Abstract
The 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio is homogeneous in sea water at any one time, but has fluctuated during geological time along the path which can be reconstructed by the Sr-isotopic analysis of marine precipitates (e.g. carbonate or phosphate fossils) of known age. The resultant ‘seawater curve’ can be used as a relative dating tool by analysing carbonate/phosphate fossils from a marine sediment, locating its position on the curve and reading off the corresponding age. Such ages are independent of biofacies or faunal provincialism. The hypothetical chronological resolution, which depends upon analytical reproducibility and the gradient of the seawater curve during the period of interest, lies between 0.4 and 1.0 Ma for much of the Cenozoic and Mesozoic. However, the practical resolution is limited in sediments of certain ages by uncertainties in the definition of the seawater curve; this may be improved with further work.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Berggren, W. A., Kent, D. V., Flynn, J. J. and Van Couvering, J. A. 1985. Cenozoic geochronology. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 96, 1407–1418.
Brass, G. W. 1976. The variation of the marine 87Sr/86Sr ratio during Phanerozoic time: interpretation using a flux model. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 40, 721–730.
Brevart, O. and Allègre, C. J. 1977. Strontium isotopic ratios in limestone through geological time as a memory of geodynamic regimes. Bull. Soc. Géol. Fr., 90, 1253–1257.
Burke, W. H., Denison, R. E., Hetherington, E. A., Koepnick, R. B., Nelson, H. F. and Otto, J. B. 1982. Variation of seawater 87Sr/86Sr throughout Phanerozoic time. Geology, 10, 516–519.
Chaudhuri, S. and Clauer, N. 1986. Fluctuations of isotopic composition of strontium in seawater during the Phanerozoic Eon. Chem. Geol. (Isotope Geoscience Section), 59, 293–303.
DePaolo, D. J. 1986. Detailed record of the Neogene Sr isotopic evolution of seawater from DSDP Site 590B. Geology, 14, 103–106.
DePaolo, D. J. and Ingram, B. L. 1985. High-resolution stratigraphy with strontium isotopes. Science, 227, 938–941.
Elderfield, H. 1986. Strontium isotope stratigraphy. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimat. Palaeoecol., 57, 71–90.
Elderfield, H. and Gieskes, J. M. 1982. Sr isotopes in interstitial waters of marine sediments from Deep Sea Drilling Project cores. Nature, 300, 493–497.
Elderfield, H. and Greaves, M. J. 1981. Strontium isotope geochemistry of Icelandic geothermal systems and implications for sea water chemistry. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 45, 2201–2212.
Faure, G. 1982. The marine-strontium geochronometer. In: Odin, G. S. (ed.), Numerical Dating in Stratigraphy, Wiley, New York, 73–79.
Faure, G. 1986. Principles of Isotope Geology, Wiley, New York.
Haq, B. U., Hardenbol, J. and Vail, P. R. 1987. Chronology of fluctuating sea levels since the Triassic. Science, 235, 1157–1167.
Hess, J., Bender M. L. and Schilling, J. -G. 1986. Evolution of the ratio of strontium-87 to strontium-86 in seawater from Cretaceous to present. Science, 231, 979–984.
Holland, H. D. 1984. The Chemical Evolution of the Atmosphere and oceans, Princeton University Press, Princeton, N. J.
Hubbard, R. J. 1988. Age and significance of sequence boundaries on Jurassic and early Cretaceous rifted Continental margins AAPG Bull, 72, 49–72.
Hurst, R. W. 1986. Strontium isotopic chronostratigraphy and correlation of the Miocene Monterey Formation in the Ventura and Santa Maria basins of California. Geology, 14, 459–462.
Kent, D. V. and Gradstein, F. M. 1985. A Cretaceous and Jurassic geochronology. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 96, 1419–1427.
Knittel, U. and Daniels, U. 1987. Sr-isotopic composition of marbles from the Puerto Galera area (Mindoro, Philippines): additional evidence for a Paleozoic age of a metamorphic complex in the Philippine island arc. Geology, 15, 136–138.
Koepnick, R. B., Burke, W. H., Denison, R. E., Hetherington, E. A., Nelson, H. F., Otto, J. B. and Waite, L. E. 1985. Construction of the seawater 87Sr/86Sr curve for the Cenozoic and Cretaceous: supporting data. Chem. Geol. (Isotope Geoscience Section), 58, 55–81.
Kovach, J. 1980. Variations in the strontium isotopic composition of seawater during Paleozoic time determined by analysis of conodonts. Geol. Soc. Am. Abstr. Prog., 12, 465.
Palmer, M. R. and Elderfield, H. 1985. Sr isotopic composition of seawater over the past 75 Myr. Nature, 314, 526–528.
Peterman, Z. E., Hedge, C. E. and Tourtelot, H. A. 1970. Isotopic composition of strontium in sea water throughout Phanerozoic time. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 34, 105—120.
Popp, B. N., Podosek, F. A., Brannon, J. C, Anderson, T. F. and Pier, J. 1986. 87Sr/86Sr ratios in Permo-Carboniferous sea water from the analyses of well-preserved brachiopod shells. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 50, 1321–1328.
Rundberg, Y. 1989. Tertiary sedimentary history and basin evolution of the Norwegian northern North Sea between 60°N and 62°N — an integrated approach. Dr. ing. thesis, Univ. Trondheim.
Rundberg, Y. and Smalley, P. C. 1989. High-resolution dating of Cenozoic sediments from the northern North Sea using 87Sr/86Sr stratigraphy. AAPG, Bull. 73, 298–308.
Smalley, P. C, Nordaa, A. and Råheim, A. 1986. Geochronology and paleothermometry of Neogene sediments from the Vøring Plateau using Sr, C and O isotopes. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 78, 368–378.
Smalley, P. C, Qyale, G. and Qyale, H. 1989. Some ages from Leg 104 Site 642 obtained by Rb-Sr glauconite dating and Sr isotope stratigraphy. In: Eldholm, O., Thiede, J., Taylor, E. et al. (eds), Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, in press.
Staudigel, H., Doyle, P. and Zindier, A. 1985. Sr and Nd isotope systematics in fish teeth. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 76, 45–56.
Swinburne, N. H. M. 1988. Correlation of sequences of upper-most Cretaceous carbonates using Sr-isotope chronology. Chem. Geol., 70, 17 (abstr.).
Wadleigh, M. A., Veizer, J. and Brooks, C. 1985. Strontium and its isotopes in Canadian rivers: fluxes and global implications. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 49, 1727–1736.
Wickman, F. E. 1948. Isotope ratios: a clue to the age of certain marine sediments. J. Geol., 56, 61–66.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1989 Norwegian Petroleum Society
About this paper
Cite this paper
Smalley, P.C., Råheim, A., Rundberg, Y., Johansen, H. (1989). Strontium-isotope stratigraphy: applications in basin modelling and reservoir correlation. In: Collinson, J.D. (eds) Correlation in Hydrocarbon Exploration. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1149-9_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1149-9_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7010-2
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-1149-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive