The “Great Acceleration” beginning in the mid-20th century provides the causal mechanism of the Anthropocene, which has been proposed as a new epoch of geological time beginning in 1952 CE. Here we identify key parameters and their diagnostic palaeontological signals of the Anthropocene, including the rapid breakdown of discrete biogeographical ranges for marine and terrestrial species, rapid changes to ecologies resulting from climate change and ecological degradation, the spread of exotic foodstuffs beyond their ecological range, and the accumulation of reconfigured forest materials such as medium density fibreboard (MDF) all being symptoms of the Great Acceleration. We show: 1) how Anthropocene successions in North America, South America, Africa, Oceania, Europe, and Asia can be correlated using palaeontological signatures of highly invasive species and changes to ecologies that demonstrate the growing interconnectivity of human systems; 2) how the unique depositional settings of landfills may concentrate the remains of organisms far beyond their geographical range of environmental tolerance; and 3) how a range of settings may preserve a long-lived, unique palaeontological record within post-mid-20th century deposits. Collectively these changes provide a global palaeontological signature that is distinct from all past records of deep-time biotic change, including those of the Holocene.

中文翻译：

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人类世的古生物学特征与之前时代不同


20世纪中叶开始的“大加速”提供了人类世的因果机制，人类世被认为是自公元1952年开始的一个新的地质时代。在这里，我们确定了人类世的关键参数及其诊断性古生物学信号，包括海洋和陆地物种离散生物地理范围的快速崩溃、气候变化和生态退化导致的生态系统的快速变化、外来食品的传播超出其生态范围，以及重新配置的森林材料（例如中密度纤维板（MDF））的积累都是大加速的症状。我们展示：1）如何利用高度入侵物种的古生物学特征和生态变化来关联北美洲、南美洲、非洲、大洋洲、欧洲和亚洲的人类世演替，这些变化表明人类系统之间的相互联系日益增强； 2）垃圾填埋场独特的沉积环境如何将生物体残骸集中到远远超出其环境耐受地理范围的地方； 3）一系列环境如何在 20 世纪中叶后的沉积物中保存长期、独特的古生物学记录。总的来说，这些变化提供了全球古生物学特征，与过去所有深时生物变化记录（包括全新世的记录）不同。