ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the bases of Quaternary stratigraphy and correlation, and assesses the means whereby time-stratigraphic correlation can be achieved. Stratigraphy is the study of the chronological order of rocks and sediments, and also of the sequence of events reflected within them. Climatostratigraphy and chronostratigraphy are essentially inferential methods of stratigraphic subdivision, whereas both lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy are more direct, being based on either observable or measurable properties of the sediment record. Chronostratigraphy is the classification of the stratigraphic record in terms of time. The chapter considers the use of oxygen isotope stratigraphy for time-stratigraphic correlation. Marine shorelines and deposits may also, in certain contexts, provide a basis for time-stratigraphic correlation. In some areas of the world, long aeolian sedimentary sequences provide a basis for Quaternary land-sea correlation. The chapter concludes with an examination of the bases for correlation between the marine and terrestrial records.
