The first half of the 20 th century is dominated by three major world crises: The 1 st World War , the Great (economic) and the 2 nd World War that had substantial influence on production and, thus, pollutant emissions. However, no obvious indications of these events were found. TE concentrations started to increase anywhere between the 1940s to the 1970s. The earlier increases could be attributed to war efforts, while later ones could be because of post-war recovery. These periods coincide with the "Great Acceleration", a time of rapidly increasing, global anthropogenic impacts on the whole planet that is set to appox. 1950 . It is marked by a rapid increase of spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs) in stratigraphic records around the globe. SCPs are distinctly formed during burning of fossil fuels in energy production and heavy industry, and are a marker for human activity.