stratigraphic unit
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.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Understand What a stratigraphic unit is.
Definition
Definition and kinds.
Definition
Definition.
- What is a stratigraphic unit, and how do lithostratigraphic, biostratigraphic, chronostratigraphic and climatostratigraphic units differ? definition
- Is the question about a rock unit, a time unit or a geological structure? boundary
Ranks
Ranks.
Ranks
Ranks.
- What are beds, members, formations, groups and supersuites, and how are ranks assigned? definition
- Which entry fits the specific rank? action
Define Defining units.
Codes
Stratigraphic codes.
Codes
Codes.
- What rules do the International Stratigraphic Guide and national codes set for defining and naming units? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Lexicons
Lexicons and former units.
Lexicons
Lexicons.
- How are named units recorded in lexicons, and how are former units handled? provenance
- Which entry fits the specific lexicon? action
Use Use.
Mapping
Mapping and correlation.
Mapping
Mapping.
- How are units mapped and correlated across regions? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
Applications
Applications.
Applications
Applications.
- How are stratigraphic units used in resource exploration, engineering and hazard assessment? provenance
- Which entry fits applied stratigraphy? action
Context History and examples.
History
History.
History
History.
- How did stratigraphic classification develop from Smith and Lyell to modern codes? provenance
- Which entry fits the history of geology? action
Examples
Examples.
Examples
Examples.
- What are well known formations and groups, and why are they significant? provenance
- Which entry fits the specific formation? action
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- PHY
- Domain
- PHY.PLC
- Other names and narrower kinds
- climatostratigraphic unit, lithostratigraphic unit, supersuite, biostratigraphic unit, beds, former lithostratigraphic unit, supergroup, horizon, morpho-lithostratigraphic unit, Spring horizon, marker horizon
What it is Filled
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.
Why it exists Filled
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.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Formal definition
- Hierarchical ranks
- Multiple classification bases
- Type sections
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- 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.
Only with a human decision
- Proposing a new formal unit or changing an existing one in a shared lexicon.
May
- Name, map and correlate stratigraphic units using the published nomenclature.
- Report a unit's age, rank and type locality from official sources.
Moral aspects Filled
- 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.
Who is affected
- Geologists and surveyors
- Communities relying on groundwater
Owners Filled
Steward
The geological survey of the jurisdiction keeps the lexicon of named units.
Master systems
- National stratigraphic lexicons
- Geological survey databases
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q9346860 - registry parent class
related
- geological structure - in registry terms
- stratigraphy - as a discipline
- International Stratigraphic Guide - and national codes
- geochronologic unit - which is a time interval
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.stratigraphic-unit
- Wikidata: Q3694119 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3694119)
Direct properties required Filled
- lithostratigraphic hierarchy: bed, member, formation, group, supergroup list
- chronostratigraphic hierarchy: stage, series, system, erathem, eonothem list
Recognition required Filled
- 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 and actions required Filled
- explain kinds of units
- relay classification rules
- describe naming and correlation
- distinguish unit types
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Confusing rock units with time units
- Using abandoned unit names
- Inconsistent naming across borders
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- International Stratigraphic Guide of the ICS
- North American Stratigraphic Code
- National lexicons of named units
- Geological survey naming rules
Context of use required Filled
- 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 Filled
- Wikidata item Q3694119: stratigraphic unit - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Stratigraphic unit - general description of the item
Open questions
- 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?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q3694119/spec.json