Near Annual-Scale (1925-1985) Diatom Paleoecological Succession in Crawford Lake, Ontario: A Candidate Site for the Anthropocene Epoch Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP)

Abstract

The Anthropocene Epoch is the newest epoch to be proposed, and is based on the recognition that human induced environmental influences are distinct enough to preserved in the geological record. New geologic units require establishment of a Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), with many sites around the world being considered as the GSSP for the Anthropocene Epoch. The excellent record of a Holocene-Anthropocene boundary preserved in Crawford Lake, near Milton, ON, is a leading Anthropocene Epoch GSSP candidate and as such requires extensive multidisplinary research if it is to be designated as such. With a time stamp set in the mid-20th century, this thesis looks at diatom populations in Crawford Lake to determine if any signals were present during the late 1940s and early 1950s.