Mississippian (Early Carboniferous) sequence stratigraphy of the Rhenish Kulm Basin, Germany

1. IntroductionThe relation between sea-level variations and sedimentary sequences that are bound by erosional unconformities was already elucidated by Sloss et al. (1949) and Sloss (1963) concerning the cratonic sequences of the conterminous U.S. (see also Sloss, 1988). However, only introduction of sequence stratigraphy on a seismic scale (Vail et al., 1977) caused a revolution of stratigraphic studies (Van Wagoner et al., 1987, 1989; Vail et al., 1991). It was a major step to understand the lateral genetic relationships of rock units in platform‑slope‑basin transects as well as their vertical genetic superposition, both based on the unifying aspect of relative sea-level changes. In the meantime, a plethora of studies is available from all kinds of sedimentary lithotypes throughout geological times, ranging from the sequence stratigraphic interpretation of single sections to seismic scale basins. However, most studies are devoted to shallow-marine platform settings. Sequence stratigraphic approaches to continental and basinal settings are underrepresented, and for the latter are almost completely confined to siliciclastic turbidite fan systems. Case studies and principles for deeper marine settings were reviewed by Catuneanu (2006) and Catuneanu et al. (2009, 2011), but miss an example of a complex deeper water foreland basin with differentiated lithosomes, as seen in the European and Northwest African Kulm basins.Herein, the sequence stratigraphic development of the Missis