Pleistocene high stands of sea- level. The implications of the Atlantic sea- 

 level record for models of Quaternary sea-level change are discussed briefly. 

 (Author) . 



061 CROSS, T. A. 1988. "Controls on Coal Distribution in Transgressive- 

 Regressive Cycles, Upper Cretaceous, Western Interior, U.S.A.," Wilgus, C. K. , 

 Hastings, B. S., Kendall, C. G., Posamentier, H. W. , Ross, C. A., and Van 

 Wagoner, J. C, eds . , Sea-Level Changes: An Integrated Approach . Special 

 Publication No. 42, Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, 

 Tulsa, OK, pp 371-380. 



The thickest and most extensive Upper Cretaceous coals of the western 

 interior of the United States occur at the top of, and landward of shoreface 

 and delta front platforms that are stacked vertically. An explanation for 

 this observation was sought through numerical models derived from the 

 interactions of the three fundamental processes that control stratal 

 geometries and lithofacies distributions. These are eustatic fluctuations, 

 tectonic movement, and quantity of sediment delivered to or produced in a 

 sedimentary basin. 



The models show that the fundamental building block of marine -shelf to 

 coastal -plain stratigraphic sequences is the progradational event as expressed 

 in vertical profile as a shallowing-upward succession of facies asymmetry is 

 modeled by sinusoidal sea- level oscillations superimposed on a constant rate 

 of tectonic subsidence: disharmonic variations in either sea- level or tectonic 

 movement are unnecessary to produce this asymmetry. 



The models simulate a hierarchical stacking of progradational events 

 that display three geometric patterns: seaward- stepping, landward- stepping, 

 and vertical -stacking. The models show that the thickest and most extensive 

 coals accumulate when accommodation space in the lower potentially coalbearing 

 portion of the coastal plain is near maximum and when the rate of sea- level 

 change is balanced by the rate of sediment supplied by progradational events. 

 These factors result in vertical aggravation of coastal-plain facies tracts 

 and vertical stacking of the progradational events. (Author). 



062 CURRAY, J. R. 1961. "Late Quaternary Sea-Level: A Discussion," 

 Geological Society of America . Bulletin 72, pp 1707-1712. 



Recent literature and new evidence on the position of sea- level during 

 the late Quaternary are reviewed critically. Some evidence suggests a glacial 

 interstadial and stand of sea- level at about -8 fathoms 30,000 years ago. 

 Sea- level then dropped to perhaps -65 fathoms. The rapid rise of sea- level 

 and warming of climate covered a period of time from 15,000 to 7,000 B.P. 

 (Before Present) and consisted of a period of climatic and sea-level 

 fluctuations rather than a single abrupt warning as proposed for 11,000 B.P. 

 (Author) . 



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