Editing Deep time (section)

== Today's applications ==

=== The Anthropocene ===
The concept of deep time has taken on renewed urgency in discussions surrounding the Anthropocene—the proposed geological epoch defined by human impact on Earth's systems. In a landmark ''Science'' article, a multidisciplinary group of researchers argued that the Anthropocene is stratigraphically and functionally distinct from the Holocene marking a break in Earth's natural history that is visible in the geologic record.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Waters |first1=Colin N. |last2=Zalasiewicz |first2=Jan |last3=Summerhayes |first3=Colin |last4=Barnosky |first4=Anthony D. |last5=Poirier |first5=Clément |last6=Gałuszka |first6=Agnieszka |last7=Cearreta |first7=Alejandro |last8=Edgeworth |first8=Matt |last9=Ellis |first9=Erle C. |last10=Ellis |first10=Michael |last11=Jeandel |first11=Catherine |last12=Leinfelder |first12=Reinhold |last13=McNeill |first13=J. R. |last14=Richter |first14=Daniel deB. |last15=Steffen |first15=Will |date=2016-01-08 |title=The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aad2622 |journal=Science |volume=351 |issue=6269 |pages=aad2622 |doi=10.1126/science.aad2622|pmid=26744408 |bibcode=2016Sci...351.2622W |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Rethinking human time ===
Anthropologists and philosophers have further explored the cultural and conceptual ramifications of this shift. The ''University of Vienna's Anthropocene Project'' promotes "deep time literacy" as a tool for understanding our species' geological footprint,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Deep Time |url=https://anthropocene.univie.ac.at/resources/deep-time/ |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=anthropocene.univie.ac.at |language=en}}</ref> while scholars such as Matt Edgeworth argue that archaeological traces from the modern world blur traditional boundaries between human time and geological time.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Edgeworth |first=Matt |date=2021-10-21 |title=Transgressing Time: Archaeological Evidence in/of the Anthropocene |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-anthro-101819-110118 |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |language=en |volume=50 |pages=93–108 |doi=10.1146/annurev-anthro-101819-110118 |issn=0084-6570|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Scholar Jakko Kemper argues that deep time offers a necessary counterbalance to the "microtime" of tech-driven economies, which prioritize short-term profits and optimization over long-term planetary care. By grounding human activity within geological time, he suggests, deep time thinking challenges anthropocentric timelines and encourages more reflective approaches to environmental and technological governance.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kemper |first=Jakko |date=2024-11-01 |title=Deep Time and Microtime: Anthropocene Temporalities and Silicon Valley's Longtermist Scope |journal=Theory, Culture & Society |language=EN |volume=41 |issue=6 |pages=21–36 |doi=10.1177/02632764241240662 |issn=0263-2764|doi-access=free }}</ref> 

=== Science communication ===
The concept of deep time has become a tool for science communication, especially in the context of climate change and environmental responsibility. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History opened the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils, a deep time exhibit contextualizing Earth's evolutionary past alongside present ecological challenges. This presentation encourages visitors to think beyond human lifespans and understand the long arc of planetary transformation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=David H. Koch Hall of Fossils - Deep Time {{!}} Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History |url=https://naturalhistory.si.edu/exhibits/david-h-koch-hall-fossils-deep-time |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=naturalhistory.si.edu |language=en}}</ref>

Media outlets have similarly leveraged the idea of deep time to encourage a shift in public perception. BBC describes how contemplating deep time can foster patience, humility, and long-term thinking—qualities increasingly recognized as essential in the Anthropocene era.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-30 |title=The benefits of 'deep time thinking' |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230329-the-benefits-of-deep-time-thinking |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> Podcasts are chiming in, as an episode of the ''Land and Climate Review'' podcast explored how nuclear waste repositories—designed to remain secure for tens of thousands of years—offer a real-world case study in communicating and planning across deep time scales.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-19 |title=Can nuclear waste teach us about long-term thinking? - Land and Climate Review |url=https://www.landclimate.org/can-nuclear-waste-teach-us-about-long-term-thinking/ |access-date=2025-04-14 |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Legacy and the future ===
Public-facing scholarship and exhibitions echo this view. The Smithsonian Human Origins Program describes deep time as a framework that helps us "understand how we arrived at our present moment and how our choices will shape the future"—placing current human behaviors in the context of long evolutionary arcs and environmental change.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Age of Humans: Evolutionary Perspectives on the Anthropocene |url=https://humanorigins.si.edu/research/age-humans-evolutionary-perspectives-anthropocene |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History}}</ref> Popular science outlets like ''Discover Magazine'' also continue to amplify this discourse, helping readers grapple with the scale and implications of deep time in an age of accelerating change.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Notion of Deep Time |url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/the-notion-of-deep-time |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=Discover Magazine |language=en}}</ref>