RE: Is the "K-T boundary" now the "K-Pg boundary" ?

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@umd.edu>]

> From: owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu [mailto:owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu] 
> On Behalf Of oxytropidoceras@cox.net
>
> 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
> 

Yes, technically it has been the K/Pg for some years now (the Tertiary being
invalid for quite some time).

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Email: tholtz@umd.edu   Phone: 301-405-4084
Office: Centreville 1216                        
Senior Lecturer, Vertebrate Paleontology
Dept. of Geology, University of Maryland
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/
Fax: 301-314-9661               

Faculty Director, Earth, Life & Time Program, College Park Scholars
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite/
Faculty Director, Science & Global Change Program, College Park Scholars
http://www.geol.umd.edu/sgc
Fax: 301-314-9843

Mailing Address:        Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                        Department of Geology
                        Building 237, Room 1117
                        University of Maryland
                        College Park, MD 20742 USA 

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