Carboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma to the beginning of the Permian Period, Ma. It is the fifth period of the Phanerozoic eon. In North America, the Carboniferous is often treated as two separate geological periods, the earlier Mississippian and the later Pennsylvanian.
The name Carboniferous means "coal-bearing", from the Latin and , and refers to the many coal beds formed globally during that time. The first of the modern "system" names, it was coined by geologists William Conybeare and William Phillips in 1822, based on a study of the British rock succession.
The Carboniferous is the period during which both terrestrial animal and land plant life was well established. Stegocephalia, whose forerunners had evolved from lobe-finned fish during the preceding Devonian period, became pentadactylous during the Carboniferous. The period is sometimes called the Age of Amphibians because of the diversification of early amphibians such as the temnospondyls, which became dominant land vertebrates, as well as the first appearance of amniotes including synapsids and sauropsids during the late Carboniferous. Land arthropods such as arachnids, myriapods and especially insects also underwent a major evolutionary radiation during the late Carboniferous. Vast swaths of forests and swamps covered the land, which eventually became the coal beds characteristic of the Carboniferous stratigraphy evident today.
The later half of the period experienced glaciations, low sea level, and mountain building as the continents collided to form Pangaea. A minor marine and terrestrial extinction event, the Carboniferous rainforest collapse, occurred at the end of the period, caused by climate change. Atmospheric oxygen levels, originally thought to be consistently higher than today throughout the Carboniferous, have been shown to be more variable, increasing from low levels at the beginning of the Period to highs of 25–30%.
Etymology and history
The development of a Carboniferous chronostratigraphic timescale began in the late 18th century. The term "Carboniferous" was first used as an adjective by Irish geologist Richard Kirwan in 1799 and later used in a heading entitled "Coal-measures or Carboniferous Strata" by John Farey Sr. in 1811. Four units were originally ascribed to the Carboniferous, in ascending order, the Old Red Sandstone, Carboniferous Limestone, Millstone Grit and the Coal Measures. These four units were placed into a formalised Carboniferous unit by William Conybeare and William Phillips in 1822 and then into the Carboniferous System by Phillips in 1835. The Old Red Sandstone was later considered Devonian in age.The similarity in successions between the British Isles and Western Europe led to the development of a common European timescale with the Carboniferous System divided into the lower Dinantian, dominated by carbonate deposition and the upper Silesian with mainly siliciclastic deposition. The Dinantian was divided into the Tournaisian and Viséan stages. The Silesian was divided into the Namurian, Westphalian and Stephanian stages. The Tournaisian is the same length as the International Commission on Stratigraphy stage, but the Viséan is longer, extending into the lower Serpukhovian.
North American geologists recognised a similar stratigraphy but divided it into two systems rather than one. These are the lower carbonate-rich sequence of the Mississippian System and the upper siliciclastic and coal-rich sequence of the Pennsylvanian. The United States Geological Survey officially recognised these two systems in 1953. In Russia, in the 1840s British and Russian geologists divided the Carboniferous into the Lower, Middle and Upper series based on Russian sequences. In the 1890s these became the Dinantian, Moscovian and Uralian stages. The Serpukivian was proposed as part of the Lower Carboniferous, and the Upper Carboniferous was divided into the Moscovian and Gzhelian. The Bashkirian was added in 1934.
In 1975, the ICS formally ratified the Carboniferous System, with the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian subsystems from the North American timescale, the Tournaisian and Visean stages from the Western European and the Serpukhovian, Bashkirian, Moscovian, Kasimovian and Gzhelian from the Russian. With the formal ratification of the Carboniferous System, the Dinantian, Silesian, Namurian, Westphalian and Stephanian became redundant terms, although the latter three are still in common use in Western Europe.
Geology
Stratigraphy
Stages can be defined globally or regionally. For global stratigraphic correlation, the ICS ratify global stages based on a Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point from a single formation identifying the lower boundary of the stage. Only the boundaries of the Carboniferous System and three of the stage bases are defined by global stratotype sections and points because of the complexity of the geology. The ICS subdivisions from youngest to oldest are as follows:Mississippian
The Mississippian was proposed by Alexander Winchell in 1870 named after the extensive exposure of lower Carboniferous limestone in the upper Mississippi River valley. During the Mississippian, there was a marine connection between the Paleo-Tethys and Panthalassa through the Rheic Ocean resulting in the near worldwide distribution of marine faunas and so allowing widespread correlations using marine biostratigraphy. However, there are few Mississippian volcanic rocks, and so obtaining radiometric dates is difficult.The Tournaisian Stage is named after the Belgian city of Tournai. It was introduced in scientific literature by Belgian geologist André Dumont in 1832. The GSSP for the base of the Carboniferous System, Mississippian Subsystem and Tournaisian Stage is located at the La Serre section in Montagne Noire, southern France. It is defined by the first appearance of the conodont Siphonodella sulcata within the evolutionary lineage from Siphonodella praesulcata to Siphonodella sulcata. This was ratified by the ICS in 1990. However, in 2006 further study revealed the presence of Siphonodella sulcata below the boundary, and the presence of Siphonodella ''praesulcata and Siphonodella sulcata together above a local unconformity. This means the evolution of one species to the other, the definition of the boundary, is not seen at the La Serre site making precise correlation difficult.The Viséan Stage was introduced by André Dumont in 1832 and is named after the city of Visé, Liège Province, Belgium. In 1967, the base of the Visean was officially defined as the first black limestone in the Leffe facies at the Bastion Section in the Dinant Basin. These changes are now thought to be ecologically driven rather than caused by evolutionary change, and so this has not been used as the location for the GSSP. Instead, the GSSP for the base of the Visean is located in Bed 83 of the sequence of dark grey limestones and shales at the Pengchong section, Guangxi, southern China. It is defined by the first appearance of the fusulinid Eoparastaffella simplex in the evolutionary lineage Eoparastaffella ovalis – Eoparastaffella simplex and was ratified in 2009.
The Serpukhovian Stage was proposed in 1890 by Russian stratigrapher Sergei Nikitin. It is named after the city of Serpukhov, near Moscow and currently lacks a defined GSSP. The Visean-Serpukhovian boundary coincides with a major period of glaciation. The resulting sea level fall and climatic changes led to the loss of connections between marine basins and endemism of marine fauna across the Russian margin. This means changes in biota are environmental rather than evolutionary making wider correlation difficult. Work is underway in the Urals and Nashui, Guizhou Province, southwestern China for a suitable site for the GSSP with the proposed definition for the base of the Serpukhovian as the first appearance of conodont Lochriea ziegleri.''
Pennsylvanian
The Pennsylvanian was proposed by J.J.Stevenson in 1888, named after the widespread coal-rich strata found across the state of Pennsylvania. The closure of the Rheic Ocean and formation of Pangea during the Pennsylvanian, together with widespread glaciation across Gondwana led to major climate and sea level changes, which restricted marine fauna to particular geographic areas thereby reducing widespread biostratigraphic correlations. Extensive volcanic events associated with the assembling of Pangea means more radiometric dating is possible relative to the Mississippian.The Bashkirian Stage was proposed by Russian stratigrapher Sofia Semikhatova in 1934. It was named after Bashkiria, the then Russian name of the republic of Bashkortostan in the southern Ural Mountains of Russia. The GSSP for the base of the Pennsylvanian Subsystem and Bashkirian Stage is located at Arrow Canyon in Nevada, US and was ratified in 1996. It is defined by the first appearance of the conodont Declinognathodus noduliferus. Arrow Canyon lay in a shallow, tropical seaway which stretched from Southern California to Alaska. The boundary is within a cyclothem sequence of transgressive limestones and fine sandstones, and regressive mudstones and brecciated limestones.
The Moscovian Stage is named after shallow marine limestones and colourful clays found around Moscow, Russia. It was first introduced by Sergei Nikitin in 1890. The Moscovian currently lacks a defined GSSP. The fusulinid Aljutovella aljutovica can be used to define the base of the Moscovian across the northern and eastern margins of Pangea, however, it is restricted in geographic area, which means it cannot be used for global correlations. The first appearance of the conodonts Declinognathodus donetzianus or Idiognathoides postsulcatus have been proposed as a boundary marking species and potential sites in the Urals and Nashui, Guizhou Province, southwestern China are being considered.
The Kasimovian is the first stage in the Upper Pennsylvanian. It is named after the Russian city of Kasimov, and was originally included as part of Nikitin's 1890 definition of the Moscovian. It was first recognised as a distinct unit by A.P. Ivanov in 1926, who named it the "Tiguliferina" Horizon after a type of brachiopod. The boundary of the Kasimovian covers a period of globally low sea level, which has resulted in disconformities within many sequences of this age. This has created difficulties in finding suitable marine fauna that can used to correlate boundaries worldwide. The Kasimovian currently lacks a defined GSSP; potential sites in the southern Urals, southwest USA and Nashui, Guizhou Province, southwestern China are being considered.
The Gzhelian is named after the Russian village of Gzhel, Moscow Oblast, near Ramenskoye, not far from Moscow. The name and type locality were defined by Sergei Nikitin in 1890. The Gzhelian currently lacks a defined GSSP. The first appearance of the fusulinid Rauserites rossicus and Rauserites ''stuckenbergi can be used in the Boreal Sea and Paleo-Tethyan regions but not eastern Pangea or Panthalassa margins. Potential sites in the Urals and Nashui, Guizhou Province, southwestern China for the GSSP are being considered.
The GSSP for the base of the Permian is located in the Aidaralash River valley near Aqtöbe, Kazakhstan and was ratified in 1996. The beginning of the stage is defined by the first appearance of the conodont Streptognathodus postfusus.''