The authors offer a comment on the paper: “When did the Anthropocene begin? A mid-twentieth century boundary is stratigraphically optimal” by Jan Zalasiewicz et al. (2015), Quaternary International, 383, 196–203.

The authors consider this proposal in the context of the procedures and terminology employed by the International Union of Geological Sciences which underpin the formal designation of chronostratigraphic units. Their conclusion is that there is no practical value in establishing the lower boundary of a new interval of geological time in the mid-twentieth century; equally, there is no sound stratigraphical basis for designating an additional chronostratigraphic unit above the Holocene in the international Geological Time Scale.
Comment on “When did the Anthropocene begin? A mid-twentieth century boundary is stratigraphically optimal” by Jan Zalasiewicz et al. (2015), Quaternary International, 383, 196–203. Walker, M., Gibbard, P., Lowe, J. Quaternary International 383: 204–207. 2015