The Radioactive Epoch is a scientific timekeeping standard used primarily in geology, radiocarbon dating, and Earth sciences. It defines "present" as **00:00 UTC on January 1st, 1950**.
This reference point was selected by the radiocarbon dating community in the mid-20th century because it roughly marks the beginning of widespread atomic testing, which altered the global carbon isotope balance and made earlier dating simpler and more consistent.
# Origin
Title: Radioactive Epoch BaseYear: 1950 EventYear: 1950
# Usage Dates calculated using methods such as **radiocarbon dating** (¹⁴C), **cosmogenic nuclide dating**, or **ice core stratigraphy** often report results as **"years before present" (BP)** — where *"present"* = 1950.
# Example - A date of 10,000 BP = 8050 BCE in Roman Time - A timeAgoMa of 0.01 = 10,000 years ago from 1950, which can be used for plotting in Geological Time.
