that same species will continue to be deposited in successive Flood sediments until all members of that species have been buried. Thus, NLSSS values should be zero or near-zero for the pre-Flood/Flood boundary and non-zero at boundaries above and below the preFlood/Flood boundary. Considering the NLSSS values in the earth’s oldest stratigraphic units (column C in Table 1), possible pre-Flood/ Flood boundaries are 8, 11-14, 17-20, and 22-25. This involves the same range of possibilities suggested by species diversity data. More data is necessary to use NLSSS data as a criterion for the pre-Flood/ Flood boundary. In particular, since there are fossils in each one of these stratigraphic units, the zeros in column B of Table 1 suggest that many of those fossils are not identified at a species level. Thus, as in the case of the possible periodicity in the Precambrian-Cambrian zone, we suggest a reanalysis using genera and/or families. 4. Pre-Flood catastrophism Somewhere between 6 and 24 globally defined stratigraphic units are below the pre-Flood/Flood boundary. Typically each of these units includes hundreds to thousands of feet of sediment. Under non-catastrophic conditions, taxa should remain in the same geographic area from the deposition of one stratigraphic unit to the next. The absolute probability of preservation should be lower under non-catastrophic conditions, leading to lower fossil diversity. However, the %NLSSS values should be high during non-catastrophic periods of earth hisTable 2. Periodicity was tested for every 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th boundary (far right column) in each of the five NLSSS biostratigraphic zones. For each periodicity tested (i.e., each row), the percentages of summed NLSSS values (column C, Table 1) are compared with the percentage expected if there was no periodicity in the data (second column). Underlined percentages are values at least 50% greater or lesser than expected if no periodicity. NLSS biostratigraphic expectation % of summed NLSSS values with beginning with boundary number zone periodicity 1 2 3 4 5 6 Precambrian-Cambrian zone 50% 41% 59% every 2nd boundary 33% 59% 0% 41% every 3rd boundary 25% 39% 13% 1% 46% every 4th boundary 20% 76% 0% 0% 9% 14% every 5th boundary 17% 0% 0% 41% 59% 0% 0% every 6th boundary Ordovician-Mississippian zone 50% 46% 54% every 2nd boundary 33% 37% 31% 32% every 3rd boundary 25% 21% 28% 25% 26% every 4th boundary 20% 22% 14% 25% 21% 18% every 5th boundary 17% 16% 18% 17% 21% 13% 15% every 6th boundary Pennsylvanian-Permian zone 50% 44% 56% every 2nd boundary 33% 30% 38% 32% every 3rd boundary 25% 23% 32% 20% 25% every 4th boundary 20% 17% 28% 17% 19% 19% every 5th boundary 17% 14% 22% 13% 16% 16% 18% every 6th boundary Mesozoic zone 50% 47% 53% every 2nd boundary 33% 33% 29% 38% every 3rd boundary 25% 24% 24% 23% 29% every 4th boundary 20% 18% 25% 24% 14% 19% every 5th boundary 17% 19% 20% 19% 14% 9% 19% every 6th boundary Cenozoic zone 50% 54% 46% every 2nd boundary 33% 30% 44% 26% every 3rd boundary 25% 37% 26% 17% 19% every 4th boundary 20% 15% 16% 30% 29% 10% every 5th boundary 17% 20% 19% 10% 11% 24% 15% every 6th boundary WISE and RICHARDSON Biostratigraphic continuity and earth history 2023 ICC 618
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