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Is the "KâT boundary" now the "KâPg boundary" ?
Dear Listmembers,
The people on this list, who work with the K-T Boundary might
consider the likelyhood that the recent formal ratification of the
Quaternary System/Period and the Pleistocene Series/Epoch
systems has changed the "K-T Boundary" to the "K-Pg Boundary"
As discussed by Gibbad et al. (2009), the formal ratification of
the Quaternary System/Period and the Pleistocene Series/Epoch
systems by the Executive Committee of the International Union
of Geological Sciences (IUGS) has eliminated the "Tertiary" as a
formally recognized Period. As a result, the Cenozoic Era is now
divided into the Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary periods and
the "Tertiary" has been completely abandoned as either a period
or sub-era as shown in figure 1 of Gibbard et al. (2009). This
means that that the "Tertiary" has been stripped of any status
either official or informal in stratigraphic nomenclature. Thus,
the "Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary" is, technically speaking, no
longer valid stratigrahic terminology and leaves the Cretaceous-
Paleogene Boundary as the only officially sanctioned way, in
terms of stratigraphic nomenclature, of designating this boundary.
Reference Cited
Gibbard , P L., M. J. Head , M. J. C. Walker, the Subcommission
on Quaternary Stratigraphy, 2009, Formal ratification of the
Quaternary System/Period and the Pleistocene Series/Epoch
with a base at 2.58 Ma. Journal of Quaternary Science.
Published Online: 22 Sep 2009
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122602421/abstract
Yours,
Paul Heinrich
Baton Rouge, LA 70803