HGL1107: Principles of

Stratigraphy
Presentation 1

Lecturer, Mr F.B. Mupaya

Contact Hours: 5 x 1hr lectures,
 Principles/Laws of Stratigraphy
• Over time, geologists have developed a few
basic principles for the study of stratified (and
other) rocks which allow determination of the
sequence of events recorded by them.
• Events are placed in relative order from oldest
at the bottom to youngest at the top
(Walther’s Law) without knowing the exact
duration of the events in years i.e. relative
dating.
 Principle of Uniformitarianism
• First developed by James Hutton (1785).
• Law assumes that the geologic processes (e.g.
erosion, deposition, volcanic eruptions, faulting,
glaciation etc.) observed in operation that modify
the earth’s crust at present have worked in much
the same way over geologic time (in the past).
• Summarized as “the present is the key to the
past.” In Hutton's words: "the past history of our
globe must be explained by what can be seen to
be happening now” (Hutton, 1788).
 Principle of Uniformitarianism
• All rocks are products of continuing earth processes rather than
products of a single supernatural creation. It assumes a
uniformity of modern and ancient processes.
• Using this concept, studies of present igneous and sedimentary
conditions are used to infer the condition of the Earth billions
of years ago.
• For example, it is now known that the majority of organic and
inorganic production of calcium carbonate (the essential
component of limestone) takes place in shallow, tropical
marine environment. Knowing this, any location that has an
abundance of limestone most likely had been a shallow, tropical
marine environment when the sediments were produced.
 Principle of Superposition
• This principle was first developed by Nicholas
Steno in the 17th century (1600s) and states
that a sedimentary rock layer in a tectonically
undisturbed sequence is younger than the one
beneath it and older than the one above it.
• In any normal undisturbed sequence of
sedimentary rock, a stratum is younger than
the one on which it rests. (Black, 1970)
 Principle of Original Horizontality
• This principle was also developed by Nicholas
Steno. Steno noted that all sedimentary rocks
are originally deposited in relatively horizontal
layers. Where layers of rocks are found tilted
at a large angle to the horizontal, some force
must have acted on them after they were
deposited.
 Principle of lateral continuity
• It was also developed by Steno. It states that
layers of sediment initially form continuous
sheets over a region; in other words, they are
laterally continuous in all directions. As a
result, rocks that are otherwise similar, but are
now separated by a valley or other erosional
feature, can be assumed to be originally
continuous.
 Principle of cross-cutting relations
• First described by James Hutton in the
late 18th century, and is applied to
geological structures (such as faults) or
igneous intrusions and the age of the
sequences through which they cut.
• When an igneous intrusion cuts across
a formation of sedimentary
metamorphic rock, it can be
determined that the igneous intrusion
is younger than the sedimentary rock.
There are a number of different types
of intrusions, including stocks,
laccoliths, batholiths, sills and dykes.
 Principle of cross-cutting relations
• In the case of geological
structures, faults are younger
than the rocks they cut;
accordingly, if a fault is found
that penetrates some
formations but not those on
top of it, then the formations
that were cut are older than
the fault, and the ones that
are not cut must be younger
than the fault.
 Principle of inclusions
• Another Hutton principle, this states that fragments
of one rock included within another must be older
than the rock that contains it. For example, in
sedimentary rocks, a clast in a conglomerate must be
older than the conglomerate.
• A similar situation with igneous rocks occurs when
xenoliths are found. These foreign bodies are picked
up as magma or lava flows, and are incorporated,
later to cool in the matrix. As a result, xenoliths are
older than the rock which contains them.
 Principle of inclusions

• In the diagrams above, which are the gravel clasts and which are
the xenoliths?
 Principle of baked contacts (chilled margins)

•  A plutonic intrusion creates a

metamorphic layer (“bakes”) around it in
the surrounding rock (country rock).
Therefore, the pluton must be younger,
and the baked country rocks older than
the pluton.
 Principle of fossil succession.
• This law was developed by William Smith
(around the year 1800). He observed that fossil
species changed in a systematic fashion in
sequences of sedimentary rocks.
• As organisms exist at the same period
throughout the world, their presence or
(sometimes) absence may be used to provide a
relative age of the formations in which they are
found. Thus oldest fossils will occur at the
bottom of an undisturbed sequence and
younger fossils in top layers.
 UNCONFORMITIES
• Changes of a radical or striking nature in
successive beds are indicative of major lapses
(intervals) of deposition.
• Many such lapses represent very long periods,
even millions of years, during which material
ceased to accumulate and during which erosion,
extensive earth movements, or other important
events took place. We may think of these major
interruptions in the record as representing
ancient surfaces cut into older rocks and buried
by younger ones.
 Definition
• An unconformity is a buried erosion surface
separating two rock masses or strata of different ages,
indicating that sediment deposition was not continuous.
In general, the older layer was exposed to erosion for an
interval of time before deposition of the younger layer.
• However, the term is also used to describe any break
in the sedimentary geologic record.
• The rocks above an unconformity are younger than the
rocks beneath (unless the sequence has been
overturned).
What does an unconformity represent
• An unconformity represents time during which no sediments
were preserved in a region. The local record for that time
interval is missing and geologists must use other clues to
discover that part of the geologic history of that area.
• The interval of geologic time or time gap between the
deposition of the oldest rock below an unconformity and the
youngest rock above is called a hiatus.
• A time gap may be due to a time of "non-deposition", meaning
that no sediments were deposited for an interval of time.
• Or unconformities indicate a time when uplift and erosion
occurred such that layers deposited at an earlier time were
stripped away.
• Typically, unconformities involve: Major sea level changes,
Major tectonic events
Types of unconformities
 Disconformity
• It is an unconformity between parallel layers of
sedimentary rocks which represents a period of erosion or
non-deposition. There is little apparent erosion and the
unconformity surface resembles a simple bedding plane.
• First strata are laid down, then a period of erosion
happens (or a hiatus), then more strata are laid down. The
result is a disconformity or parallel unconformity. All the
strata line up, but there is still a clear discontinuity in the
sequence—maybe a soil layer developed on top of the
older rocks, or a rugged surface where they were eroded.
 Nonconformity
• Nonconformity exists between sedimentary
rocks and metamorphic or igneous rocks
when the sedimentary rock lies above and was
deposited on the pre-existing and eroded
metamorphic or igneous rock.
• If the rock below the break is igneous or has
lost its bedding by metamorphism, the plane
of juncture is a nonconformity.
 Nonconformity
• In a step-by-step process,
– sediment accumulates and becomes rock.
– Then plate collisions deform these layers and change them
into metamorphic rocks.
– Associated with this mountain-building, molten rock often
squeezes upward into the metamorphic rock fractured by
the deformities and solidifies, forming igneous rock
(usually granite).
– The mountains erode to a peneplain (a "peneplain" is a
broad land surface flattened by erosion). Then, finally,
new layers collect over the flattened metamorphic and
igneous rocks.
 Angular unconformity
• The most famous and obvious kind of
unconformity is the angular unconformity.
Rocks below the unconformity are dipping
(tilted), folded or sheared off, and rocks above
it are horizontal. The angular unconformity
tells a clear story:
 Angular unconformity
– First a set of rocks was laid down.
– Then these rocks were tilted followed by
erosion for millions of years until the edges of
the tilted layers become a flattened plane
(Peneplain)
– Finally, sea level rises or land sinks.
Sediments wash down, forming new
horizontal layers that cover the submerged,
tilted layers.
 Paraconformity
• It is characterized by a surface of non-
deposition separating two parallel units of
sedimentary rock, which is virtually
indistinguishable from a sharp conformable
contact. There is no obvious evidence of
erosion. An examination of the fossils shows
that there is a considerable time gap
represented by the surface.
 Branches of stratigraphy
• There are three main branches of stratigraphy:
– Lithostratigraphy
– Chronostratigraphy
– Biostratigraphy
 Stratigraphic unit
• It is a stratum of rock or a body of rock strata forming a discrete and
definable unit. The classification into units is on the basis of character,
property, or attribute.
• Stratigraphic units are determined on the basis of their lithology
(lithostratigraphic units), or their fossil content (biostratigraphic units),
or their time span (chronostratigraphic units). It is unlikely that any
rock succession will form a unit that accords with all three categories of
classification. Thus, stratigraphic units are based on one property.
• All stratigraphic units are defined by a type section of locality (a specific
geographic locality in which the strata exposed are considered to be
representative of a particular stratigraphic unit or boundary. It can also
be the locality where the rock type was first identified)
 LITHOSTRATIGRAPHY
• Branch of stratigraphy concerned with the classification of
rock units in terms of their lithological features including
composition, grain size and certain sedimentological
information such as types of sedimentary structures.
• Petrography is the first tool in defining a rock bed. Its use
can be extended in the classification of layers into larger
stratigraphic units and also in correlating layers of
separated regions.
• It is possible to define some rock layers with characteristic
petrography that can be used in correlating stratigraphic
units. These are called marker horizons.
 Lithostratigraphic unit
• A lithostratigraphic unit is defined as a body of
sedimentary, extrusive igneous, metasedimentary,
or metavolcanic strata which is distinguished on the
basis of lithologic characteristics and stratigraphic
position (position in the rock sequence).
• Lithostratigraphic units are the basic units of
geologic mapping and are an essential element of
the Stratigraphy of the area. In lithostratigraphy,
rock units are classified into a hierarchical system of
RANKS.
Bed A distinct sedimentary layer within a rock
sequence
Member A group of beds having similar
characteristics.
Generally too thin to be mapped on a
regional scale
Formation Two or more members showing common
features
Extensive enough to be plotted on a
regional map
(mappable)
Group Comprises of two or more formations
Supergroup Comprises two or more groups
 Bed
• The least subdivision in the classification of
stratigrapic units is the bed which is recognized by
visual changes in color, grain size, or composition.
• Beds vary from a few millimeters to a few meters
in thickness and are separated from one another
by more or less well-defined bedding surfaces.
• The designation of a bed or a unit of beds is
generally limited to certain distinctive beds whose
recognition is particularly useful. Only marker or
key beds (a thin bed of distinctive rock that is
widely distributed) are formally named.
 Member
• Members are a set of recognizable strata within a
formation that are found in only a portion of the areal
extent of the formation.
• It is recognized as a named entity within a formation
because it possesses characteristics distinguishing it from
adjacent parts of the formation. It is also a mappable unit;
however it has lesser vertical thickness and lateral extent.
Some formations may be divided completely into
members, others may have only certain parts designed as
members; still others may have no members. A member
may extend laterally from one formation to another.
 Formation
• It is the fundamental unit of lithostratigraphic
classification used to map, describe and interpret the
geology of a region.
• By definition formations are:
– Lithologically homogeneous (all beds are the same rock type
or a distinctive set of interbedded rock types).
– Distinct and different from adjacent rock units above and
below.
– Traceable from exposure to exposure, and of sufficient
thickness to be mapped(formations are commonly hundreds
of metres thick, but may be thinner or thicker).
 Formation
• Formations must have names. Formations are
usually named for some geographic locality
where they are particularly well exposed. E.g.
Pfura formation (This locality is referred to as
the type section.)
• If the beds are dominated by a single rock
type, this may appear in the name. (Also, to be
valid, the name of a formation must be
published in the geological literature.)
 Formations
• Formations are the only lithostratigraphic units into which
the stratigraphic column everywhere should be divided
completely on the basis of lithology.
• A formation may consist almost entirely of one rock type,
for example limestone, or may be composed of multiple
rock types, for example limestone, shale, and sandstone,
that all formed in one related environment, such as a
coastal environment with rising and falling sea level.
• Successive formations are separated from one another by
a change in lithology which may be gradual (transitional)
or sudden (sharp). This is a geologic contact.
 Group
• It is an assemblage of two or more successive
formations with significant unifying lithologic
features in common.
• Formations need not be aggregated into groups,
but a group must be wholly divided into
formations.
• The formations making up a group may vary
between different locations. A group is assigned a
name after its type area where all the subdivisions
or most of the subdivisions are well exposed.
• Supergroup
– It is an assemblage of related groups and formations.

• Complex
– This is used for an association of groups or formations for
which it is not easy to assign any rank of stratigraphic
classification. It includes a number of groups or formations
without any associational relationship characterized by
highly complicated structural relations to the extent that the
original sequence of the component rocks may be obscured,
and the individual rocks cannot be readily mapped.
Question:
Divide the succession into
four formations.
Indicate your choice by
using numbered beds 1-
21.
Give brief reasons for your
choice
 Solution
• Formation A = up to the top of bed 1
– Comprises a succession of shale only
• Formation B = top of bed 1 to top of bed 8
– Comprises mainly limestone succession with some
shale bands.
• Formation C = top of bed 8 to top of bed 15
– Consists predominantly of shales with some
sandstone layers
• Formation D = top of bed 15 to top of bed 21
– Consists of a sandstone sequence
Weakness of lithostratigraphic classification

• The tendency of most sedimentary rock units

to be laterally impersistent introduces
uncertainties in lithostratigraphic classification
since a sandstone may be deposited at the
same time as a mudstone such that the
sandstone laterally passes into the mudstone.
 CHRONOSTRATIGRAPHY

•  The branch of stratigraphy that studies the age of

rock strata in relation to time is called
chronostratigraphy. Study which deals with the
correlation and chronology of geologic events.
• The ultimate aim of chronostratigraphy is to arrange
the sequence of deposition and the time of
deposition of all rocks within a geological region,
and eventually, the entire geologic record of the
Earth i.e to relate all local and global events to one
standard scale.
 Tools of Chronostratigraphy
• biostratigraphy
• radiometric dating
• magnetic reversal stratigraphy
• The standard stratigraphic nomenclature is a
chronostratigraphic system based on
palaeontological intervals of time defined by
recognised fossil assemblages
(biostratigraphy).
• The aim of chronostratigraphy is to give a
meaningful age date to these fossil
assemblage intervals and interfaces.
 Chronostratigraphy
• Chronostratigraphy relies heavily upon isotope geology
and geochronology to derive hard dating of known and
well defined rock units which contain the specific fossil
assemblages defined by the stratigraphic system.
However it is practically very difficult to isotopically date
most fossils and sedimentary rocks directly, and thus
inferences must be made in order to arrive at an age date
which reflects the beginning of the interval.
• The methodology used is derived from the law of
superposition and the principles of cross-cutting
relationships.
 Chronostratigraphic units & their ranks
• Chronostratigraphic unit ( time-stratigraphic unit ,
time-rock unit ) The sequence of rocks formed during
a discrete and specified interval of geologic time.
• Chronostratigraphic units are ranked, according to the
length of time they record, in order of decreasing
rank, into eonotherm (the longest), erathems,
systems , series , stages, chronozones (the shortest).
Each unit comprises a number of units of lower rank,
e.g. a system would consist of a number of series, and,
similarly, a number of stages would constitute a series.
 Principles used in Chronostratigraphy
• Principle of faunal/fossil succession was formulated which
states that where there are many layers of rock, certain
associated groups of fossils (assemblages) are found in
rocks that are closer to the surface(younger) and other
assemblages are found in rocks that are below these layers.
• Central to the principle of faunal succession is the principle
of biological evolution. Biological evolution is irreversible
(primitive life forms evolved into more complex life forms
in an irreversible process). More primitive fossil types are
found in the older/lower beds and fossils of more complex
life forms are found in the younger/higher beds.
 Biostratigraphy
• Biostratigraphy is the method of classification or relative
arrangement of rock sequences on the basis of fossil content.
• Biostratigraphy is closely linked to the principles of faunal
succession and the law of superposition. Fossil content varies
through a stratigraphic succession for two main reasons:
1.  Evolutionary changes
2. Ecological differences such as changes in climate or depositional
environment.
• Biostratigraphy should only be based on evolutionary changes
but it always difficult to distinguish between these from
changes that take place in a biostratigraphic assemblage as a
result of ecological modifications.
 Biostratigraphic units
• The basic biostratigraphic unit is the biozone, which can be
defined as the body of strata containing a fauna or flora
element. Or a rock that can be defined or characterised by its
fossil content.
–  Range zone: All rock layers that contain the fossil remains of a
particular species constitute the range zone of the species.
– Concurrent range zone: Maximum accuracy in fossil correlation is
obtained by utilizing the simultaneous occurrence of two or more
species, rather than the occurrence of one species alone. Such co-
occurrences represent only the portion of range zones that overlap.
Generally this is a smaller stratigraphic interval than the range zone of
any of the constituent species. Zones based on overlapping ranges are
called concurrent range zones.
Problems with biostratigraphic classification

• Many types of fossils were confined to particular

environments were they had adapted to particular
conditions. Thus they lack universal occurrence and
any correlation of beds containing such fossils is a
correlation of environments rather than time.
• Some fossils evolved very slowly such that they can
only be used in very broad classifications (broad
vertical range).
• Some good zone fossils are very delicate and require
quiet environments to be preserved.
 Correlation
• The process of demonstrating the equivalence or
correspondence of geographically separated parts of a
geologic unit i.e. that a particular horizon in one geological
section represents the same period of time as another
horizon at some other section is called correlation.
• If two units belonging to different local sections are judged
to be time equivalents of each other then they are
correlative.
• There are two criteria of correlation namely
– (i) Physical criteria for correlation and
– (ii) Biological criteria of correlation.
 Stratigraphic Section
• Geologists study sequences of
sedimentary rocks on a bed-by-bed
basis. They measure the thickness of
each bed, record the physical,
chemical, and biological characteristics
of the rock, and note the nature of the
contacts (or bedding planes) between
beds. Using these data, the geologist
draws up a stratigraphic section for a
particular sequence of rock. A
stratigraphic section is a graphical or
pictorial representation of the
sequence of rock units. Standard
symbols (called lithologic symbols) are
used to refer to each rock type.

Stratigraphic column along the northern bank of Isfjorden,

Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway. Photograph taken by Mark A.
Wilson (Department of Geology, The College of Wooster).
 Physical Criteria Of Correlation
• The physical criteria of correlation is based on
– physical continuity
– lithologic similarity
– geophysics
– order of superposition
– Radiometric age dating
 Physical criteria
• Physical continuity: This
involves establishing continuity
between rock exposures in the
field (walking it out). The
problem with this method is
that outcrops rarely enable us to
trace beds continuously.
• Matching rock types: Some rock
units have distinctive diagnostic
features that make them easy to
recognize in different outcrops.
 Physical Criteria cont.
• Sometimes, one or more rock units are
missing from the middle of a sequence.
Close examination of the outcrop shows a
sharp or irregular contact (unconformity)
where the missing rocks should be.
Unconformity is a surface which represents
a gap in the geologic record, because of
either erosion or non-deposition.
• Unconformities can be traced between
stratigraphic sequences kilometers apart.
Although unconformities may truncate
rocks of many different ages, the sediments
directly overlying the unconformity are
roughly the same age.
 Physical Criteria cont.
• Key beds/marker beds: tend to have some
unusual, distinguishing feature which allows
them to be readily identified, such as a bed of
volcanic ash in a sedimentary sequence, or a
bed of conglomerate in a sandstone sequence,
or a bed of limestone in a shale sequence. Key
beds or marker beds should also be laterally
extensive, to aid in correlation over a large
area.
 Physical Criteria cont.
• Geophysics: Every rock layer has a characteristic
geophysical signature. This is because they have
different values for physical properties such as
electrical resistivity, density, radioactive emission,
seismics, reflectivity, magnetism etc. These values
can be captured across a sequence by lowering
geophysical probes down the boreholes in an area.
The geophysical logs obtained from the probe are
then used in classifying layers and correlating them
with logs from other areas.
 Physical Criteria cont.
• Order of superposition: In un-deformed regions,
the order of superposition determines the
relative ages of the succession of layers.
• Radiometric age-dating: Finding out the age of
formation of a rock using radioactive isotopes:
– Carbon-14
– Uranium and Thorium,
– Potassium-Argon etc.
 Biological Criteria Of Correlation
• Biological evolution is irreversible such that biostratigraphy
which uses the nature of fossil record in rock layers is applied to
correlate rock strata by using the fossil assemblages contained
within them. The fossils are useful because same lithology
sediments of the same age can look completely different
because of local variations in the sedimentary environment.
• For example:
– one section might have been made up of clays and marls (a calcium
carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable
amounts of clays and aragonite) while another has more chalky
limestone, but if the fossil species recorded are similar, the two
sediments are likely to have been laid down at the same time.
 Facies
• Facies are different rock bodies of differing characteristics that have replaced
each other laterally within the but are co existent in the same stratigraphic
interval. Any examination of modern depositional environments shows that most
do not extend for great distances laterally but eventually change into other
depositional environments. Many sedimentary rocks are being deposited
simultaneously in different areas. Rock types are diagnostic of local
environments of deposition, not of ages. Therefore, facies implies that the
different rock types are of the same age.
• Facies: a body of rock with specified characteristics. Features which are used to
distinguish facies are:
– Grain-size
– Texture
– Sedimentary structures
– Fossil content
– Colour
 Facies- cont
• Sedimentary facies are bodies of sediment recognizably
different from adjacent sediment deposited in a different
depositional environment. Generally, facies are
distinguished by what aspect of the rock or sediment is
being studied. Thus, facies based on petrological characters
such as grain size and mineralogy are called lithofacies,
whereas facies based on fossil content are called biofacies.

Middle Triassic marginal marine

siltstone and sandstone facies
exposed in southern Utah.