The nature of the stratigraphical record

by Derek Victor Ager

A textbook on the general pattern of Earth history which attempts to stimulate thought and debate in students concerned with the subject of geology as a uniform science rather than as a group of separated specialities.

Genres: Geology

114 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

English geologist and writer who served a term as President of the British Geologocal Association. He wrote books that analyzed geological processes in an entertaining and readable manner accessible to non-experts.

Reviews

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE PROVOCATIVE BOOK THAT ARGUES FOR A NEW/LIMITED CATASTROPHISM

[NOTE: This review pertains to the 101-page 1972 edition.]

Derek Victor Ager (1923-1993) was a British paleontologist. He wrote in the Preface to this 1972 (1st edition) book, “This is not a textbook or a research treatise. It is---I like to think---an ‘ideas book.’ It is a commentary on the general pattern of earth history which I hope will be stimulating, if perhaps provocatively so, to all those concerned with geology as a whole rather than as a loose agglomeration of separated specialties… It seems to me that the conclusions contained in this book are inescapable, if one is not too involved in the minutiae of stratigraphical correlation actually to see them. No doubt I shall be criticized for some of my generalizations, but I am unrepentant…

“I have tried… to use examples which I have seen for myself and which have impressed me… The one great hope I have for this book is that it will stimulate thought and argument, even rage. I think our science would be a lot healthier if we took less for granted. It may be said that I do not relate my thoughts sufficiently to all the exciting new ideas of sea-floor spreading and plate tectonics… But really these ideas… do not help very much. My stratigraphical enigmas remain the same wherever the plates are sailing round the earth… At times I almost feel more willing to put the blame on flying saucers than on floating plates.”

He notes, “[We] know that the fossil record is fragmentary in the extreme. Yet it is the common experience of most paleontologists that, just as lithological facies are persistent around the world, so are the fossils which they contain. Theoretically, we might expect this to be so, since the same environment tends to support the same kinds of organisms, but in fact the persistence of some fossils appears to go far beyond what we know at the present day.” (Pg. 15)

He observes, “we have fossils that just suddenly appear around the world at one moment in geological history … One can understand this, perhaps, in the fragmentary record of a rare and little-known group, but the Mesozoic brachiopods are now very thoroughly documented in every stage… and distinctive forms can hardly have been missed… one is struck …; by the remarkable way in which particular groups of fossils seem to have been ‘in fashion’ for a while and then return to a comparatively minor role…” (Pg. 16-17)

He points out, “What do we mean by ‘continuous sedimentation’? Do we mean something like one sand grain ever square meter of sea-floor per minute, per day, per year? Even the least of these would give us vastly more sediment than we normally seem to find preserved for us in our stratigraphical record. When attempts have been made to calculate rates of sedimentation in what look like continuously deposited sediments, the results look ridiculous… A very conservative estimate for the Upper Cretaceous Chalk … would give … about 30 million years for its deposition. That works out as nearly a thousandth of a foot per year, or two hundred years to bury a Micraster! And that is for the most rapidly accumulating chalk.” (Pg. 27)

He ends each chapter with a summary proposition: “At certain times in earth history, particular types of sedimentary environment were prevalent over vast areas of the earth’s surface. This may be called the ‘Phenomenon of the Persistence of Facies.’” (Pg. 13) “Paleontologists cannot live by uniformitarianism alone. This may be termed the ‘Phenomenon of the Fallibility of the Fossil Record.’” (Pg. 26) “The sedimentary file at any one place on the earth’s surface is nothing more than a tiny and fragmentary record of vast periods of earth history. This may be called the ‘Phenomenon of the Gap Being More Important than the Record.’” (Pg. 34) “Sedimentation in the past has often been very rapid indeed and very spasmodic. This may be called the ‘Phenomenon of the Catastrophic Nature of much of the Stratigraphical Record.’” (Pg. 42) “Most sedimentation in the continental areas is lateral rather than vertical and is not necessarily connected with subsidence. This may be called the ‘Principle of the Relative Independence and Sedimentation and Subsidence.’” (Pg. 59) “Let us make an arbitrary decision… to define the base of every stratigraphical unit in a selected section. This may be called the ‘Principle of the golden spike.’” (Pg. 73)

He states, “energy is expended in near-shore sedimentary environments within short time intervals that are separated by long periods of relative calm. In other words, the changes do not take place gradually but as sporadic bursts, as a series of minor catastrophes… the rare hurricane is likely to be the main agent recorded in the stratigraphical column of certain parts of the world, even in our present climatic set-up.” (Pg. 44-45) Later, he adds, “The hurricane, the flood or the tsunami may do more in an hour or a day than the ordinary processes of nature have achieved in a thousand years. Given all the millennia we have to play with in the stratigraphical record, we can expect our periodical catastrophes to do all the word we want of them.” (Pg. 49)

He ends, “The final conclusion I come to therefore is that, though the theories of plate tectonics now provide us with a modus operandi, they still seem to me to be a periodic phenomenon. Nothing is world-wide, but everything is episodic. In other words, the history of any one part of the earth, like the life of a soldier, consists of long periods of boredom and short periods of terror.” (Pg. 100)

This provocative book (favorably quoted by Stephen Jay Gould, as well as by creationists and fans of Velikovsky) will be “must reading” for those interested in creative ideas in science.

[katie meddins (maresh) · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was really interesting in terms of our fact but the sass of the author was what made it so entertaining

also I really liked the quote 'the history of any one part of the earth, like the life of a soldier, consists of long periods of boredom and short periods of terror'

[Veronica Orozco · Rating 4 out of 5]

claramente no leí esto por decisión propia, pero siento que me querían adoctrinar a ser catastrofista

[Noel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great re-introduction to the stratigraphic record. It is well-written, easy to read and lacks jargon. Ager brings up many interesting points of consideration, that we [geologists] often take for granted, including continuous sedimentation, catastrophism and correlations. This would make an excellent primary textbook for a discussion-based historical geology course.

[Bob Finch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent survey of geological time through stratigraphy.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book every geologist should read.