Stratigraphy: A Modern Synthesis
This book incorporates updated material on sequence stratigraphy, reflection-seismic methods, chronostratigraphy, and new concepts regarding the representation of time in the sedimentary record. It also includes a summary history of the development of ide
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Stratigraphy A Modern Synthesis
Stratigraphy: A Modern Synthesis
Andrew D. Miall
Stratigraphy: A Modern Synthesis
123
Andrew D. Miall Department of Geology University of Toronto Toronto, ON Canada
ISBN 978-3-319-24302-3 DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-24304-7
ISBN 978-3-319-24304-7
(eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015952024 Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
“For Meredith, Henry and Owen”
Preface
The stratigraphic record is the major repository of information about the geological history of Earth, a record stretching back for nearly 4 billion years. Stratigraphic studies fill out our planet’s plate-tectonic history with the details of paleogeography, past climates, and the record of evolution, and stratigraphy is at the heart of the effort to find and exploit fossil-fuel resources. The exploration of this history has been underway since James Hutton first established the basic idea of uniformitarianism toward the end of the eighteenth century, and William Smith developed the stratigraphic basis for geological mapping a few decades later. Modern stratigraphic methods are now able to provide insights into past geological events and processes on time scales with unprecedented accuracy and precision, and have added much to our understanding of global tectonic and climatic processes. But it has taken 200 years and a modern revolution to bring all the necessary developments together to create the modern, dynamic science that this book sets out to describe. It has been a slow revolution, but stratigraphy now consists of a suite of integrated concepts and methods, several of which have considerable predictive and interpretive power. It is argued in Chap. 1 of this book that the new, integrated, dynamic science that stra
