earth history throughout two separate periods of human impact on this small lake,” micropalaeontologist Francine McCarthy of Brock University in Canada, a voting member of the AGW, said at a press briefing. The lake’s unique properties, such as its small size, depth, and lack of water mixing create sediments that precisely record environmental changes over the past millennia. To officially establish the Anthropocene in the International Chronostratigraphic Chart, the golden spike at Crawford Lake must undergo a series of voting by various commissions and unions. If successful, it will mark the moment when human activities permanently altered the planet. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The United States says it will expand its military industrial base by helping Australia manufacture guided missiles and rockets for both countries within two years

The Chiefs won the game 23-20, with Taylor Swift appearing to enjoy herself, as she smiled in the box alongside Ryan Reynolds

A movie weapons supervisor has waived her right to a courtroom review of evidence on charges of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting in 2021 of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin

Some $6 billion of Iranian assets once frozen in South Korea is now in Qatar, a key element for a planned prisoner swap between Tehran and the United States

Union boss Shawn Fain says companies can afford demands, including a 40% pay rise.

A 19-year-old man has been charged with threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict harm on the president, vice president or their family members after allegedly ramming a truck into bollards outside a park near the White House. Sai Varshith Kandula was arrested after “intentionally” crashing a U-Haul box truck into barriers outside Lafayette Park in Washington DC at roughly 9.40pm on 22 May, according to US Park Police and US Secret Service. He has also been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and reckless operation of a motor vehicle. News agencies photographed police officers removing a Nazi flag from the truck and examining the flag on the ground. A black backpack and a roll of duct tape also appear to have been removed from the truck. The truck’s cargo area appeared to be empty. Mr Kandula, from the St Louis suburb of Chesterfield, Missouri, graduated from Marquette Senior High School in 2022, according to the Rockwood School District. A LinkedIn profile that appears to match that description shows an interest in a career in data analytics with experience and certification in programming and coding languages. He reportedly traveled from Missouri to Dulles International Airport, then rented the truck and drove towards the White House, law enforcement sources told ABC News. He allegedly waved the flag and shouted as he exited truck before officers arrived to detain him. Mr Kandula reportedly told law enforcement officers that he wanted seize power, take over the government and kill the president, law enforcement sources told ABC. Police have declined to publicly provide further details about the nature of the alleged attack or information about the suspect. Law enforcement officials also indicated the suspect made threatening statements during his arrest. “There were no injuries to any Secret Service or White House personnel and the cause and manner of the crash remain under investigation,” Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service chief of communications, said in a statement on Monday night. The nearby Hay Adams hotel evacuated guests from the building shortly after the crash but allowed them back into the building by 1am ET. Following the crash and the release of the suspect’s name, a wave of accounts on Elon Musk’s Twitter sought to portray the incident as a “false flag” or a “hoax”, echoing similar baseless statements in the aftermath of the mass shooting at a Texas mall earlier this month after the gunman was revealed as an alleged neo-Nazi with SS and swastika tattoos. Right-wing pundits including Donald Jump Jr and other personalities and account on the social media network continue to falsely suggest that news organisations are labelling the crash suspect as a “white supremacist” in an attempt to undermine both the attack and threats of white supremacist violence. This is a developing story Read More A U-haul truck, a Nazi flag and threats to kill the president: What we know about the White House crash

U.S. officials say an American soldier who fled across the heavily armed border from South Korea into North Korea had been facing military disciplinary actions

Philadelphia police arrested Cody Heron overnight on the 4500 block of E Stiles Street in the Frankford section of Philadelphia

A ChatGPT user was recently detained by Chinese police for allegedly using the artificial intelligence chatbot to fake a news story reporting a nonexistent train crash

Spanish startup PLD Space aborted a test launch of its reusable Miura-1 rocket at the last moment early

Ludwig said, 'I’ve been pushing for relegation of VCT teams or creating expansion teams to add true value to ascension teams'