Description

Only about 10% of geologic time is imprinted in sedimentary strata and the rest is hidden in non-depositional or erosional surfaces called unconformities. Stratigraphic unconformities (disconformities) are principal bounding surfaces in sequence stratigraphy, which a geologist would easily identify in the outcrop but frequently overlook in the subsurface unless core is available. The proportion of disconformities that are misidentified or overlooked in subsurface stratigraphy is quite large, which puts a warning sign on simplistic sequence stratigraphic models. The amount of time imprinted in disconformities can be evaluated using relative weathering maturity of the subaerial profile, cyclostratigraphic calibration, absolute dating, and biostratigraphy. However, using biostratigraphy alone is never enough as biostratigraphic gaps tend to fill with increasing data coverage. Identification of paleo-vadose zones and subaerial exposure profiles is regarded as critical for finding stratigraphic unconformities and is the only approach in strata where geophysically mappable fluvial systems are absent. Drowning unconformities are carbonate platform drowning surfaces that usually produce distinct reflection horizons and have better stratigraphic value in the subsurface than platform-embedded subaerial unconformities. This discussion is supported by examples of subaerial disconformities from the Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian of Canada and Russia and with an example of a geograp

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