← Basic Sciences Division

Stratigraphy & Sedimentology Center

Reproduces Earth's sedimentary record and stratigraphy — depositional environments and the rock cycle — through sedimentary-basin modeling, reconstructing geological history via the principle of uniformitarianism.

Mathematics Center Physics Center Chemistry Center Biology Center Atmospheric Sciences Center Stratigraphy & Sedimentology Center Structural Geology & Tectonics Center Petrology & Mineralogy Center Geochemistry Center Paleontology & Evolutionary Biology Center Remote Sensing & Earth Observation Center Hydrogeology & Soil Science Center Physical Oceanography Center Marine Geology & Geophysics Center Chemical Oceanography Center Marine Biology & Ecology Center

Research Fields 14

Foundational Stratigraphic Principles

📜 Foundational Stratigraphic Principles

The foundational principles of stratigraphy are the rules by which layered rocks are read …

Biostratigraphy

🦕 Biostratigraphy

Biostratigraphy is the subdivision and correlation of sedimentary strata by their fossil c…

Sequence Stratigraphy & Chronostratigraphy

⏳ Sequence Stratigraphy & Chronostratigraphy

Chronostratigraphy orders strata by time of origin, and sequence stratigraphy is its most …

Sedimentary Facies Analysis

🧱 Sedimentary Facies Analysis

A sedimentary facies is a body of rock, or sediment, distinguished by its combined litholo…

Turbidite Sedimentology

🌊 Turbidite Sedimentology

Turbidite sedimentology studies the beds deposited by turbidity currents, density currents…

Carbonate Sedimentology

🏝️ Carbonate Sedimentology

Carbonate sedimentology studies rocks composed chiefly of calcium carbonate, limestones an…

Sedimentary Diagenesis & Petrology

⚗️ Sedimentary Diagenesis & Petrology

Sedimentary diagenesis is the sum of physical and chemical changes that alter a sediment a…

Glacial Sedimentology & Ice Age Theory

🧊 Glacial Sedimentology & Ice Age Theory

Glacial sedimentology studies the deposits of glaciers and ice sheets, and the sedimentolo…

Fluvial Sedimentology

🏞️ Fluvial Sedimentology

Fluvial sedimentology studies the deposits of rivers and the alluvial systems they build, …

Aeolian & Desert Sedimentology

🏜️ Aeolian & Desert Sedimentology

Aeolian sedimentology studies the deposits of wind, dune sands, wind-blown dust and loess,…

Basin Analysis & Geosynclinal Theory

🥣 Basin Analysis & Geosynclinal Theory

Basin analysis is the integrated study of sedimentary basins, the subsiding envelopes in w…

Magnetostratigraphy & the Geomagnetic Polarity Timescale

🧭 Magnetostratigraphy & the Geomagnetic Polarity Timescale

Magnetostratigraphy is the correlation and dating of strata by the record of geomagnetic p…

Global Stratigraphic Correlation

🌐 Global Stratigraphic Correlation

Global stratigraphic correlation is the enterprise of demonstrating that rock successions …

Chemostratigraphy

🧪 Chemostratigraphy

Chemostratigraphy correlates and dates strata by their chemical and isotopic signatures, a…