Jan Zalasiewicz

Jan Zalasiewicz served as the chair of the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG), the body tasked with formally evaluating whether the Anthropocene should be recognized as a distinct geological time unit. Under his leadership, the AWG voted to recommend the mid-20th century as the proposed starting point for the epoch.

Jan Zalasiewicz is a professor of palaeontology at the University of Leicester in England. He has been affiliated with the university's School of Geography, Geology and the Environment for much of his academic career.

Jan Zalasiewicz has authored several books aimed at both academic and general audiences, including "The Earth After Us," which explores what geological traces human civilization might leave behind. His writing frequently bridges stratigraphy with broader questions about Earth's deep-time past and future.

The AWG under Zalasiewicz identified multiple candidate sites for a Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), commonly called a "golden spike," to mark the base of the Anthropocene. The proposed sites contained sedimentary evidence of mid-20th century radioactive fallout and other industrial markers preserved in the geological record.