Summary of Sequence-Generating Mechanisms

Abstract

Barrell (1917) was one of the first earth scientists to fully comprehend the full range of dynamic processes affecting the Earth’s crust (see quote from his paper at the beginning of this part of the book). These included both orogeny and epeirogeny. Orogeny is a term that came into general use in the mid-nineteenth century to encompass the processes of vertical and lateral motion and deformation of the earth’s crust involved in the generation of deformed belts and mountain ranges (Bates and Jackson, 1987). Epeirogeny is a term coined by Gilbert (1890) to encompass the development of the larger features of continental interiors, including plateaus and basins, predominantly by processes of vertical motion. Eustasy was recognized by Suess (1885–1909) and formed the theoretical basis for his studies of global stratigraphy and orogeny (Fig. 1.7). By the 1930s, significance of glacioeustasy for understanding parts of the ancient stratigraphic record was recognized by those working on the US Mid-continent cyclothems (Shepard and Wanless, 1935). A more complete discussion of the early search for cyclic or rhythmic mechanisms is presented in Sect. 1.4.