Sequence (biology)

Sequence stratigraphy

Stratigraphy

Tectonics

Sedimentary depositional environment

Geology

Biology

Structural basin

Diachronous

Paleontology

Genetics

Earth-Science Reviews

Stratal stacking patterns provide the basis for the definition of all units and surfaces of sequence stratigraphy. The same types of stacking patterns may be observed at different scales, in relation to stratigraphic cycles of different magnitudes. At each scale of observation, stacking patterns define systems tracts, and changes in stacking pattern mark the position of sequence stratigraphic surfaces. The construction of a framework of systems tracts and bounding surfaces fulfills the practical purpose of sequence stratigraphy. Beyond this framework, model-dependent choices with respect to the selection of the ‘sequence boundary’ may be made as a function of the mappability of the various types of sequence stratigraphic surface within the studied section. Sequence stratigraphic frameworks are basin-specific in terms of timing and scales of the component units and bounding surfaces, reflecting the interplay of global and local controls on accommodation and sedimentation. A stratigraphic sequence corresponds t...

Model-independent sequence stratigraphy