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.

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With the power of social media, the most unsuspecting moments have the ability to become a worldwide internet meme in the blink of an eye and that is certainly what happened with the emergence of the 'Flying Adam Warlock' meme from the new Guardians of the Galaxy film. Flying Adam Warlock makes reference to a video that comes from the 2023 film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It shows the fictional character Adam Warlock, played by British actor Will Poulter, flying towards the camera in the direction of the viewers. It is the first scene that Warlock’s character appears in and he makes quite the entrance, gradually flying close to the camera while the Heart song Crazy on You plays in the background. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The scene became an instant meme and was used widely on TikTok as a video format to which users would add their own text overlay for some amusing meme content. According to Know Your Meme, the earliest iteration emerged on YouTube and was shared by the account Smashzilla. It featured the video of Warlock, while text over the top read, “Me on the way to your mom’s house”. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Adam Warlock (First appearance) Meme | smashzilla memes 188 www.youtube.com Since it first appeared, the format has exploded across platforms like TikTok. One clip that has been viewed over 2.6 million times had text overlay reading: “Mum: ‘Just be home by 10pm’. Me at 2am:” @justashelfthesecond Real. #guardiansofthegalaxyvol3 #guardiansofthegalaxy #gotg3 #gotg #relatable #marvel #viraltiktok #viralvideo #viral #trendingvideo #fyp #fypage #fypシ゚viral #foryourpage #foryoupage #adamwarlock #mum #me #literallyme Others even attempted to recreate the Flying Adam Warlock meme themselves. In one video with 1.2 million views, a guy could be seen lying on a longboard and rolling towards the camera resembling the original clip. @dankusama0.0 Right on time ? #fyp #fypシ #fypage #foryoupage #foryou #real #relatable #meme #memes #humour #haha #hehe #funnyvideo #gym #gymtok #gymrat #gymbro #gymmeme #gymmemes #guardiansofthegalaxy #adamwarlock #humour #gymlife #fitness #fittok #marvel One TikToker replied: “This COULD be Adam Warlock.” 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.

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