• Ph.D. (Earth Science) and B.Sc. (Hons.– Geology & Biology) Dalhousie University
• M.Sc. (Geology) University of Toronto

• 2002–present: Professor of Earth Sciences
• 2015-present: Associate Member, Biological Sciences
• 2017–present: Member Core Faculty, Sustainability Science and Society
• 2017–2020: Graduate Program Director, Earth Sciences
• 2017–2020: Graduate Program Director, Sustainability Science and Society

• ERSC 2P15 Oceanography
• ERSC 2P61 Environmental Geoscience
• ERSC/BIOL 3P03 Palaeontology and Paleobiology
• ERSC 3P04 Science Communication
• ERSC/GEOG 3P25 Glacial and Quaternary Geology
• ERSC 3Q99 Quaternary Field Camp
• ERSC/BIOL 4P18 Palaeobotany and Palynology
• ERSC 4P61 Surface Hydrology
• ERSC 4P90 Thesis in Earth Sciences
• ERSC 5P35 Quaternary Palynology

• Promoting varved sediments of Crawford Lake, Ontario, as GSSP (‘golden spike’) to define the Anthropocene as a formal interval of geologic time
• Fostering transdisciplinary environmental research and influencing policy through improved science communication
• Non-pollen palynomorphs (dinoflagellate cysts and green algal palynomorphs) as paleolimnological indicators
• Geoarchaeological applications of microfossils
• Assessing seismic risk in eastern North America using microfossils in lake sediments
• Postglacial climatic and hydrological changes in the Great Lakes region recorded by pollen/spores, algal palynomorphs and testate amoebae
• Late Cenozoic sea level change and the stratigraphy of the Atlantic Coastal Plain/ New Jersey margin using palynomorphs

Select Recent Publications; student coauthors underlined

• McCarthy, F.M.G., Moraal, J.M, Hamilton, P.F., Pilkington, P.M., Alderson, A., Boyce, J.I. (in revision). Distinct Anthropocene biosphere recorded by the rise of green algae and chrysophytes in varved sediments of Crawford Lake (Ontario, Canada). Royal Society Transactions B (35% contribution).
• McCarthy, F.M.G. (2025). Humans and the Great Lakes – Anthropogenic Impact and the Search for the ‘Anthropocene Golden Spike’. HoST – Journal of History of Science and Technology Vol. 19, no. 1, June 2025, pp. 173-183
• Moraal, J.M, McCarthy, F.M.G., Turner, S.D., Pisaric, M.F.J., Cumming, B.F., Riddick, N.L., Boyce, J.I. (2025). Spheroidal carbonaceous particles and other black carbon in slides prepared for NPP analysis from Crawford Lake, Ontario, Canada. Palynology
• Stanford, S., Sugarman, P., McCarthy, F.M.G. (2025). River incision, seepage erosion, sea-level change and the development of a coastal plain landscape since 15 Ma in the New Jersey pine barrens, USA. Geosphere https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02844.1
• Waters, C.N., Zalasiewicz, J., Head M.J., Schäfer, G.N., McCarthy, F.M.G., Turner, S.D. (2025). Response to Damianos (2024)—Anthropocene angst: Authentic geology and stratigraphic sincerity. Social Studies of Science DOI: 10.1177/03063127251343046/ ID: SSS-24-37
• McCarthy, F.M.G., Patterson, R.T., Walsh, C., Lafond, K.M., Cumming, B.F., Cundy, A.B., Hain, K., Boom, A., Hamilton, P., Gaca, P., Steier, P., Head, M.J., Pisaric, M., Boyce, J., Rose, N., Turner, S. (2025). High-resolution analysis of the varved succession at Crawford Lake across the proposed base of the Crawfordian Stage and Anthropocene Series. The Anthropocene Review
• Monecke, K., Hubeny, J.B., McCarthy, F., Alderson, A., Boyce, J., Brabander, D., Veresh, R., Chen, A., Knights, C., Nishimoto, M., Passaretti, M., Pilkington, P.M., Riddick, N. (2025). Sedimentation patterns in the three basins of Walden Pond, Concord, Massachusetts – A multiproxy approach to decipher environmental trends, anthropogenic impacts, and regional events of the last 800 years. Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 95, p. 605–626
• McCarthy, F.M.G., Head M.J., Waters, C.N. and Zalasiewicz, J. (2025). Would adding the Anthropocene to the International Chronostratigraphic Chart matter? AGU Advances, DOI: 10.1029/2024AV001430
• Summerhayes, C.P., Zalasiewicz, J., Head, M., Syvitski, J, Barnosky, A., Cearreta, A., Fiałkowicz-Kozieł, B, Grinevald, J., Leinfelder, R., McCarthy, F.M.G., McNeill, J.R., Saito, Y, Wagreich, M., Waters, C.N., Williams, M., Zinke, J. (2024): The future extent of the Anthropocene epoch: A synthesis. Global and Planetary Change v. 242:104568
• Williams, M., J. Zalasiewicz, A.D. Barnosky, R. Leinfelder, M.J. Head, C.N. Waters, F.M.G. McCarthy, A. Cearreta, D.C. Aldridge, M. McGann, P.B. Hamilton, C.P. Summerhayes, J. Syvitski, J. Zinke, A.B. Cundy, B. Fiałkiewicz-Kozieł, J.R. McNeill, M. Kuwae, N.L. Rose, S.D. Turner, Y. Saito, M. Wagreich, M.A. Stegner, M. Yasuhara, Y. Han, A. Wrisdale, R. Holmes, J.C. Berrio  (2024). Palaeontological signatures of the Anthropocene are distinct from those of previous epochs. Earth Science Reviews v. 255: 104844
• Danesh, D.C., McCarthy, F.M.G., Sangiorgi, F., and Cumming, B.F. (2024). The utility of freshwater dinoflagellate cyst assemblages as a paleoecological proxy: an assessment from northwest Ontario lakes (Canada). Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology v..326: 105128.
• Llew-Williams, B.M., McCarthy, F.M.G., Krueger, A.M., Riddick, N.L., MacKinnon, M.D., Lafond, K.M., Patterson, R.T., Nasser, N.A., Head, M.J., Pisaric, M., Turner, K., Boyce, J.I., and Brand^, U. (2024). Quantifying conditions required for varve formation in meromictic Crawford Lake, Ontario, Canada: important process for delimiting the Anthropocene epoch. Journal of Paleolimnology v. 71, p. 101–124
• Zalasiewicz, J., Head, M.J., Waters, C.N., Turner, S.D., Haff, P.K., Summerhayes, C., Williams, M., Cearreta, Wagreich, M., Fairchild, I., Rose, N.L., Saito, Y. Leinfelder, R.,  Fiałkiewicz-Kozieł, B., An, Z., Syvitski, J., Gałuszka, A.,  McCarthy, F.M.G., Ivar do Sul, J., Barnosky, A., Cundy, A.B., McNeill, J.R., and Zinke, J. (2023). The Anthropocene within the Geological Time Scale: a response to fundamental questions. Episodes 23-11
• Head, M.J., C.N. Waters, J.A. Zalasiewicz, A.D. Barnosky, S.D. Turner, A. Cearreta, R. Leinfelder, F.M.G. McCarthy, D. de B. Richter, N.L. Rose, Y. Saito, D. Vidas, M. Wagreich, Y. Han, C.P. Sumerhayes, M. Williams, and J. Zinke (2023). The Anthropocene as an epoch is distinct from all other concepts known by this term: a reply to Swindles et al. (2023). Journal of Quaternary Science 38(4): 455–458
• Lafond K.M., Walsh C.R., Patterson R.T., McCarthy F.M.G., Llew-Williams. B.M., Hamilton P.B., Nasser N.A., B.F. Cumming (2023). Influence of climatic trends and cycles on the annual deposition of varves in Crawford Lake, Ontario, Canada. Geosciences 13, 87. https://doi.org/10.3390/ geosciences13030087
• Marshall, M.G.​, Hamilton, P.B., Lafond, K.M., Nasser, N.A., McCarthy, F.M.G., Patterson, R.T. (2023). Annual-scale assessment of mid-20^th century anthropogenic impacts on the algal ecology of Crawford Lake, Ontario, Canada. Peer-J DOI 10.7717/peerj.14847
• Waters, C.N., M.J. Head, J. Zalasiewicz, F.M.G. McCarthy et al. (2023). Response to Merritts et al. (2023). The Anthropocene is complex. Defining it is not. Earth Science Reviews v. 238: 104335
• McCarthy, F.M.G., Patterson, R.T., Head, M.J., Riddick, N.L., Cumming, B.F., Hamilton, P.B., Pisaric, M.F.J., Gushulak, A.C., Leavitt, P.R., Lafond, K.M., Llew-Williams, B., Marshall, M., Heyde, A., Pilkington, P.M., Moraal, J., Boyce, J.I., Nasser, N.A., Walsh, C., Garvie, M., Roberts, S., Rose, N.L., Cundy, A.B., Gaca, P., Milton, J.A., Hajdas, I., Crann, C.A., Boom, A., Finkelstein, S.A., McAndrews, J.H., and other members of Team Crawford (2023). The varved succession of Crawford Lake, Milton, Ontario, Canada as a candidate Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the Anthropocene Series/ Epoch. The Anthropocene Review, v. 10. p. 146-176          
• Waters, C.N., M. Williams, J. Zalasiewicz, S.D. Turner, A.D. Barnosky, M.J. Head, S.L. Wing, M. Wagreich, W. Steffen, C.P. Summerhayes, A.B. Cundy, J. Zinke, B. Fiałkiewicz-Kozieł, R. Leinfelder, P.K. Haff, J.R. McNeill, N.L. Rose, I. Hajdas, F.M.G. McCarthy, A. Cearreta, A. Gałuszka, J. Syvitski, Y. Han, Z. An, I.J. Fairchild, J.A. Ivar do Sul, and C. Jeandel. (2022). Epochs, events and episodes: marking the geological impact of humans. Earth Science Reviews 234: 104171
• Williams, M., Leinfelder, R. Barnosky, A.D., Head, M.J., McCarthy, F.M.G., Cearreta, A., Himson, S., Holmes, R., Waters, C.N., Zalasziewicz, J., Turner, S.D., McGann, M., Hadly, E.A., Stegner, M.A., Pilkington, P.M., Kaiser, J., Berrio, J.C., Wilkinson, I.P., Zinke, J. and DeLong, K. (2022).  Planetary-scale change to the biosphere signalled by global species translocations can be used to identify the Anthropocene. Palaeontology 65(4) doi: 10.1111/pala.12618
• McCarthy, F.M.G., Pilkington, P.M., Volik, O., Heyde, A. and Cocker, S.L. (2021). Non-pollen palynomorphs in freshwater sediments and their paleolimnological potential. Marret, F., O’Keefe, J., Osterloff, O., Pound, M., and L. Shumilovskikh Eds., TMS Special Publication SP511, Applications of Non-Pollen Palynomorphs from Palaeoenvironmental Reconstructions to Biostratigraphy. Geological Society of London, pp. 121-150 https://doi.org/10.1144/SP511-2020-109
• Gushulak, A.C., Marshall, M., Cumming, B.F., Llew-Williams, B., Patterson, R.T., and McCarthy, F.M.G. (2021). Siliceous algae response to the ‘Great Acceleration’ of the mid-twentieth century in Crawford Lake (Ontario, Canada): a potential candidate for the Anthropocene GSSP. Anthropocene Review v. 9: 571-590. https://doi.org/10.1177/20530196211046036
• Riddick N.L., Boyce J.I., Reinhardt E.G., Chomicki K., Rothaus R.M. and McCarthy F.M.G. (2021). Multi-proxy paleoenvironmental record of coastal tectonic uplift and abandonment (ca. 6th c. CE) of Lechaion’s inner harbour, Ancient Corinth (Greece). Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 267 10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107080
• Cocker, S.K., Pisaric, M.J., McCarthy, F.M.G., Vermaire, J.C., Beaupre, P. and Cwynar, L.C. (2021). Dung analysis of the East Milford mastodon: dietary and environmental reconstructions. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences v. 58, p.1059-1072
• Prader, S., Kotthoff, U., Greenwood, D.R., McCarthy, F.M.G., Schmiedl, G., and Donders, T. (2020). New Jersey’s palaeoflora and climate through Palaeogene-Neogene warm phases. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology v. 279: 104224
• Fisher, T.G., Dziekan, M.R., MacDonald, J., Lepper, K., Loope, H. McCarthy, F.M.G., Curry, B.B. (2020). Minimum limiting deglacial ages for the out-of-phase Saginaw Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet using OSL vs. radiocarbon methods. Quaternary Research, v. 97: 71-87
• Kornecki, K.M., Schuller, M., Katz, M.E., Relyea, R.A., McCarthy, F.M.G., Schaller, M.F., Gillikin, D.P., Stager, J.C., Boylen, C.W., Eichler, L., and Nierzwicki-Bauer, S. (2020). The canary in the coal mine: Testate amoebae record anthropogenic impacts in oligotrophic Lake George, NY sediments. Journal of Foraminiferal Research v. 50(2), p. 128-140

• Alderson, Aaron (2024). Non-pollen palynomorphs and black carbon in sediments from Walden Pond: evidence of sudden onset events and human impact over the past millennium. Sc. thesis, Earth Sciences, Brock University.
• Moraal, Joshua M. (2025). A possible environmental cause for abandonment of the agricultural settlement at Crawford Lake in the latest 15^th century (co-supervised with J. Boyce).Sc. thesis, Earth Sciences, Brock University.

Activities

• Member of the Anthropocene Working Group (formerly of ICS) (since 2019)
• Research Associate, Natural History, Plants and Climate Change, Royal Ontario Museum (since 2022)
• Member of the Organizing Committee, International Geological Congress 2028 (since 2024)
• Panelist, Campus Anthropoceno America Latina, Rio de Janeiro, December 2, 2024
• 2024 Distinguished Lecturer, Centro Interuniversitarió de História das Ciências e da Tecnologia (CIUHCT), One Health and Geo-Anthropology in the Age of the Anthropocene. Lisbon, Portugal, Dec. 13, 2024.
• Organizer, Meeting of the International Society for Testate Amoeba Research and Canadian Associaito nof Palynologists.

Select Invited Presentations

• “Anthropocene Stratigraphy – why formally recognizing that we are no longer living in a Holocene world matters.” Science for Sustainability and Wellbeing in the Anthropocene, Biennial Plenary, Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Vatican, Sept. 24, 2024.
• “Potable water in the Great Lakes Region of North America: a limited resource?” Crossing Boundaries, the Anthropocene, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany, June 24, 2024.
• “Are We Living in the Anthropocene? TEDx Manhattan Beach, California, November 4, 2023
• “Why propose a GSSP for the Anthropocene in a freeze core from Crawford Lake, Canada?” Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Oct. 16, 2023.
• with contributions from Soren Brothers, Michelle Murphy, Catherine Tammaro, Mark Williams, “Core Readings- Crawford Lake”, Unearthing the Present; Earth Indices: evidence & experiment. Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany May 19, 2022
• co-presenter with Jan Zalasiewicz. “The Anthropocene as a potential unit of the Geological Time Scale: an update on progress.” International Geological Congress- Virtual, March 22, 2022.

Select Media Interviews

• “The Golden Spike”. Uncharted with Hannah Fry, BBC 4, aired September 9, 2024
• “Anthropocene” — why the fight about a name has real world consequences, Future Tense, Australian Broadcast Corporation, aired August 15, 2024
• “Der Schatz im Crawford-See”, Süddeutsche Zeitung, July 20, 2024
• Crawford Lake, Agenda- TVO, aired March 25, 2024
• “L’’anthropocène?” L’actualité, aired March 8, 2024
• “Are we living in the Anthropocene’, the Human Age? Nope, scientists say.”, New York Times March 5, 2024
• “Hidden Beneath the Surface”, Washington Post, February 13, 2024
• “Layers of Meaning: Francine McCarthy on the Anthropocene”. Canadian Geographic Magazine, December 13, 2023
• “Le lac de l’anthropocène, Découverte, Radio Canada, September 11, 2023
• “Crawford Lake – Defining the Anthropocene”, The Social, CTV Bell Media, August 11, 2023
• Media interview, “Crawford Lake and the proposed Anthropocene GSSP”, The World This Weekend, CBC Radio, July 15, 2023
• “Anthropocene”, Consider This, National Public Radio, July 12, 2023
• “The Canadian lake that marks when humans started changing the planet”, The Globe and Mail, July 11, 2023
• “The Anthropocene is here — and tiny Crawford Lake has been chosen as the global ground zero”, Canadian Geographic Magazine, July 11, 2023
• “Crawford Lake and the Anthropocene”, Washington Post, June 23, 2023
• “Did the Anthropocene Begin in Ontario?” The Agenda with Steve Paikin, TVO aired January 12, 2023
• “For Planet Earth, This Might Be the Start of a New Age”, New York Times, published Dec. 18, 2022
• “Pinpointing the Anthropocene. Where is the signature of the age of humans?” CBC Radio Quirks and Quarks; segment aired Dec. 3, 2022
• “Sommes-nous entrés dans l’anthropocène?” L’actualité, published August 3, 2022