Authors / CoAuthors
Brown, C.E.
Abstract
In establishing lithostratigraphic units, Australian geologists have been encouraged to follow the International Stratigraphic Guide since 1978. This Guide gives limited, and sometimes conflicting, advice when you try to apply it to the naming of igneous units in particular. The Guide strongly discourages the use of form terms like dyke, pluton or batholith, and adjectives used as nouns, such as volcanics, intrusives and extrusives. It deems the use of 'suite' to be inadvisable, having quite different meanings in different countries. The use of qualifiers such as plutonic, igneous, intrusive, extrusive should be minimised, except for clarifying the nature of a complex. Australia has chosen to make some exceptions to the Guide. We do use suites and supersuites, but only for grouping igneous units, unlike the lithodemic units of the North American Code. We also use volcanics, and volcanic groups, generally for mixed, or bimodal volcanics. We have resisted using intrusives, preferring 'igneous complex' instead. We have also resisted 'dyke swarm' in favour of simple lithological names such as Alcurra Dolerite, but existing, long-standing names such as Widgiemooltha Dyke Suite, make it hard to explain current guidelines to some geologists. Australia's interpretation of the Guide means that 'complex' is used in various ways, at various ranks, and for a very wide variety of sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous units. We are exploring the need to broaden the naming options for igneous units.
Product Type
nonGeographicDataset
eCat Id
73421
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Cnr Jerrabomberra Ave and Hindmarsh Dr GPO Box 378
Canberra
ACT
2601
Australia
Keywords
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- External PublicationAbstract
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- stratigraphy
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- data standards
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- geoscience databases
- Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)
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- Earth Sciences
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- Published_Internal
Publication Date
2012-01-01T00:00:00
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