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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.

A crocodile has made herself pregnant in what is believed by scientists to be a world first. The crocodile at the Costa Rica zoo created a foetus that was 99.9 per cent genetically identical to itself, often known as a "virgin birth." This process typically does not occur with crocodiles but with other species such as birds, lizards, snakes, fish and sharks. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Scientists believe this kind of solo reproduction could be traced back to the dinosaurs, as they suggest the species may have also been capable of this rare method. The latest study was published on Wednesday (June 7) in the Royal Society journal, Biology Letters. Back in January 2018, an egg was laid by an 18-year-old female American crocodile in Parque Reptilania, the BBC reported. The fully formed foetus did not hatch however and was stillborn. Researchers from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, say this is the "first documentation" of this kind of reproduction in this species. Dr Warren Booth who has studied virgin births (parthenogenesis) for 11 years theorised that this reproduction method has not been seen in crocodiles because weren't looking out for this happening. ''There was a big increase in reports of parthenogenesis when people started keeping pet snakes. But your average reptile keeper doesn't keep a crocodile," he noted to the BBC. "This new evidence offers tantalizing insights into the possible reproductive capabilities of extinct archosaurian relatives of crocodilians, notably the Pterosauria and Dinosauria," experts said in the study. 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.

Conspiracy theories have taken over the internet since the "not real" American Airlines passenger, Tiffany Gomas, released an apology video in which she addresses the incident from 2 July. To recap, the 38-year-old marketing executive from Texas went viral for her rant on board, where she claimed a fellow passenger wasn't real. "That mother f**ker back there is not real," she said at the front of the plane while pointing towards her seat, which has since gone on to become an online phenomenon with TikTok trends, merch – and conspiracies. On Sunday (14 August), Gomas finally addressed the incident with a self-recorded video posted to her X account (formerly known as Twitter). And some conspiracy theorists online insist it's not really her. One person wrote, "Who actually believes that this is the crazy plane lady Tiffany Gomas speaking out? Who TF they trying to kid?" – though, he didn't clarify who "they" was. Another person made the claim: "Not only is this not the same person but someone ran a traceroute on her website, tiffanygomas(dot)ćom, and it runs through a Washington DC email. Her IP isn't your standard home internet IP address, mostly likely ran through a government server. This was government created." Meanwhile, a third wrote: "The mystery of whether this is really the person she claims to be can be easily solved if she produces a record of her flight receipt. Just as the lady on the plane did not believe that guy was real- I’m skeptical that this is the real person." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter In the clip, Gomas apologised for her language, before saying: "We all have our bad moments, um, some are far worse than others, and mine happened to be caught on camera for the whole world to see multiple times." She continued: "Sorry y’all. I hope that I can use this experience and do a little good in the world, and that is what I intend to do, I hope that you guys can accept my apology and I can begin to move on with my life." Gomas did not address her "not real" comment on the flight. One Twitter user hilariously hit back with the question on everyone's mind: "So was that motherf***er real, or no?" 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.

KAWASAKI, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 23, 2023--

Will Butler-Adams doesn’t have much patience for cars, or public transport for that matter. Especially on a warm

The European Union is backing its commitment to spur a nascent hydrogen market in the region by unlocking