--> Mesozoic-Cenozoic Chronostratigraphic Synthesis, by J. Hardenbol and M. B. Farley; #90986 (1994).

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Abstract: Mesozoic-Cenozoic Chronostratigraphic Synthesis

Jan Hardenbol, Martin B. Farley

We present a synthesis of stratigraphic information (paleontological zonations and sequence boundaries) derived from the international project on the Sequence Stratigraphy of European Basins. This stratigraphic information is plotted against linear time using the timescale of Gradstein and others for the Mesozoic and Berggren and others for the Cenozoic. Calibration of stratigraphic information is accomplished by linking the stages to a select set of primary relative time indicators. These primary indicators (zones) are well established, standard units of relative time for each stage. The primary indicators for the Mesozoic are cephalopod zones (ammonites for the Triassic to Lower Cretaceous, belemnites for the Upper Cretaceous), and planktonic foraminiferal zones and magnetostratigra hy for the Cenozoic. The primary time indicators are then used to calibrate the standard chronostratigraphy to the fossil groups (e.g., calcareous nannofossils, dinoflagellates, benthonic forams, ostracods, charophytes, spores and pollen, radiolarians, calpionellids, brachiopods, rudists, vertebrates) and sequence boundaries shown on the synthesis charts. For most fossil groups, biostratigraphic data for both Boreal and Tethyan Realms are shown. These results provide a systematic basis for comparing biostratigraphic schemes for different fossil groups to each other, and are a standard against which stratigraphic data from basins outside Europe can be compared.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90986©1994 AAPG Annual Convention, Denver, Colorado, June 12-15, 1994