Instead of the Holocene Epoch, defined as about 11,500 years ago to present, we may be already a couple of hundred years into the Anthropocene Epoch as human effects begin to dominate the planet.

Those influences will leave a profound mark in the geologic record.

The case for officially designating 1800 AD onward as the Anthropocene is now being made by members of the Geological Society of London.

Their case is outlined in an article in the latest issue of GSA Today.

The scientific body that decides such matters is the International Commission on Stratigraphy.

"What we've done is examine it in geological terms," says geologist Dr Jan Zalasiewicz of the University of Leicester.

There is, for instance, the fact that humans are now the largest earth-moving force on the planet.

It's the difference between a plow pulled by a horse and a bulldozer, Zalasiewicz says.