Mississippian (geology)

First subperiod of the Carboniferous Period

Mississippian

358.9 ± 0.4 – 323.2 ± 0.4 Ma

PreꞒ

A map of Earth as it appeared 340 million years ago during the Mississippian Subperiod, Viséan Age

Chronology

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Paleozoic

Devonian

Carboniferous

Permian

Mississippian

Pennsylvanian

Early

Middle

Late

Early

Mid

Late

Tournaisian

Viséan

Serpukhovian

Bashkirian

Moscovian

Kasimovian

Gzhelian

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Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse

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Mazon Creek Fossils

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End of Romer's Gap

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Start of Romer's Gap

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Subdivision of the Carboniferous according to the ICS, as of 2023.[1]
Vertical axis scale: Millions of years ago

Etymology
Name formality| Formal
Usage information
Celestial body| Earth
Regional usage| Global (ICS)
Time scale(s) used| ICS Time Scale
Definition
Chronological unit| Subperiod
Time span formality| Formal
Lower boundary definition| FAD of the Conodont Siphonodella sulcata (discovered to have biostratigraphic issues as of 2006)[2]
Lower boundary GSSP| La Serre, Montagne Noire, France
43°33′20″N 3°21′26″E﻿ / ﻿43.5555°N 3.3573°E﻿ / 43.5555; 3.3573
Lower GSSP ratified| 1990[3]
Upper boundary definition| FAD of the Conodont Declinognathodus nodiliferus
Upper boundary GSSP| Arrow Canyon, Nevada, United States
36°44′00″N 114°46′40″W﻿ / ﻿36.7333°N 114.7778°W﻿ / 36.7333; -114.7778
Upper GSSP ratified| 1996[4]

The Mississippian (/ˌmɪsɪˈsɪpi.ən/ MISS-iss-IP-ee-ən),[5] also known as Lower Carboniferous or Early Carboniferous, is a subperiod in the geologic timescale or a subsystem of the geologic record. It is the earlier of two subperiods of the Carboniferous period lasting from roughly 358.9 to 323.2 million years ago. As with most other geochronologic units, the rock beds that define the Mississippian are well identified, but the exact start and end dates are uncertain by a few million years. The Mississippian is so named because rocks with this age are exposed in the Mississippi Valley.

The Mississippian was a period of marine transgression in the Northern Hemisphere: the sea level was so high that only the Fennoscandian Shield and the Laurentian Shield were dry land. The cratons were surrounded by extensive delta systems and lagoons, and carbonate sedimentation on the surrounding continental platforms, covered by shallow seas.[6]

In North America, where the interval consists primarily of marine limestones, it is treated as a geologic period between the Devonian and the Pennsylvanian. During the Mississippian an important phase of orogeny occurred in the Appalachian Mountains. The USGS geologic time scale shows its relation to other periods.[7]

In Europe, the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian are grouped together as the Carboniferous system, and traditionally referred to as the Upper Carboniferous and Lower Carboniferous instead.

## Subdivisions

[edit]

In the international geologic timescale, the Mississippian is subdivided into three stages:

* Serpukhovian (330.3 to 323.4 mya)
* Visean (346.7 to 330.3 mya)
* Tournaisian (358.86 to 346.7 mya)

The lower two come from European stratigraphy, the top from Russian stratigraphy. Besides Europe and Russia, there are many local subdivisions that are used as alternatives for the international timescale. In the North American system, the Mississippian is subdivided into four stages:

* Chesterian (top of the Visean plus the Serpukhovian)
* Meramecian (middle Visean)
* Osagean or Osagian (top of the Tournaisian and bottom of the Visean)
* Kinderhookian (the lower two-thirds of the Tournaisian)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "International Chronostratigraphic Chart" (PDF). International Commission on Stratigraphy. September 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
2. ^ Kaiser, Sandra (1 April 2009). "The Devonian/Carboniferous boundary stratotype section (La Serre, France) revisited". Newsletters on Stratigraphy. 43: 195–205\. doi:10.1127/0078-0421/2009/0043-0195. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
3. ^ Paproth, Eva; Feist, Raimund; Flajs, Gerd (December 1991). "Decision on the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary stratotype" (PDF). Episodes. 14: 331–336.
4. ^ Lane, H.; Brenckle, Paul; Baesemann, J.; Richards, Barry (December 1999). "The IUGS boundary in the middle of the Carboniferous: Arrow Canyon, Nevada, USA" (PDF). Episodes. 22: 272–283. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
5. ^ "Mississippian". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
6. ^ Cesare Emiliani, Planet Earth: Cosmology, Geology, and the Evolution of Life and Environment 1992 496.
7. ^ USGS Timescale

## External links

[edit]

Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article "Mississippian Series".

* "The Carboniferous Period". University of California. Archived from the original on 2019-03-15. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
* "Foraminifera Gallery Database search for Mississippian Foraminifera". Foraminifera.eu. Archived from the original on 2019-03-15. Retrieved 2019-03-15.

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Carboniferous Period

| Mississippian| Pennsylvanian

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* Tournaisian
* Visean
* Serpukhovian

* Bashkirian
* Moscovian
* Kasimovian
* Gzhelian

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Geological history of Earth

Cenozoic Era
(present–66.0 Ma)|

| Quaternary (present–2.58 Ma)|

* Holocene (present–11.7 ka)
* Pleistocene (11.7 ka–2.58 Ma)

|

Neogene (2.58–23.0 Ma)|

* Pliocene (2.59–5.33 Ma)
* Miocene (5.33–23.0 Ma)

Paleogene (23.0–66.0 Ma)|

* Oligocene (23.0–33.9 Ma)
* Eocene (33.9–56.0 Ma)
* Paleocene (56.0–66.0 Ma)

Mesozoic Era
(66.0–252 Ma)|

| Cretaceous (66.0–145 Ma)|

* Late (66.0–100 Ma)
* Early (100–145 Ma)

|

Jurassic (145–201 Ma)|

* Late (145–164 Ma)
* Middle (164–174 Ma)
* Early (174–201 Ma)

Triassic (201–252 Ma)|

* Late (201–237 Ma)
* Middle (237–247 Ma)
* Early (247–252 Ma)

Paleozoic Era
(252–539 Ma)|

| Permian (252–299 Ma)|

* Lopingian (252–260 Ma)
* Guadalupian (260–272 Ma)
* Cisuralian (272–299 Ma)

|

Carboniferous (299–359 Ma)|

* Pennsylvanian (299–323 Ma)
* Mississippian (323–359 Ma)

Devonian (359–419 Ma)|

* Late (359–383 Ma)
* Middle (383–393 Ma)
* Early (393–419 Ma)

Silurian (419–444 Ma)|

* Pridoli (419–423 Ma)
* Ludlow (423–427 Ma)
* Wenlock (427–433 Ma)
* Llandovery (433–444 Ma)

Ordovician (444–485 Ma)|

* Late (444–458 Ma)
* Middle (458–470 Ma)
* Early (470–485 Ma)

Cambrian (485–539 Ma)|

* Furongian (485–497 Ma)
* Miaolingian (497–509 Ma)
* Series 2 (509–521 Ma)
* Terreneuvian (521–539 Ma)

Proterozoic Eon
(539 Ma–2.5 Ga)|

| Neoproterozoic (539 Ma–1 Ga)|

* Ediacaran (539–635 Ma)
* Cryogenian (635–720 Ma)
* Tonian (720 Ma–1 Ga)

|

Mesoproterozoic (1–1.6 Ga)|

* Stenian (1–1.2 Ga)
* Ectasian (1.2–1.4 Ga)
* Calymmian (1.4–1.6 Ga)

Paleoproterozoic (1.6–2.5 Ga)|

* Statherian (1.6–1.8 Ga)
* Orosirian (1.8–2.05 Ga)
* Rhyacian (2.05–2.3 Ga)
* Siderian (2.3–2.5 Ga)

Archean Eon (2.5–4 Ga)|

* Neoarchean (2.5–2.8 Ga)
* Mesoarchean (2.8–3.2 Ga)
* Paleoarchean (3.2–3.6 Ga)
* Eoarchean (3.6–4 Ga)

Hadean Eon (4–4.6 Ga)|

ka = kiloannum (thousand years ago); Ma = megaannum (million years ago); Ga = gigaannum (billion years ago).
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