The Rock Cycle of the Anthropocene: inserting human agency into the Earth System

Abstract

The Rock Cycle, or Geological Cycle concept, represents an ideal model for the formation of new geological materials from pre-existing geological materials, and has been extensively studied and used for teaching and the dissemination of Geosciences throughout decades. However, the “cycles” shown in publications and textbooks fail to take into account the human geological agency, the importance of which has recently been widely recognized. This work justifies such consideration and suggests a Geological Cycle model incorporating processes and geological materials produced by humanity that characterize the Anthropocene.