Two models: global sea-level change and sequence stratigraphic architecture

Two different conceptual models underlie the application of sequence stratigraphy by Exxon stratigraphers and later researchers. One, the global sea-level model (GSM), relates to presumed sea-level behaviour through time; the other, the sequence stratigraphic model (SSM), relates to the stratigraphic record produced during a single cycle of sea-level change. Though the two models are inter-related they are logically distinct, and it is important to test them separately. A summary is presented of the nature of the two models, and of the nomenclature that is used in their description. It is concluded (a) that the global sea-level model comprises an assembly of local relative sea-level events which are widely recognisable within their parent sedimentary basin; and (b) that the sequence stratigraphic model is robust, and its application is therefore an insightful way to approach the interpretation of sedimentary rocks.  1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.