Plastics in the Deep Time Record

Plastics are everywhere. I mean everywhere. They have become so pervasive that they can be found on Mount Everest, in the Mariana Trench, orbiting our planet and within our bodies themselves. The last century is the Age of Plastic and thanks to its longevity, plastics will likely last in the geologic record of our planet longer than most any man-made substance. We will be remembered 100,000 years from now for our plastic and that deep time perspective of our planet is tailor made for Earth scientists to tackle.