Key for reading the paleocurrent file
From the leftmost position in each record:
The database is sorted into seventeen tabs. The first of these, Main, contains the complete database,
subsequent tabs are organized by geographic area. Within each tab, the first column is the Continental
Area. This column records the geographic region from which the dataset was obtained, and is the
primary sort for the Main tab. The second column gives the Stratigraphic Level of the dataset and is the
secondary sort, so that within each tab, the data are arranged stratigraphically, youngest at the top. The
third column gives the Record number, a unique numeric descriptor is assigned to each source from
which data were derived. All datasets derived from that source are assigned the same record number. A
dataset refers to a single graphical or verbal depiction of paleocurrent direction in a paper, based upon
one or more outcrop determinations of paleocurrent direction.
Citation data occupy the next seven columns. Only one record from each source will contain the citation
data.
Authors
Title
Date
Journal
Volume
Page
To Page
Column 9 is # records: Number of datasets taken from this source, where each dataset is represented by
a unique entry beginning with the record number of the publication from which it was taken.
Period: When a new formation is encountered that is not registered in the database, its name is
recorded in one data entry in the Formation column of the database (see below). From this placement, a
five digit number corresponding to the Period is obtained, in which the first digit is the Era, the second
is the Period (or Stage of the Cenozoic), the third digit is the Stage, and the last two are assigned so as to
most accurately represent the position of this unit relative to other units of that particular stage. The
number 21001 would be Paleozoic (2), Cambrian (1) all Cambrian represented (0), first formation (01).
The number 44559 would be Cenozoic (4), Miocene (4), middle (5), formation# 59. The number 11933
would be Precambrian (1), Proterozoic (2), bridging over to Cambrian (9), formation #33. The last two
digits make certain that the name of the formation can be reassociated with the data within our
Paleocurrent program.
Cenozoic
4
Holocene
Pleistocene
Pliocene
Miocene
7
6
5
4
In Cenozoic, Upper=6, Mid=4, Lower=1
Mesozoic
Paleozoic
3
2
Precambrian 1
Oligocene
Eocene
Paleocene
3
2
1
Cret-Paleoc
U. Cretaceous
L. Cretaceous
Jurassic
Triassic
5
4
3
2
1
with 9 reserved for (i.e. 44903= Miocene-Pliocene)
formations that include next substage up, and 0
reserved for (i.e. 44016=entire Miocene) entire
interval.
In the Mesozoic and Paleozoic, the stage names
are assigned progressively greater numbers, still
reserving the 0, and 9 as above.
Permian
7
Pennsylvanian 6
Mississippian 5
Devonian
4
Silurian
3
Ordovician
2
Cambrian
1
Algokian
Archaean
1
0
Direction: Direction the current was flowing toward, with North as 0 (or 360).
Longitude: In degrees, West is negative, east is positive.
Latitude:
In degrees, South is negative, north is positive.
# Data Points: Number of outcrop measurements made for each dataset entered. i.e. you may have a
rose diagram with 15 measurements in it.
Dispersion: In degrees, the portion of a circle containing the data.
Continent: Data are derived from this plate or continent
1
African
2
Indo-Australian
3
North American
4
South American
5
European
6
Antarctic
7
Indian
8
Great Britain
9
China
10
Siberian
11
Kazakhistan
12
Baltic
13
Adriatic
14
Iberian
15
Anatolia
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Iranian
Volgastan
Baluchistan
Baghdadistan
Madagascar
Appalachian
Greenland
Newfoundland
states
Paleocurrent Indicator: Outcrop tool used to determine paleocurrent directions
1 crossbedding
2 ripple marks
3 paleocurrent indicator
4 sole marks
5 fossil orientation
6 wind direction
7 current direction
8 turbidity currents
9 topography
10 miscellaneous
11 slumps and folds
12 flute/grooves
13 imbrication
14 channel axes
15 parting lineations
16 model
17 provenance
18 sed thickening
19 electric log/dip log
20 grain orientation
Area in Sq Km.: Best estimate of how large an area was sampled.
Environment: Author's assessment of depositional environment
1 marine general
2 marine shallow
3 marine deep
4 lacustrine
5 fluvial deltaic
6 fluviatile
7 alluvial
8 subaerial (eolian)
Lithology Dominant in deposit.
1 sandstone
2 shale
3 siltstone or turbidites
4 conglomerate
5 limestone
6 carbonate sand
7 volcanic or glacial
Formation: Name of the formation from which the data were gathered. This name is entered only once
in the entire database, at which time the period number is described. All subsequent data from the same
formation are grouped under the same Period as that given this formation on its original entry.