{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.stratigraphic-unit","code":"thing-q3694119","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q3694119/","name":"stratigraphic unit","alternateNames":["climatostratigraphic unit","lithostratigraphic unit","supersuite","biostratigraphic unit","beds","former lithostratigraphic unit","supergroup","horizon","morpho-lithostratigraphic unit","Spring horizon","marker horizon"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.PLC"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A body of rock or sediment defined and classified by geologists for mapping and correlation, in categories such as lithostratigraphic units based on rock type including beds, members, formations, groups and supersuites, biostratigraphic units based on fossil content, chronostratigraphic units based on age, climatostratigraphic units based on climatic signals, and magnetostratigraphic units, with formal names governed by stratigraphic codes and former units retained in databases for reference.","purpose":"Let an agent explain stratigraphic units and their kinds, relay classification rules from stratigraphic codes, describe how units are named and correlated, and distinguish lithostratigraphic from chronostratigraphic and geochronologic units.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Formal definition","Hierarchical ranks","Multiple classification bases","Type sections"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What a stratigraphic unit is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition and kinds.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is a stratigraphic unit, and how do lithostratigraphic, biostratigraphic, chronostratigraphic and climatostratigraphic units differ?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about a rock unit, a time unit or a geological structure?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"ranks","name":"Ranks","description":"Ranks.","findings":[{"id":"ranks-finding","name":"Ranks","description":"Ranks.","questions":[{"text":"What are beds, members, formations, groups and supersuites, and how are ranks assigned?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific rank?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"define","name":"Define","description":"Defining units.","layers":[{"id":"codes","name":"Codes","description":"Stratigraphic codes.","findings":[{"id":"codes-finding","name":"Codes","description":"Codes.","questions":[{"text":"What rules do the International Stratigraphic Guide and national codes set for defining and naming units?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"lexicons","name":"Lexicons","description":"Lexicons and former units.","findings":[{"id":"lexicons-finding","name":"Lexicons","description":"Lexicons.","questions":[{"text":"How are named units recorded in lexicons, and how are former units handled?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific lexicon?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"use","name":"Use","description":"Use.","layers":[{"id":"mapping","name":"Mapping","description":"Mapping and correlation.","findings":[{"id":"mapping-finding","name":"Mapping","description":"Mapping.","questions":[{"text":"How are units mapped and correlated across regions?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"applications","name":"Applications","description":"Applications.","findings":[{"id":"applications-finding","name":"Applications","description":"Applications.","questions":[{"text":"How are stratigraphic units used in resource exploration, engineering and hazard assessment?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits applied stratigraphy?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"History and examples.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did stratigraphic classification develop from Smith and Lyell to modern codes?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the history of geology?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"examples","name":"Examples","description":"Examples.","findings":[{"id":"examples-finding","name":"Examples","description":"Examples.","questions":[{"text":"What are well known formations and groups, and why are they significant?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific formation?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Name, map and correlate stratigraphic units using the published nomenclature.","Report a unit's age, rank and type locality from official sources."],"mustNot":["Invent or rename a formal stratigraphic unit without following the code that governs naming.","Present an informal unit as formally defined.","Damage a type section or stratotype while sampling.","Misreport units in data used for groundwater, mining or hazard decisions."],"requiresHuman":["Proposing a new formal unit or changing an existing one in a shared lexicon."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Stratigraphic maps guide decisions on water, building and resources that affect communities.","Type sections are shared scientific heritage that can be lost to careless collecting."],"affectedParties":["Geologists and surveyors","Communities relying on groundwater"]},"owners":{"steward":"The geological survey of the jurisdiction keeps the lexicon of named units.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["National stratigraphic lexicons","Geological survey databases"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q9346860","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"geological structure","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"stratigraphy","type":"related","note":"as a discipline"},{"target":"International Stratigraphic Guide","type":"related","note":"and national codes"},{"target":"geochronologic unit","type":"related","note":"which is a time interval"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.stratigraphic-unit","Wikidata: Q3694119 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3694119)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["lithostratigraphic hierarchy: bed, member, formation, group, supergroup list","chronostratigraphic hierarchy: stage, series, system, erathem, eonothem list"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Formally defined rock body","Beds, members, formations, groups, supersuites; biozones; stages; climatostratigraphic units","Geochronologic units are time spans; geological structures such as faults are not stratigraphic units","Not a visible object; layers in outcrops and coloured bands on geological maps."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain kinds of units","relay classification rules","describe naming and correlation","distinguish unit types"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Confusing rock units with time units","Using abandoned unit names","Inconsistent naming across borders"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["International Stratigraphic Guide of the ICS","North American Stratigraphic Code","National lexicons of named units","Geological survey naming rules"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Mapping and correlating rock bodies.","lithostratigraphic units: beds, members, formations, groups, supergroups and supersuites for intrusive rocks","biostratigraphic units or biozones","chronostratigraphic units","climatostratigraphic units","magnetostratigraphic and sequence stratigraphic units","former or abandoned lithostratigraphic units"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q3694119: stratigraphic unit","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3694119","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Stratigraphic unit","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratigraphic_unit","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic units be separate primary entries?","How should stratigraphic codes and lexicons be linked?","The registry entry has merged aliases naming unit types and former units; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q3694119/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q3694119/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T02:58:54Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:59+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}