Scientists from all over the world are suddenly obsessed with this Ontario lake

A small, unassuming lake less than an hour's drive from Toronto has become the centre of a flurry of international scientific study in recent weeks, with researchers now deeming the body of water to be the location that helps distinguish an entire new period in geological record.

Experts on Wednesday confirmed that Crawford Lake near Milton, Ontario is what they call "the golden spike" of the Anthropocene, which is the term used to describe the epoch that humans have had a notable physical impact on the planet.

The mud lining the very deep bottom of the mere two-hectare pool — which is thankfully located in an eponymous protected conservation area — has been found to contain well-preserved layers dating back more than one thousand years, showing how humans have gradually and permanently affected earth's chemistry, structure and ecosystems.

Crawford Lake selected as Anthropocene's 'golden spike'.#AFPGraphics map locating Crawford Lake in Canada, where scientists say the clearest and earliest evidence can be found of the geological "epoch of humans", the Anthropocene pic.twitter.com/StPeUZtNgn

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 12, 2023

A surge in the use of fossil fuels, in clear-cutting, in waste production, in the use and emission of certain pollutants, in the testing of nuclear weapons, and in other activities highly disruptive to nature have left tangible, measurable changes in Crawford Lake's sediments, proving not only that people have influenced earth's systems in new ways, but how.

It is a monumental discovery given that the Anthropocene Working Group has been studying the topic for nearly 15 years.

According to the group's latest work, the Anthropocene technically commenced sometime between 1950 and 1954, and has been as significant as the meteorite that killed the dinosaurs, as far as its irreversible alteration (read: damage) of the earth.

Ontarians will agree that the fact that this important new scientific finding comes all thanks to a local natural feature is pretty darn cool.