Testing the limits of Paleozoic chronostratigraphic correlation via high-resolution (<500 k.y.) integrated conodont, graptolite, and carbon isotope (delta C-13(carb)) biochemostratigraphy across the Llandovery-Wenlock (Silurian) boundary: Is a unified Phanerozoic time scale achievable?
The resolution and fidelity of global chronostratigraphic correlation are direct functions of the time period under consideration. By virtue of deep-ocean cores and astrochronology, the Cenozoic and Mesozoic time scales carry error bars of a few thousand years (k.y.) to a few hundred k. y. In contrast, most of the Paleozoic time scale carries error bars of plus or minus a few million years (m. y.)
