A 2019 paper by astrophysicists Gavin Schmidt & Adam Frank proposed a framework for finding lost industrial civilizations—the Silurian Hypothesis. Look for plastics, nuclear fallout, spent nuclear fuel, or abnormal rare earth accumulations in geological records. A brilliant thought experiment about whether such evidence could even survive millions of years of geological recycling.
Key facts:
- Published 2019 in the International Journal of Astrobiology by Gavin A. Schmidt (NASA GISS) and Adam Frank (University of Rochester)
- Tests whether an advanced industrial civilization could have existed millions of years ago
- Considers whether evidence could survive in the geological record
- Not a conclusion that none existed—a framework for detection
Sources
The Silurian Hypothesis: Rethinking Time, Legacy, and ...realizedworth.comIt asks us to consider whether an advanced, industrial civilization could have existed on Earth millions of years ago, long before humans, and ...
The Silurian hypothesis: would it be possible to detect an ...cambridge.orgby GA Schmidt · 2019 · Cited by 81 — Silurian hypothesis would rest on evidence concerning highly social behaviour or high intelligence based on brain size.
The Silurian hypothesis: would it be possible to detect an ...semanticscholar.orgThe Silurian hypothesis: would it be possible to detect an industrial civilization in the geological record? · G. Schmidt, A. Frank · Published in International ...
Silurian hypothesisen.wikipedia.orgThe Silurian hypothesis is a thought experiment which assesses the ability of modern science to detect evidence of a prior advanced civilization, ...
The Silurian Hypothesis: Earth's Forgotten Civilization?multiverseemployeehandbook.comthe Silurian Hypothesis examines how geological processes would erase nearly all evidence of an industrial civilization over millions of years,
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