Earthtime

Quantification of geological time represents one of the fundamental challenges for earth scientists as it permits the determination of rates of change, integration of disparate geological datasets and assessment of coincidence (or lack thereof) so often central to hypothesis testing. Knowing the age of certain rocks, be it a thick accumulation of volcanic lava or an extinction layer, allows us to say something about causality. The extinction of the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous Period, ‘about’ 66 million years ago is the poster child for such cause-and-effect arguments. At ‘about’ the same time, a large asteroid struck what is now the Gulf of Mexico, however a series of voluminous volcanic eruptions in India are also ‘about’ the same age. Both are viable kill mechanisms, and both are closely correlated in time with the extinction, but knowing they are ‘about’ the same age is not good enough

Integrated Ladinian bio-chronostratigraphy and geochrononology of Monte San Giorgio (Southern Alps, Switzerland)

New biostratigraphic data significantly improve the age assignment of the Ladinian succession of Monte San Giorgio (UNESCO World Heritage List site, Southern Alps, Switzerland), whose world-famous fossil marine vertebrate faunas are now dated to the substage and zone levels. High-resolution single-zircon U-Pb dating was performed using ID-TIMS and chemical abrasion (CA) pre-treatment technique on volcanic ash layers intercalated in the biostratigraphically-defined intervals of the Meride Limestone. It yielded ages of 241.07±0.13Ma (Cava superiore beds, P. gredleri Zone), 240.63±0.13Ma (Cassina beds, P gredleri/P. archelaus transition Zone) and 239.51±0.15Ma (Lower Kalkschieferzone, P. archelaus Zone). Our results suggest that the time interval including the vertebrate-bearing Middle Triassic section spans around 4Myr and is thus significantly shorter than so far assumed. The San Giorgio Dolomite and the Meride Limestone correlate with intervals of the Buchenstein Formation and the Wengen Formation in the reference section at Bagolino, where the Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Ladinian was defined. The new radio-isotopic ages of the Meride Limestone are up to 2Myr older than those published for the biostratigraphically-equivalent intervals at Bagolino but they are consistent with the recent re-dating of the underlying Besano Formation, also performed using the CA technique. Average sedimentation rates at Monte San Giorgio are by more than an order of magnitude higher compared to those assumed for the Buchenstein Formation, which formed under sediment-starved pelagic conditions, and reflect prevailing high subsidence and high carbonate mud supply from the adjoining Salvatore/Esino platforms. Finally, the high-resolution U-Pb ages allow a correlation of the vertebrate faunas of the Cava superiore/Cava inferiore beds with the marine vertebrate record of the Prosanto Formation (Upper Austroalpine), so far precluded by the poor biostratigraphic control of the latte

The Mean May Not Mean What You Think It Means: The Use and Misuse of Measures of Central Tendency

Analysis of business studies often involves the quantification of qualitative data to derive meaningful insights and making informed decisions. One such challenge is the inappropriate use of the arithmetic mean in economic and financial modeling. The arithmetic mean is a widely used statistical measure of central tendency that sums up a set of values and divides it by the total number of observations. While the arithmetic mean is simple and intuitive, its appropriateness in financial and economic modeling highly depends upon the nature of the data and the specific research question being addressed. This creates a dilemma. Despite the business community traditionally emphasizing quantitative research modeling, the growth of artificial intelligence and big data make qualitative research more desirable, particularly in areas such as ESG scorecards and financial literacy surveys. This paper discusses the challenges presented with analyzing studies after quantifying qualitative data and provides examples of how ordinal regression and other techniques could be used to analyze qualitative variables. This is especially applicable in undergraduate education

When the Rising Tide Lifts All Boats Differently: Income Distribution Matters

In 2018, Alonzi, Drougas, and Condon (“ADC”) developed a simple macroeconomic model to analyze the effect of a less equal income distribution. This paper builds upon that paper by constructing a model incorporating a rising absolute income in both the high and low groups while at the same time allowing a higher proportion of income to go to the high-income group, but a lower proportion go to the low-income group. Notably, we find that the qualitative results of the “Reverse Robin Hood” case remain in the “Rising Tide” case but there are quantitative differences

Lithostratigraphy, sedimentation and evolution of the Volta Basin in Ghana

We present a revised lithostratigraphy for the Voltaian Supergroup of Ghana, based on a review of existing literature, interpretations of remotely sensed data and reconnaissance field survey of the Volta Basin. These strata thicken eastwards, to a maximum of between 5 and 6 km adjacent to the Pan-African Dahomeyide orogen. They began to accumulate some time after about 1000 Ma, along the margin of an epicontinental sea. Initial sedimentation, comprising the age-equivalent Kwahu and Bombouaka Groups, shows a cyclical mode of deposition controlled by eustatic changes in sea-level that produced a range of nearshore marine, littoral and terrestrial environments. A major erosional interval was followed by deposition of the 3–4 km thick Oti-Pendjari Group. Basal tillites and associated sandy diamictons are correlated with the Marinoan (end-Cryogenian) glaciation, indicating a maximum depositional age of about 635 Ma. The overlying cap carbonates and tuffs were deposited within a shallow epeiric sea bordered by a volcanically active rift system. The main part of the group records the transition from a rifted passive margin to a fully developed foreland basin receiving marine flysch in the form of argillaceous strata interbedded with highly immature wacke-type sandstones and conglomerates. Maximum accommodation space was developed within a foredeep adjacent to the Dahomeyide belt. Towards the end of the orogenic phase, the foredeep succession became partially inverted and then was buried under coarse terrestrial, red-bed molasse of the Obosum Group

Geodynamic setting and origin of the Oman/UAE ophiolite

The ~500km-long mid-Cretaceous Semail nappe of the Sultanate of Oman and UAE (henceforth referred to as the Oman ophiolite) is the largest and best-preserved ophiolite complex known. It is of particular importance because it is generally believed to have an internal structure and composition closely comparable to that of crust formed at the present-day East Pacific Rise (EPR), making it our only known on-land analogue for ocean lithosphere formed at a fast spreading rate. On the basis of this assumption Oman has long played a pivotal role in guiding our conceptual understanding of fast-spreading ridge processes, as modern fast-spread ocean crust is largely inaccessible

The Roles of Time and Change in Situations

3 pages. Published online by SAGE Publications, found at https://doi.org/10.1002/per.2005Rauthmann, Sherman and Funder have made a landmark contribution to situation research in the target article of this issue. However, we propose that their work overlooks the need to incorporate a developmental perspective. This includes the separate but related issues of time and change. Situations often unfold over long periods of time, can bleed together, and are not time-delimited in the way traditional laboratory experiments define them. Moreover, individuals systematically change over time (lifespan development) and their reactions to situations, as well as their personality-situation transactions, develop in tandem