List of geochronologic names

This is a list of official and unofficial names for time spans in the geologic timescale and units of chronostratigraphy. Since many of the smallest subdivisions of the geologic timescale were in the past defined on regional lithostratigraphic units, there are many alternative names that overlap. The body concerned with standardizing the names of geochronologic units is the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In 2008 however, even though the Phanerozoic eon is almost completely divided in internationally recognizable units, local subdivisions are often still preferred over the international ones.

List

See also

• Geologic time scale
• Geological history of Earth
• History of Earth
• chronostratigraphy
• geochronology

References

1. ^ Names from local versions of the geologic timescale can often be found in the local language. The English name is usually found by replacing the suffix in the local language for -an or -ian. Examples for "local" suffices are -en (French), -ano (Spanish), -ium (German) or -aan (Flemish Dutch). The English name "Norian", for example, becomes Noriano in Spanish, Norium in German or Norien in French.
2. ^ ^{a b} Time is given in Megaannum (million years BP, unless other units are given in the table. BP stands for "years before present". For ICS-units the absolute ages are taken from Gradstein et al. (2004).
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} This name is often still used in a chronostratigraphic or geochronologic sense, although it is now officially a lithostratigraphic unit.
4. ^ Menning et al. 2005
5. ^ ^{a b} Hoffmann et al. 2004
6. ^ The status of the Tertiary is not yet decided. The ICS will probably make a decision in 2009.

Literature

• Basset, M. G.; Cocks, L. R. M.; Holland, C. H.; Rickards, R. B.; and Warren, P. T.; 1975: The type Wenlock series, Report of the Institute of Geological Sciences, 75(13), pp. 1–19.
• Cocks, L. R. M.; Holland, C. H.; Rickards, R. B.; and Strachan, I.; 1971: A correlation of Silurian rocks in the British Isles, Journal of the Geological Society 127(2), pp. 103–136.
• Gradstein, F. M.; Ogg, J. G.; and Smith, A. G.; 2004: A Geologic Time Scale 2004, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, ISBN 0-521-78142-6.
• Hoffmann, K.-H.; Condon, D. J.; Bowring, S. A.; and Crowley, J. L.; 2004: U-Pb zircon date from the Neoproterozoic Ghaub Formation, Namibia: Constraints on Marinoan glaciation, Geology 32(9), pp. 817–820.
• Holland, C. H.; Lawson, J. D.; Walmsley, V. G.; and White D. E.; 1980: Ludlow stages, Lethaia 13, p. 268, ISSN 0024-1164.
• Menning, M.; Alekseev, A. S.; Chuvashov, B. I.; Davydov, V. I.; Devuyst, F.-X.; Forke, H. C.; Grunt, T. A.; Hance, L.; Heckel, P. H.; Izokh, N. G.; Jin, Y.-G.; Jones, P. J.; Kotlyar, G. V.; Kozur, H. W.; Nemyrovska, T. I.; Schneider, J. W.; Wang, X.-D.; Weddige, K., Weyer, D.; and Work, D. M.; 2005: Global time scale and regional stratigraphic reference scales of Central and West Europe, East Europe, Tethys, South China, and North America as used in the Devonian–Carboniferous–Permian Correlation Chart 2003 (DCP 2003), Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 240, pp. 318–372.
• Rio, D.; Sprovieri, R.; Castradori, D.; and Di Stefano, E.; 1998: The Gelasian Stage (Upper Pliocene): a new unit of the global standard chronostratigraphic scale, Episodes 21(2), p. 82-87.