Computer-Assisted Graphic Correlation of Ordovician Conodonts and Graptolites from the Argentine Precordillera and western Newfoundland using Constrained Optimization (CONOP9)
Presenter(s)
Andrea Marie Bryan
Files
Description
The purpose of this project was to use the stratigraphic range data of two extinct marine micro-fossil groups, conodonts and graptolites, to construct a composite range chart and correlation model for Ordovician age strata in Argentina and Newfoundland. These two locations were part of the eastern portion of the paleo-continent Laurentia. The goal was to integrate range data from organisms that occur in different rock types, limestones and shales, using computer-assisted graphic correlation techniques. Graphic correlation is the comparison of specific rock units by the presence of similar fossils found within them using a bi-variate plot and line of correlation. It is used to find a better estimate of the fossil duration in the earth’s history. The end result is a composite range chart, which shows the composite range of the organism in comparison to a timescale. The composite range chart constructed from the Ordovician rocks of Argentina and Newfoundland was used to answer questions on the viability of using CONOP9 to compare two different bio-facies. This research is important because the composite range chart provides paleontologists with a tool for studying and dating the rock record. Better estimates of fossil ranges can be used to make the geologic timescale more precise.
Publication Date
4-24-2019
Project Designation
Honors Thesis
Primary Advisor
Daniel Goldman
Primary Advisor's Department
Geology
Keywords
Stander Symposium project
Recommended Citation
"Computer-Assisted Graphic Correlation of Ordovician Conodonts and Graptolites from the Argentine Precordillera and western Newfoundland using Constrained Optimization (CONOP9)" (2019). Stander Symposium Projects. 1601.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/stander_posters/1601
