Lake in Canada could mark the beginning of human-influenced age

Beneath the still waters of Lake Crawford, scientists are trying to find out when humans began to have more impact on Earth.

Canada‘s Crawford Lake near Toronto may play a crucial part in determining the march of geological time and what might be done about human effect on the planet.

Researchers from Brock University hope Crawford Lake’s well-preserved sediment could be the definitive marker that can be used to show the planet has entered a new geological time period.

Earth scientists who specialise in dating geological time are looking for compelling proof that we are indeed in the early years of the Anthropocene or the human-influenced age.

Al Jazeera’s Daniel Lak reports from Toronto.