CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Fahraeus, L.E.
Date : 1996
Title : Eustasy and chrono-correlations: Facts and theories with examples from the Ordovician
Publication : Geoscience Canada
Issue : 23(2):
Page(s) : 77-84
Abstract
During the past 15 years a very rapidly increasing general interest in eustasy and its causes and, in particular, highly detailed chrono-correlations utilizing the Phanerozoic sea-level curves compiled by Peter Vail and coworkers at Exxon have resulted in a large number of publications, including several using presumed Ordovician eustatic events for chrono- correlations. However, facts and theory argue against the possibility of recognizing synchronous sea-level fluctuations in a set of widely separated stratigraphic sections (see also Paleoscene 16: Miall, 1994). There are simply too many factors influencing the shape of the ocean geoid, the recording of sealevel changes on the margins of continents, and fossil and/or radiometrically based time constraints. These factors make it impossible to identify and discriminate individual eustatic events with the precision necessary for detailed high-resolution chrono-correlations in pre-Tertiary successions. Instead, fossils and radiometric data remain the decisive tools for detailed regional and worldwide chrono- correlations.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology