Evolving Earth最新文献

{"title":"Coastal influence on microbiomes of the Southwest Atlantic Ocean","authors":"Cristiane C. Thompson ,&nbsp;Diogo Tschoeke ,&nbsp;Luciana Leomil ,&nbsp;Lucas Freitas ,&nbsp;Livia Vidal ,&nbsp;Koko Otsuki ,&nbsp;Claudia Omachi ,&nbsp;Igor M. Venâncio ,&nbsp;Yulin Zhang ,&nbsp;Jiwen Liu ,&nbsp;Xiao-Hua Zhang ,&nbsp;Ana Luiza S. Albuquerque ,&nbsp;Fabiano L. Thompson","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2024.100048","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eve.2024.100048","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The possible influence of the continent on the microbiome of the Southwest Atlantic Ocean (SAO) is not yet fully known. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the metagenomic diversity of the SAO nearshore in different locations (e.g., rivers and upwellings) and offshore locations. The studied sites (n = 16) were clustered into four groups (G1-G4) according to the decadal sea surface temperature (SST) and levels of chlorophyll <em>a</em> (chl-a) (2007–2016). G1 (coastal upwelling) presented the highest chl-a values, G2 (shelf) had the highest SST, G3 (offshore north) had the lowest chl-a levels, and G4 (offshore south) was the coldest site. The higher nutrient levels may contribute to higher chl-a-based primary productivity and possibly higher bacterial productivity nearshore. The taxonomic and functional diversity of the total of 16 Illumina shotgun metagenomes were analysed (nearshore: 10, offshore: 6; mean ± standard deviation: 1.87 ± 0.41 million reads per sample). The SAO microbiomes were split into two groups: nearshore and offshore. The SAO coastal zone had higher abundance of picoplanktonic cyanobacteria (e.g., <em>Prochlorococcus</em>), copiotrophic bacteria (e.g., <em>Alteromonas</em>), chl-a photosynthesis, and metabolism of nitrogen and phosphorus. In clear contrast with offshore microbiomes, nearshore microbiomes were heterogenous as a possible effect of riverine runoff and the upwelling. G1 microbiomes had higher abundance of copiotrophic bacteria, while G2 had a higher abundance of <em>Prochlorococcus</em>, and G3 had a higher abundance of <em>Pelagibacter</em>. Offshore metagenomes (G3 and G4) had enrichment of proteorhodopsin light harvesting and sulfur metabolism, possible relevant processes in the SAO. Metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) demonstrated significant novel microbiome diversity. The most abundant MAGs belong to <em>Flavobacteria</em> and <em>Euryarchaeota</em>. The discrimination of microbial populations and metabolisms in the four studied oceanographic groups provides a first glimpse on the microbial landscape in the SAO.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"2 ","pages":"Article 100048"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142758797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A new model for Early Paleozoic ichnostratigraphy based on trace fossil assemblages from Brazil","authors":"Sara C. Memória ,&nbsp;Renata G. Netto ,&nbsp;Daniel Sedorko","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2023.100026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eve.2023.100026","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Trace fossils are not generally utilized as biostratigraphic indicators due to their long stratigraphic ranges. Despite the use of intricate behavioral traces in the absence of other indicators, existing models like the Precambrian–Cambrian boundary and <em>Cruziana</em> stratigraphy encounter limitations due to crucial data gaps and regional constraints. To surmount these challenges, in this paper, we critically assess established models and present a new framework for Early Paleozoic strata, drawing on trace fossils from the intracratonic basins of Brazil. Our ichnostratigraphic model is calibrated using ichnological data from the Parnaíba, Paraná, and Amazonas basins, including new data. The analysis focuses on trace fossils in strata that are independently dated using chitinozoan, miospore, and acritarch biozonation. Key ichnotaxa, such as <em>Arthrophycus</em> and <em>Cruziana</em>, are identified as prominent indicators of the Llandovery Stage in Brazil. Occurrences of <em>Heimdallia</em> and <em>Musculopodus</em> in the Tianguá Formation also may be used to suggest a Llandovery interval. Notably, <em>Bifungites</em>, found widely across Brazilian basins, emerges as a potential ichnomarker for the Early to mid-Paleozoic interval, with a global presence throughout Cambrian to Mississippian deposits. While current ichnostratigraphic models lack robust calibration with chronostratigraphic or biostratigraphic data, our new proposed model integrates key ichnotaxa, including <em>Bifungites, Climactichnites, Heimdallia, Oldhamia,</em> and <em>Musculopodus,</em> surpassing those pre-existing zonations based on <em>Cruziana</em> and arthrophycids. These ichnotaxa exhibit unique features and narrow temporal ranges, meeting essential biostratigraphic criteria. Although their spatial distribution is somewhat limited, our new model, which is continually evolving with new data, holds promise for enhancing global stratigraphic correlations, particularly where independent age information is available.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100026"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950117223000262/pdfft?md5=12d125104b48f332f032a9fe2454f873&pid=1-s2.0-S2950117223000262-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138471693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Wildfire in the geological record: Application of Quaternary methods to deep time studies","authors":"Jennifer M. Galloway ,&nbsp;Sofie Lindström","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2023.100025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eve.2023.100025","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>For hundreds of millions of years wildfire has influenced, and been influenced by, plant evolution, biogeochemical cycling, and climate. Wildfire has even been implicated as one of the causative agents of mass extinctions. The deep time geologic record offers demonstrated, but underdeveloped, potential to advance knowledge on the role of wildfire in the Earth system. Herein, we present and discuss the geologic history of wildfire and methods for its reconstruction. We argue that application of the numeric approaches to wildfire reconstruction often used in Quaternary studies would advance understanding of deep time wildfire. Application of numeric methods increases statistical rigour, with the intent of reducing bias and increasing accuracy. For example, numeric methods offer a means to robustly calibrate the provenance and taphonomy of particles used to reconstruct wildfire, and to quantify uncertainties. Statistical methods should be used to assess the fidelity of new chemical proxies of wildfire, such as the types, amounts, distributions, and isotope signatures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, to represent source area and fuel type.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100025"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950117223000250/pdfft?md5=37eac22344b5fb719505ff0d372425dd&pid=1-s2.0-S2950117223000250-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138475477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Changes in Fe-redox and Fe-species across the end-Permian ‘Dead Zone’ in the Sydney Basin, Australia (252.10 ± 0.06 Ma): Evidence from X-ray absorption spectroscopy","authors":"Vivi Vajda ,&nbsp;Kajsa G.V. Sigfridsson Clauss ,&nbsp;Ashley Krüger ,&nbsp;Susan Nehzati","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2023.100029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eve.2023.100029","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The end-Permian mass extinction event is traceable across several non-marine basins in Australia. In the Sydney Basin, the lithological succession is characterized by a change from coal seams to mudstones and sandstones, recording a major environmental change following the disappearance of the Permian vegetation. A few millimeter-thick iron-rich ‘rusty’ layer occurs between the uppermost Permian coal seam and the mudstone, a layer that extends laterally across the basin and which has also been documented from coeval successions in Antarctica. This layer is overlain by the &lt;1.5-m-thick Frazer Beach Member, whose basal 10-cm-thick microbreccia bed comprises 99% kaolinite and quartz, and is dated as 252.10 ± 0.06 Ma. The Frazer Beach Member corresponds to the so-called end-Permian ‘Dead Zone’ lacking fossil pollen and leaves. This distinctive member was deposited directly following the extinction of the Permian peat-forming forests.</p><p>Here we identify, through X-ray absorption spectroscopy, a drastic redox shift across the extinction interval with increasing amount of reduced Fe-species followed by highly oxidized Fe-species, most resembling Fe(III) complexed with organic matter. Values subsequently normalise in younger samples through the ‘Dead Zone’, attaining only slightly higher redox-levels than before the event. The organically complexed Fe-species in the event bed is consistent with the standard Suwannee River fulvic acid, an acid Fe-complex with iron bound to organic matter, whereas the samples above and below the extinction layer yield spectra predominantly resembling magnetite (Fe₃O₄) mineral phase. We consider that the iron redox fluctuation marking the extinction interval is related to significant environmental changes with accumulation of organic matter following the mass extinction. The highly reduced iron in the extinction layer may relate to methane release from bacterial degradation, or emissions from clathrates. The presence of fulvic acid in the distinct iron-rich extinction layer indicates that an abrupt onset of the process of degradation of plant matter, lipids and calcium hydroxide (CaOH) took place, resulting in this ‘Death layer’. This was followed by millions of years of erosive conditions before new, complex vegetation could establish.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100029"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950117223000298/pdfft?md5=b771f53898b8b63e7754f9d5211e45dc&pid=1-s2.0-S2950117223000298-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138435980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evolution and dynamics of the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone: Understanding the paradoxes","authors":"Arun Deo Singh ,&nbsp;Harshit Singh ,&nbsp;Shubham Tripathi ,&nbsp;Pradyumna Singh","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2023.100028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eve.2023.100028","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Arabian Sea hosts a perennial and intense oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) at 150–1200 m depths with O₂ concentrations &lt;0.5 ml/l. It is generally believed that the oxygen-depleted conditions at mid-water depths result from high rate of O₂ consumption due to monsoon-driven productivity generating a high organic matter flux, combined with slow renewal of thermocline waters in the region. With global warming and increasing hypoxia, there is growing interest to better understand the various factors controlling oxygen conditions in the thermocline waters and the impact on the nutrient cycling and climate. In this contribution, we provide an overview of new advances in understanding the basin-wide changes of the OMZ, and highlight new perspectives on the relative roles of ocean and atmospheric circulations in modulating the OMZ intensity through the late glacial-Holocene period. Comprehension of the existing and new proxy records (δ¹⁵N, aragonite preservation, δ¹³C of benthic foraminifera) from the productive western and oligotrophic eastern and north-eastern Arabian Sea provides insights into the regional heterogeneity in basin-wide changes of the OMZ, denitrification and carbonate (aragonite) lysocline, and their links to the seasonal monsoon variability and reorganisation of thermocline circulation. We also highlight the limitations of the existing proxy data to address the important questions of how circulation and chemical properties of intermediate/deep water masses contributing to the Arabian Sea thermocline waters changed in the past. Hence, more detailed proxy data are required to characterise sources of water masses, past changes in their pathways and vertical extents in the Arabian Sea, which are crucial to better constrain the temporal evolution of thermocline ventilation basin-wide.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100028"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950117223000286/pdfft?md5=cd7fab37d36de42b654a788a387b5f92&pid=1-s2.0-S2950117223000286-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138423298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Uncertainties in the debate on the environmental impact of lithium brine extraction in the Salar de Atacama, Chile","authors":"Mirko van Pampus ,&nbsp;Barbara Hogenboom ,&nbsp;Carina Hoorn ,&nbsp;Arie C. Seijmonsbergen","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2023.100024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eve.2023.100024","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The global energy transition has dramatically increased the demand for raw materials, including lithium. The largest global reserves of lithium are situated in the salt flats of the Atacama Desert in Chile and the current boom is expected to result in an increase in production. Local communities and environmental NGOs fear a destabilisation of the vulnerable ecosystem of the salt flat. However, the mining companies present scientific studies that refute such claims. In this interdisciplinary research paper, this contradiction in the impact debate is further analysed and interpreted through a literature study and interviews with representatives of different stakeholders on location. What is observed is an unbalanced and possibly incomplete field of knowledge production, with a different role of the involved stakeholders. The state takes a passive position when it comes to monitor compliance of existing environmental legislation and lets the initiative for area and impact studies to the other stakeholders. This leaves the companies in a dominant position with their historical access to research equipment, technological knowhow and data. The communities lack the capacity to match the position of the companies and seem hesitant towards interacting with external researchers. In order to resolve this impasse and understand the long-term effect of large-scale lithium mining in the region, what is urgently needed is more independent research, ideally with a more proactive role of the state.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100024"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950117223000249/pdfft?md5=13d7fab6a7747265baabfc9bf106338a&pid=1-s2.0-S2950117223000249-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138436958","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"End-Permian marine ecosystem collapse was a direct consequence of deforestation: Evidence from the Kockatea Shale of the Perth Basin, Western Australia","authors":"Vivi Vajda ,&nbsp;Kliti Grice ,&nbsp;Ashley Krüger ,&nbsp;Sangmin Lee ,&nbsp;Guang R. Shi","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2023.100027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eve.2023.100027","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The end-Permian mass extinction event resulted in devastated continental biomes, desolated land, and toxic waters. Anoxia led to widespread extinctions in marine ecosystems, affecting most oceanic clades. In this paper, the palynofacies of the marine Kockatea Shale, Western Australia, was studied in drill cores Hovea-3 and Redback-2, with the aim of linking changes in the marine and continental realms across the Permian–Triassic boundary interval in Australia. We show that the post-extinction ‘Dead Zone’ of the Frazer Beach Member of the Sydney Basin, eastern Australia, whose base is dated to 252.10 ± 0.06 Ma, directly correlates to the lower part of the Kockatea Shale in the Perth Basin, the so-called Inertinitic Interval. We demonstrate that the extinction of Permian <em>Glossopteris</em> forests observed in the Perth Basin had an immediate impact on the marine faunas due to the massive buildup of organic matter, leading to euxinia in the photic zone and ultimately pushing the marine faunas to an ecological extinction. The last lingering occurrence of marine invertebrates of Permian aspect occur in layers that may tentatively mark the Permian–Triassic boundary, positioned just below the appearance of Triassic floras of the <em>Kraeuselisporites saeptatus</em> Zone (equivalent to the <em>Lunatisporites pellucidus</em> Zone). A striking feature at the base of the Early Triassic Sapropelic Interval of the Hovea Member is the sudden and synchronous appearances of anomalously abundant acritarchs and lycophyte spores, alongside the mass occurrence of the bivalve <em>Claraia</em>, allowing correlation with the rise of the eastern Australian post-extinction pioneer floras in the Early Triassic. This demonstrates a significant lag time between the recovery of the terrestrial versus the marine pioneer biota in high-latitude Gondwana, with a significant delay for the faunal recovery.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100027"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950117223000274/pdfft?md5=d2ddd34687a38d9a58d939920b3a5e5b&pid=1-s2.0-S2950117223000274-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138423297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The impact of artificial intelligence systems in micropalaeontology","authors":"Fabienne Marret","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2023.100022","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eve.2023.100022","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The discipline of micropalaeontology, fundamental in Geology, has witnessed substantial technological advancements in recent decades, aided by the exploitation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems to facilitate microfossil identification. This perspective paper explores the transformative role of AI in micropalaeontology, particularly in species identification, and its potential to help with the interpretation of microfossil assemblages. While it is argued that AI cannot fully replicate the expertise of a micropalaeontologist, an abundance of scientific studies shows the promising success of AI becoming adept at accurately identifying microfossil species.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100022"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950117223000225/pdfft?md5=46d37a9b7c3ebf9ead5fe96e73457cdf&pid=1-s2.0-S2950117223000225-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135763584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Late Miocene mammalian burrows in the Camacho Formation of Uruguay reveal a complex community of ecosystem engineers","authors":"Luciano Varela ,&nbsp;Ximena Martínez-Blanco ,&nbsp;Raúl Ugalde ,&nbsp;P. Sebastián Tambusso ,&nbsp;Carolina Lobato ,&nbsp;Claudio Gaucher ,&nbsp;Richard A. Fariña","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2023.100023","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eve.2023.100023","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>We report fossil mammal burrows from backshore beach facies in the Camacho Formation of southern Uruguay, of Late Miocene (Huayquerian SALMA) age. The presence of desiccation cracks and rhizoliths indicate the occurrence of relatively extended periods of subaerial exposure and the incipient development of vegetation. The analysis of the burrows' spatial extent, size, and structure reveals the existence of exceptionally well-preserved and intercrossing tunnel systems. We show the existence of different size classes of burrows, which indicate that at least four different taxa were responsible for their construction. Considering the inferred body masses of the trace makers obtained from allometric relationships and the body masses of taxa recovered for the Camacho Formation, the burrows may have been produced by a combination of the following mammals: one of several rodents, notoungulates, cingulates, folivorans, and a carnivoran. The fossil association represents an exceptional case of a community of ecosystem engineers in the Late Miocene of southeastern South America.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100023"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950117223000237/pdfft?md5=4f31908c0e28b65d49ebef7063d4ffc8&pid=1-s2.0-S2950117223000237-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135763371","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Power-law stratigraphy","authors":"Robin J. Bailey","doi":"10.1016/j.eve.2023.100021","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eve.2023.100021","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Digital well-logs registering the mineral properties of a drilled section provide information directly referring to its layering. Returns analyses of such logs can be used to generate an inventory of the layer thicknesses defined by the sampled variable. This reveals that layer thickness relationships have fractal-like power-law attributes, with negative exponents around 1.7, independent of the scale, age, facies and rates of accumulation of the analysed sections. Further research may show this to be a universal property of the stratigraphic record. Also, global average rates of accumulation of a wide range of facies prove to decline, power-law fashion, as the time-span of the estimate increases. Hence the stratigraphic record's layer-limiting hiatuses appear fractal-like in their temporal scaling. These related lines of evidence combine to suggest that the record is neither naturally hierarchical, nor inherently cyclic; and the corollary of an established universal stratal power-law would be that accumulation rarely occurs other than in circumstances leading to this condition.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":100516,"journal":{"name":"Evolving Earth","volume":"1 ","pages":"Article 100021"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950117223000213/pdfft?md5=98ecbcdadd09e7b238e7c94bfc8986fa&pid=1-s2.0-S2950117223000213-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135664499","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}