Note: Cover -- Half-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Contributors -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations and acronyms -- ORGANIZATIONS -- TIME SCALE PUBLICATIONS -- GEOSCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS -- SYMBOLS -- Part I Introduction -- 1 Introduction -- 1.1 A GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE 2004 -- 1.2 HOW THIS BOOK IS ARRANGED -- 1.3 CONVENTIONS AND STANDARDS -- 1.3.1 Universal time -- 1.3.2 Ephemeris time -- 1.4 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF GEOLOGIC TIME SCALES -- 1.4.1 Arthur Holmes and age-thickness interpolations -- 1.4.2 Phanerozoic radiometric databases, statistical scales, and compilations -- 1.4.3 Paleozoic scales -- 1.4.4 Mesozoic scales -- 1.4.5 Cenozoic scales -- 2 Chronostratigraphy: linking time and rock -- 2.1 TIME AND ROCK -- 2.2 STANDARDIZATION OF THE CHRONOSTRATIGRAPHIC SCALE -- 2.2.1 History of geologic stratigraphic standardization -- 2.2.2 Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) -- 2.2.3 Global Standard Stratigraphic Age (GSSA) -- 2.2.4 Other considerations for choosing a GSSP -- 2.2.5 Subdividing long stages -- 2.2.6 Do GSSP boundary stratotypes simplify stratigraphic classification? -- 2.3 CASE EXAMPLES OF GSSPs -- 2.3.1 Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary -- 2.3.2 Eocene-Oligocene boundary -- 2.3.3 Permian-Triassic boundary -- 2.4 MAJOR SUBDIVISIONS OF THE GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE -- 2.4.1 Archean and Proterozoic Eons (Precambrian) -- 2.4.2 Phanerozoic Eon -- THE PALEOZOIC ERA -- THE MESOZOIC ERA -- 2.5 EXAMPLES OF STRATIGRAPHIC CHARTS AND TABLES -- Part II Concepts and methods -- 3 Biostratigraphy: time scales from graphic and quantitative methods -- 3.1 INTRODUCTION -- 3.2 GRAPHIC CORRELATION -- 3.3 CONSTRAINED OPTIMIZATION -- 3.4 RANKING AND SCALING -- 4 Earth's orbital parameters and cycle stratigraphy -- 4.1 INTRODUCTION -- 4.2 EARTH'S ORBITAL PARAMETERS -- 4.3 ORBITALLY FORCED INSOLATION. , 4.4 ORBITAL SIGNALS IN CYCLE STRATIGRAPHY -- 4.5 ESTIMATING ORBITAL CHRONOLOGIES -- 5 The geomagnetic polarity time scale -- 5.1 PRINCIPLES -- 5.1.1 Magnetic field reversals and magnetostratigraphy -- 5.1.2 Polarity intervals, zones, and chrons -- 5.1.3 Events, excursions, magnetic anomaly wiggles, and cryptochrons -- 5.2 LATE CRETACEOUS-CENOZOIC GEOMAGNETIC POLARITY TIME SCALE -- 5.2.1 C-sequence of marine magnetic anomalies and associated chron nomenclature -- 5.2.2 Calibration and ages of the Late Cretaceous-Cenozoic geomagnetic polarity time scale -- 5.3 MIDDLE JURASSIC-EARLY CRETACEOUS GEOMAGNETIC POLARITY TIME SCALE -- 5.3.1 M-sequence of marine magnetic anomalies -- 5.3.2 Constructing a composite M-sequence -- ANOMALIES M0R (BASE-APTIAN) TO M25N (BASE-KIMMERIDGIAN) -- ANOMALIES M25R (BASE-KIMMERIDGIAN) TO M41 (BATHONIAN) -- 5.3.3 Calibration and ages of the Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous geomagnetic polarity time scale -- AGE CONSTRAINTS ON M-SEQUENCE SCALING -- SPREADING MODEL AND AGES OF M-SEQUENCE POLARITY CHRONS -- 5.4 GEOMAGNETIC POLARITY TIME SCALE FOR MIDDLE JURASSIC AND OLDER ROCKS -- 5.4.1 Paleozoic to Middle Jurassic -- SPREADING MODEL AND AGES OF M-SEQUENCE 5.4.1 Paleozoic to Middle Jurassic -- 5.4.2 Precambrian -- 5.5 SUPERCHRONS AND POLARITY BIAS -- 5.6 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS -- 6 Radiogenic isotope geochronology -- 6.1 INTRODUCTION -- 6.2 TYPES OF UNCERTAINTIES -- 6.2.1 Decay constants, isotopic ratios, and comparison between 40Ar/39Ar and U-Pb systems -- 6.2.2 Calibration of reference materials -- 6.2.3 Changes induced by geological processes -- 6.3 DATING METHODS -- 6.3.1 U-Pb -- THERMAL IONIZATION MASS SPECTROMETRIC (TIMS) METHODS -- HIGH-RESOLUTION-SECONDARY ION MASS SPECTROMETRY (HR-SIMS) -- 6.3.2 K-Ar and 40Ar/39Ar -- K-Ar METHODS -- 40Ar/39Ar METHODS -- 6.3.3 Other methods -- 6.4 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. , 7 Strontium isotope stratigraphy -- 7.1 INTRODUCTION -- 7.2 MATERIALS FOR STRONTIUM ISOTOPE STRATIGRAPHY -- 7.3 A GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE 2004 (GTS2004) DATABASE -- 7.3.1 Numerical ages -- 7.3.2 Fitting the database -- 7.3.3 The quality of the fit -- CONFIDENCE LIMITS ON THE LOWESS FIT -- RUBIDIUM CONTAMINATION -- 7.4 COMMENTS ON THE LOWESS FIT -- 8 Geomathematics -- 8.1 HISTORY AND OVERVIEW -- 8.1.1 Statistical estimation of chronostratigraphic boundary ages (with error bars) -- 8.1.3 Spline-curve fitting with consideration of stratigraphic uncertainty -- 8.1.4 General comments on straight-line fitting -- 8.2 PALEOZOIC APPLICATIONS -- 8.2.1 Straight-line fitting for Ordovician and Silurian ages -- 8.2.2 Straight-line fitting for Devonian ages -- AVERAGE SQUARE OF SCALED RESIDUAL ADJUSTMENT -- 8.2.3 Carboniferous-Permian -- 8.2.4 Permian-Triassic boundary -- 8.3 LATE CRETACEOUS AND PALEOGENE APPLICATIONS -- 8.3.1 Late Cretaceous -- SAMPLE-POINT DISTRIBUTION ADJUSTMENT -- ADJUSTMENT TO ACCOUNT FOR EXTERNAL VARIABILITY OF LATE CRETACEOUS 40Ar/39Ar DATES -- TOTAL ADJUSTMENT AND 2-SIGMA ERROR BAR OF STAGE DURATION -- COMPARISON TO 87Sr/86Sr CURVE -- 8.3.2 Paleogene time scale -- 8.4 CONCLUDING REMARKS -- Part III Geologic periods -- 9 The Precambrian: the Archean and Proterozoic Eons -- 9.1 INTRODUCTION -- 9.2 HISTORY AND RECOMMENDED SUBDIVISION -- 9.2.1 The Archean Eon -- 9.2.2 The Proterozoic Eon -- 9.3 NOMENCLATURE OF THE SUBDIVISIONS -- 9.3.1 Eons -- 9.3.2 Eras -- 9.3.3 Periods -- 9.4 THE NEOPROTEROZOIC -- 9.5 ISOTOPE STRATIGRAPHY IN THE PRECAMBRIAN -- 9.5.1 Strontium isotope stratigraphy -- 9.5.2 Carbon isotope stratigraphy -- 9.5.3 Oxygen isotope stratigraphy -- 9.5.4 Sulfur isotope stratigraphy -- 9.5.5 The role of isotope stratigraphy in global correlation -- 9.6 BIOSTRATIGRAPHY IN THE NEOPROTEROZOIC. , 9.7 NEOPROTEROZOIC ICE AGES AND CHRONOMETRIC CONSTRAINTS -- 9.8 SUMMARY -- 10 Toward a "natural" Precambrian time scale -- 10.1 INTRODUCTION -- 10.2 CURRENT PRECAMBRIAN SUBDIVISIONS AND PROBLEMS -- 10.3 A "NATURAL" PRECAMBRIAN TIME SCALE -- 10.3.1 The "Accretion and Differentiation" or "Genesis" Eon -- 10.3.2 The Hadean Eon -- 10.3.3 The Archean and "Transition" Eons -- 10.3.4 The Proterozoic Eon -- 10.3.5 The Ediacaran Period (base-Paleozoic?) -- 10.4 CONCLUSIONS -- 11 The Cambrian Period -- 11.1 HISTORY AND SUBDIVISIONS -- 11.1.1 Base of the Cambrian System and Paleozoic Erathem -- 11.1.2 Biostratigraphic datums with potential for global correlation -- BASE OF THE CORDYLODUS PROAVUS ZONE -- BASE OF THE GLYPTAGNOSTUS RETICULATUS ZONE, BASE OF THE PAIBIAN STAGE, LOWERMOST FURONGIAN SERIES -- BASE OF THE PTYCHAGNOSTUS PUNCTUOSUS ZONE -- BASE OF THE ACIDUSUS ATAVUS ZONE -- BASE OF THE TRIPLAGNOSTUS GIBBUS ZONE -- BASE OF THE ORYCTOCEPHALUS INDICUS ZONE -- 11.1.3 Regional Cambrian stage suites -- AUSTRALIAN CAMBRIAN STAGES -- NORTH AMERICAN CAMBRIAN STAGES -- 11.2 CAMBRIAN STRATIGRAPHY -- 11.2.1 Faunal provinces -- 11.2.2 Trilobite zones -- 11.2.3 Archaeocyathan zones -- 11.2.4 Conodont zones -- 11.2.5 Magnetostratigraphy -- 11.2.6 Chemostratigraphy -- 11.2.7 Cambrian evolutionary "explosion" -- 11.3 CAMBRIAN TIME SCALE -- 11.3.1 Age of boundaries -- 12 The Ordovician Period -- 12.1 HISTORY AND SUBDIVISIONS -- 12.1.1 Stages of the Lower Ordovician -- CAMBRIAN-ORDOVICIAN BOUNDARY AND STAGE 1: THE TREMADOCIAN -- STAGE 2 (UNNAMED) -- 12.1.2 Stages of the Middle Ordovician -- STAGE 3 (UNNAMED) -- STAGE 4: THE DARRIWILIAN -- 12.1.3 Stages of the Upper Ordovician -- STAGE 5 (UNNAMED) -- STAGE 6 (UNNAMED) -- STAGE 7: THE HIRNANTIAN -- 12.2 PREVIOUS STANDARD DIVISIONS -- 12.2.1 Tremadoc -- 12.2.2 Arenig -- 12.2.3 Llanvirn -- 12.2.4 Caradoc -- 12.2.5 Ashgill. , 12.2.6 Australasian stages -- 12.3 ORDOVICIAN STRATIGRAPHY -- 12.3.1 Biostratigraphy -- GRAPTOLITE ZONES -- CONODONT ZONES -- EVOLUTIONARY EVENTS -- 12.3.2 Magnetostratigraphy -- 12.3.3 Eustatic and climatic events -- 12.3.4 Sr isotope stratigraphy -- 12.4 ORDOVICIAN TIME SCALE -- 12.4.1 Radiometric dates -- 12.4.2 HR-SIMS (SHRIMP) dates -- 12.4.3 Calibration of stage boundaries by composite standard optimization -- 12.4.4 Age of stage boundaries -- 13 The Silurian Period -- 13.1 HISTORY AND SUBDIVISIONS -- 13.1.1 Llandovery Series -- RHUDDANIAN -- AERONIAN -- TELYCHIAN -- 13.1.2 Wenlock Series -- SHEINWOODIAN -- HOMERIAN -- 13.1.3 Ludlow Series -- GORSTIAN -- LUDFORDIAN -- 13.1.4 Pridoli Series -- 13.1.5 Other important stage classifications -- 13.2 SILURIAN STRATIGRAPHY -- 13.2.1 Biostratigraphy -- GRAPTOLITE ZONES -- CONODONT ZONES -- CHITINOZOAN ZONES -- OTHER ZONAL GROUPS -- BIOEVENTS -- 13.2.2 Physical stratigraphy -- MAGNETOSTRATIGRAPHY -- CHEMOSTRATIGRAPHY -- EUSTASY -- CLIMATIC EVENTS -- VOLCANISM AND K-BENTONITE STRATIGRAPHY -- 13.3 SILURIAN TIME SCALE -- 13.3.1 Radiometric dates -- 13.3.2 Methods to estimate relative duration of zones and stages -- 13.3.3 Calibration of stage boundaries by composite standard optimization -- 13.3.4 Age of stage boundaries -- 14 The Devonian Period -- 14.1 HISTORY AND SUBDIVISIONS -- 14.1.1 Lower Devonian Series -- LOCHKOVIAN -- PRAGIAN -- EMSIAN -- 14.1.2 Middle Devonian Series -- EIFELIAN -- GIVETIAN -- 14.1.3 Upper Devonian Series -- FRASNIAN -- FAMENNIAN -- BASE OF THE CARBONIFEROUS -- 14.2 DEVONIAN STRATIGRAPHY -- 14.2.1 Biostratigraphy -- CONODONT ZONATIONS -- AMMONOID ZONATIONS -- OSTRACOD ZONATION -- DACRYCONARID ZONATION -- SPORE AND ACRITARCH ZONATIONS -- PLANT MEGAFOSSIL ZONATION -- VERTEBRATE ZONATIONS -- 14.2.2 Physical stratigraphy -- EXTINCTION AND ANOXIA EVENT STRATIGRAPHY. , CYCLOSTRATIGRAPHY.