Publication Abstracts

Schmidt and Frank 2019

Schmidt, G.A., and A. Frank, 2019: The Silurian Hypothesis: Would it be possible to detect an industrial civilization in the geological record? Int. J. Astrobiol., 18, 142-150, doi:10.1017/S1473550418000095.

If an industrial civilization had existed on Earth many millions of years prior to our own era, what traces would it have left and would they be detectable today? We summarize the likely geological fingerprint of the Anthropocene, and demonstrate that while clear, it will not differ greatly in many respects from other known events in the geological record. We then propose tests that could plausibly distinguish an industrial cause from an otherwise naturally occurring climate event.

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BibTeX Citation

@article{sc07600p,
  author={Schmidt, G. A. and Frank, A.},
  title={The Silurian Hypothesis: Would it be possible to detect an industrial civilization in the geological record?},
  year={2019},
  journal={Int. J. Astrobiol.},
  volume={18},
  pages={142--150},
  doi={10.1017/S1473550418000095},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - sc07600p
AU  - Schmidt, G. A.
AU  - Frank, A.
PY  - 2019
TI  - The Silurian Hypothesis: Would it be possible to detect an industrial civilization in the geological record?
JA  - Int. J. Astrobiol.
VL  - 18
SP  - 142
EP  - 150
DO  - 10.1017/S1473550418000095
ER  -

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