Unconformities of the North Atlantic
Lowstands of sea level produce significant unconformities, both on the continental shelves as subaerial unconformities and on the ocean basin slopes and floors by submarine erosion and shifts in depositions patterns. This report utilizes seismic data from the eastern Atlantic off Africa and the west...
| Published in: | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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The Royal Society
1980
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.1980.0021 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsta.1980.0021 |
| Summary: | Lowstands of sea level produce significant unconformities, both on the continental shelves as subaerial unconformities and on the ocean basin slopes and floors by submarine erosion and shifts in depositions patterns. This report utilizes seismic data from the eastern Atlantic off Africa and the western Atlantic off the Blake Escarpment to illustrate the recognition and dating of deep sea unconformities. Twenty-eight major and minor deep sea unconformities are identified on these seismic data and tentatively dated by means of well control and a chart showing global relative changes of sea level. The major unconformities identified are basal Sinemurian, basal Callovian, basal Valanginian, basal middle Aptian, basal middle Cenomanian, basal Thanetian, basal upper Ypresian, basal middle Chattian, basal Burdigalian, basal middle Tortonian, and basal Messinian. Unconformity identification and correlation on seismic data from the deep sea is useful for building a stratigraphic framework for palaeoenvironmental studies and correlating deep-sea stratigraphy with the stratigraphy of continental shelves and interior basins. |
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