SSP
Stratigraphy, Sedimentology and Palaeontology

Stratigraphy, Sedimentology and Palaeontology

Tracing Atmospheric dustiness in the Permo-Carboniferous of northeastern Gondwana

and November 30, 2021
Cyclic Permian carbonates above Carboniferous contain dust deposits, Central Alborz Mountains (Iran)
Cyclic Permian carbonates above Carboniferous contain dust deposits, Central Alborz Mountains (Iran)

This blog summarizes two recent articles about dust in the Paleozoic. Planet Earth is presently undergoing a profound climatic turnover. Improved understanding of both the mechanisms contributing to the present climate change and its consequences for the biosphere, including human society, will not only provide the knowledge required to cope with its effects, but may also shed light on the forces ...[Read More]

Alberta’s Geological Riches

September 23, 2021
Alberta’s Geological Riches
The Ram Falls near Nordegg, Alberta are formed by resistant shoreface sands of the Cardium Formation

Smoky Summer It has been a difficult summer in Alberta, with smoke from forest fires in British Columbia blanketing much of the southern part of the Province. However, this has not stopped me getting out into the field on a variety of projects and hikes, including a virtual field trip looking at the Cardium Formation and several in person trips to the beautiful Sheep River Provincial Park and surr ...[Read More]

Sediment in the deep ocean. Part 2: thermohaline currents that shape the seafloor

September 1, 2021
Sediment in the deep ocean. Part 2: thermohaline currents that shape the seafloor

In Part 1 we differentiated between (1) shallow-marine tide-related currents from (2) purely gravitational sediment-laden currents. We could add that the former are periodic, as they are controlled by the effect of the Moon and Sun gravitational fields on the oceanic water as the Earth revolves, while the latter are sort of ‘spontaneous’ currents driven by the Earth gravitation field on sedi ...[Read More]

An online learning platform for cyclostratigraphy – www.cyclostratigraphy.org

, and August 2, 2021
An online learning platform for cyclostratigraphy – www.cyclostratigraphy.org

Cyclostratigraphers aim to read and understand the effect of climate-driven orbital changes in the geological record through time. In doing so, they start from an important prerequisite: An imprint of insolation variations caused by Earth’s orbital eccentricity, obliquity and/or precession (Milankovitch forcing) can be preserved in the geological rock record. The new www.cyclostratigraphy.org webs ...[Read More]