Recognition: no theorem link
The new Geological Age that never was or the multiple layers of the Transientocene
Pith reviewed 2026-05-14 23:15 UTC · model grok-4.3
The pith
The rejection of the Anthropocene shows that human changes are too transient and multidimensional, so our era is the Transientocene.
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
Core claim
The Anthropocene was proposed to mark the extent of human transformations on the atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere, but its rejection by geologists indicates that these changes have not reached the level of an encompassing new geological age. Nevertheless, there is no spot on the planet untouched by these signs, and the entanglement of human activities makes them inescapable. Thus, the present condition is continuously reshaped, leading to the view of our time as the Transientocene.
What carries the argument
The Transientocene as a descriptor for the time of significant and multidimensional transformations driven by entangled human activities.
If this is right
- Human impacts are felt globally but lack the permanence required for a geological epoch.
- The continuous reshaping of conditions makes any fixed label inadequate.
- Understanding the multidimensional aspects is key to addressing the present and immediate future.
- Focus shifts from geological formalization to recognizing the transient entangled state.
Where Pith is reading between the lines
- Policy approaches might prioritize flexibility in responding to layered environmental shifts.
- Interdisciplinary studies could explore how different dimensions of change interact over time.
- This perspective links to ideas of resilience in social-ecological systems.
Load-bearing premise
That the IUGS rejection accurately reflects that human activities have not produced a new geological age and that the changes are transient and multidimensional by their nature.
What would settle it
Discovery of a consistent, permanent geological marker layer from human activities starting around 1950 that meets the criteria for a new epoch.
read the original abstract
Since its humble origins, humans have left imprints on the face of the planet. From the profound transformation unleashed by the Neolithic Revolution, about 12000 years ago, till the present, humans have reshaped the planet significantly. From the second half of the XX century, the impact on the atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere and upper lithosphere is so overwhelming that a new geological age, the Anthropocene, was proposed to consider the extent of these transformations. However, despite the ubiquitous nature of the changes in course, the International Union of Geological Sciences rejected in March 2024 formalizing the Anthropocene as a new geological epoch. This controversial decision implies that geologists are not quite convinced that human activities have reached the level of an encompassing new geological age. Nevertheless, it is beyond any doubt that there is no single spot on the planet where the signs of the transformations ensued by the human activities are not felt. Furthermore, the interconnection of the human activities has reached a level of entanglement that it makes the Anthropocene an inescapable feature of our present and immediate future. Thus, more important than framing our present condition in a way that it can be recognised by geologists in the future, is the understanding that by its very nature, the Anthropocene is a condition that is continuously being reshaped to the point that we should instead regard our time as a Transientocene, a time of significant and multidimensional transformations.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The paper argues that the IUGS's March 2024 rejection of formalizing the Anthropocene as a new geological epoch indicates that human activities have not reached the threshold of an encompassing new age, and proposes instead the term 'Transientocene' to describe the current era of significant, multidimensional, and continuously reshaping transformations driven by human impacts across the atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere.
Significance. If the interpretation of the IUGS decision holds, the paper contributes a conceptual reframing that highlights the transient and entangled nature of contemporary human-driven changes, which could inform interdisciplinary discussions at the intersection of geology and social sciences. The absence of new stratigraphic data, formal criteria, or empirical analysis, however, limits its potential to advance the debate beyond interpretive commentary.
major comments (2)
- [Abstract] Abstract and opening paragraphs: the claim that the IUGS rejection 'implies that geologists are not quite convinced that human activities have reached the level of an encompassing new geological age' mischaracterizes the actual grounds for the vote. The Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy rejected the proposal on chronostratigraphic grounds (absence of a globally synchronous, unambiguous marker horizon separable in the rock record), not on an assessment of the magnitude or permanence of human impacts such as species extinctions or altered biogeochemical cycles. This premise is load-bearing for the subsequent pivot to 'Transientocene'.
- [Main text] Body text (discussion of the Anthropocene proposal): the manuscript supplies no independent stratigraphic, paleontological, or quantitative argument to establish why the observed changes are inherently 'transient' or why 'Transientocene' is a superior descriptor to alternatives. The proposal therefore inherits the risk that it rests on an external institutional decision rather than internal evidence.
minor comments (2)
- [Abstract] The term 'Transientocene' is introduced without a formal definition, stratigraphic criteria, or comparison to existing informal terms (e.g., 'Anthropocene' in its informal usage).
- [Abstract] The manuscript would benefit from explicit citations to the IUGS/Subcommission statements or published accounts of the March 2024 vote to ground the interpretation.
Simulated Author's Rebuttal
We thank the referee for the careful reading and constructive comments. We address each major point below, clarifying our interpretation of the IUGS decision while acknowledging the manuscript's conceptual rather than empirical character.
read point-by-point responses
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Referee: [Abstract] Abstract and opening paragraphs: the claim that the IUGS rejection 'implies that geologists are not quite convinced that human activities have reached the level of an encompassing new geological age' mischaracterizes the actual grounds for the vote. The Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy rejected the proposal on chronostratigraphic grounds (absence of a globally synchronous, unambiguous marker horizon separable in the rock record), not on an assessment of the magnitude or permanence of human impacts such as species extinctions or altered biogeochemical cycles. This premise is load-bearing for the subsequent pivot to 'Transientocene'.
Authors: We accept the referee's clarification: the rejection rested specifically on chronostratigraphic criteria—the absence of a globally synchronous, unambiguous marker horizon—rather than a broader judgment on the scale or permanence of human impacts. We will revise the abstract and opening paragraphs to state this accurately and to avoid any implication that the vote assessed overall magnitude. At the same time, we maintain that the lack of such a fixed marker is consistent with our conceptual framing, as it reflects ongoing, non-permanent transformations that continue to evolve across multiple Earth systems; this supports retaining 'Transientocene' as a descriptor for the current period of continuous multidimensional change. revision: partial
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Referee: [Main text] Body text (discussion of the Anthropocene proposal): the manuscript supplies no independent stratigraphic, paleontological, or quantitative argument to establish why the observed changes are inherently 'transient' or why 'Transientocene' is a superior descriptor to alternatives. The proposal therefore inherits the risk that it rests on an external institutional decision rather than internal evidence.
Authors: The manuscript is explicitly a short conceptual and interpretive commentary, not an empirical study offering new stratigraphic, paleontological, or quantitative data. Our argument for the transient character of current changes draws on the established literature describing multidimensional, continuously reshaping human impacts across the atmosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere, together with the implications of the IUGS decision. We do not claim internal stratigraphic evidence; the contribution lies in reframing the present condition as inherently transient and entangled rather than a fixed geological epoch. We therefore see no need to add empirical analysis, though we can add brief references to existing studies on the non-permanent nature of certain markers if that would strengthen clarity. revision: no
Circularity Check
No circularity; proposal rests on external IUGS decision and interpretive reasoning about transience
full rationale
The paper's chain begins with the documented March 2024 IUGS rejection of formal Anthropocene status and infers that human-driven changes have not reached the threshold of a new geological epoch, then concludes that the present must instead be viewed as a Transientocene because transformations are inherently continuous and multidimensional. This reasoning invokes no equations, fitted parameters, self-citations, or ansatzes that reduce the conclusion to its own inputs by construction. The central claim is grounded in an external institutional fact and a qualitative interpretation of ongoing planetary changes, remaining self-contained without any of the enumerated circularity patterns.
Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger
axioms (1)
- domain assumption Human activities have reached a level of entanglement that makes the Anthropocene an inescapable feature continuously being reshaped.
invented entities (1)
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Transientocene
no independent evidence
Reference graph
Works this paper leans on
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[1]
The new Geological Age that never was or the multiple layers of the Transientocene The new Geological Age that never was or the multiple layers of the Transientocene Orfeu Bertolami Departamento de Física e Astronomia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto; Centro de Física das Universidades do Minho e do Porto orfeu.bertolami@fc.up.pt Abstract Sin...
work page 2024
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[2]
The Anthropocene is dead. Long live the Anthropocene! The evolution of the human activities till its equivalence to a geological force is a development that has been, since its inception, fundamentally transformative. Humans shape the landscape and continuously seek expanding the capacity of getting the most from the territory they settle in. In fact, giv...
work page 2000
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[3]
and on the oceans somewhat from 1970’s onwards (Jouffray et al 2020), has prompted the concept of a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, to follow the geologically well characterized Holocene epoch, whose climatic stability was particularly important for the flourishing of the human civilisations. It is just natural that such a proposal would be thorou...
work page 1970
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[4]
and is shown to be an attractor of trajectories in the phase space of a thermodynamical model of the Earth System (Bertolami & Francisco 2019). If so, the Anthropocene is necessarily a transitional stage of the Earth System from the Holocene to the Hothouse Earth state. In fact, the possible range of trajectories of the Earth System on the Anthropocene po...
work page 2019
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[5]
and unfolding of climate disasters with dire implications for millions of people. Therefore, it is no longer possible to dismiss the climate crisis, which is manifesting itself ubiquitously, leaving behind a visible and traumatic trail of destruction and suffering. Indeed, this climatic crisis and the problematic times we are living has been dubbed as the...
work page 1999
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[6]
and will not be repeated here. Furthermore, another undeniable new landslide event is the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) (see also Bertolami 2025, for a discussion on the impact on the Earth System). James Lovelock, the author and scientist that called our attention to the idea that the complex feedback mechanisms and behaviour of the Earth Sys...
work page 2025
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[7]
and their problematic nature must be considered in the context of the web of issues that get entangled within an Anthropocene in continuous acceleration. Common sense demands that the development of AI must be strongly regulated and its social impact in the process of replacing the human labour must be counterbalanced. A minimal set of measures should inc...
work page 2009
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[8]
The trumpets of alarm The Transientocene calls for an urgent rethinking on the principles that have been guiding world’s decision systems. Reacting to the urgent problems that The new Geological Age that never was or the multiple layers of the Transientocene continuously arise from the flow of events in a complex and highly connected world is no longer ef...
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[9]
(https://doi.org/10.21814/anthropocenica.4117). Bertolami O. & Gonçalves, C. D. (2023). From a dynamic integrated climate economy (DICE) to a resilience integrated model of climate and economy (RIMCE), Anthropocene Review 11 (3) (https://doi.org/10.1177/20530196231205486). Bertolami, O. (2024a). Naturezas Vivas, (Coimbra, Editora d’Ideias). Bertolami, O. ...
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[10]
Bertolami O. & Gonçalves, C. D. (2025). Safety in an uncertain world within the Resilience Integrated Model of Climate and Economics (RIMCE), Anthropocene Review 12 (3) (https://doi.org/10.1177/20530196251336252). Bertolami, O. (2025). Digitalization and AI: Technological Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5185649). Bertolami, O....
discussion (0)
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