Diabasbrottet Quarry

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The Diabasbrottet Quarry ( 58°21′32.2″N12°30′08.6″E / 58.358944°N 12.502389°E / 58.358944; 12.502389 ), located on Mt. Hunneberg, Västergötland, Sweden, is the location of the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) which marks the lower boundary of the Floian stage of the Lower Ordovician.

The lower boundary of the Floian is defined as the first appearance of Tetragraptus approximatus , a graptolite species. The rock section belongs to the Tøyen Formation and is dominated by shale. It is unusually fossiliferous, including fossilized remains of graptolites, conodonts, and trilobites. It is highly compressed, and the Ordovician section is only 12 m thick.

The Floian stage is named after Flo Parish, a village 5 km to the southeast of the Diabasbrottet quarry.

It was selected over "The Ledge" in western Newfoundland in 2000 and ratified as the GSSP by the International Union of Geological Sciences in 2002.

Related Research Articles

The Early Ordovician is the first epoch of the Ordovician period, corresponding to the Lower Ordovician series of the Ordovician system. It began after the Age 10 of the Furongian epoch of the Cambrian and lasted from 485.4 ± 1.9 to 470 ± 1.4 million years ago, until the Dapingian age of the Middle Ordovician. It includes Tremadocian and Floian ages.

The Hirnantian is the final internationally recognized stage of the Ordovician Period of the Paleozoic Era. It was of short duration, lasting about 1.4 million years, from 445.2 to 443.8 Ma. The early part of the Hirnantian was characterized by cold temperatures, major glaciation, and a severe drop in sea level. In the latter part of the Hirnantian, temperatures rose, the glaciers melted, and sea level returned to the same or to a slightly higher level than it had been prior to the glaciation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tremadocian</span> Lowest stage of Ordovician

The Tremadocian is the lowest stage of Ordovician. Together with the later Floian Stage it forms the Lower Ordovician Epoch. The Tremadocian lasted from 485.4 to 477.7 million years ago. The base of the Tremadocian is defined as the first appearance of the conodont species Iapetognathus fluctivagus at the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) section on Newfoundland.

The Furongian is the fourth and final epoch and series of the Cambrian. It lasted from 497 to 485.4 million years ago. It succeeds the Miaolingian series of the Cambrian and precedes the Lower Ordovician Tremadocian Stage. It is subdivided into three stages: the Paibian, Jiangshanian and the unnamed 10th stage of the Cambrian.

In the geologic timescale, the Aeronian is an age of the Llandovery Epoch of the Silurian Period of the Paleozoic Era of the Phanerozoic Eon that began 440.8 ± 1.2 Ma and ended 438.5 ± 1.1 Ma. The Aeronian Age succeeds the Rhuddanian Age and precedes the Telychian Age, all in the same epoch.

The Darriwilian is the upper stage of the Middle Ordovician. It is preceded by the Dapingian and succeeded by the Upper Ordovician Sandbian Stage. The lower boundary of the Darriwilian is defined as the first appearance of the graptolite species Undulograptus austrodentatus around 467.3 million years ago. It lasted for about 8.9 million years until the beginning of the Sandbian around 458.4 million years ago. This stage of the Ordovician was marked by the beginning of the Andean-Saharan glaciation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halleberg</span> Table mountain by lake Vänern in western Sweden

Halleberg is a table mountain by lake Vänern in Vänersborg Municipality, Västergötland, Sweden.

Huangnitang is a village of Zhoutang village, Tianma Subdistrict, Changshan County, Quzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. It is the location of the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), which marks the boundary between the Third and Darriwilian Stages of the Middle Ordovician. The GSSP was ratified by the International Union of Geological Sciences in 1997.

Sularp Brook, Lund Municipality, Skåne, Sweden, is the location of the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) which marks the boundary between the Middle and Late epochs of the Ordovician period on the geologic time scale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dob's Linn</span>

Dob's Linn is a small steep valley in Dumfries and Galloway, just north of the A708 road between Moffat and Selkirk, in Scotland. It is part of the Grey Mare's Tail Nature Reserve which is owned by the National Trust for Scotland. According to tradition, Dob's Linn is named for a covenanter, Halbert Dobson, who took refuge there from Government troops during The Killing Time in the late 17th century.

In the geological timescale, the Llandovery Epoch occurred at the beginning of the Silurian Period. The Llandoverian Epoch follows the massive Ordovician-Silurian extinction events, which led to a large decrease in biodiversity and an opening up of ecosystems.

The Floian is the second stage of the Ordovician Period. It succeeds the Tremadocian with which it forms the Lower Ordovician series. It precedes the Dapingian Stage of the Middle Ordovician. The Floian extended from 477.7 to 470 million years ago. The lower boundary is defined as the first appearance of the graptolite species Tetragraptus approximatus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katian</span>

The Katian is the second stage of the Upper Ordovician. It is preceded by the Sandbian and succeeded by the Hirnantian Stage. The Katian began 453 million years ago and lasted for about 7.8 million years until the beginning of the Hirnantian 445.2 million years ago. During the Katian the climate cooled which started the Late Ordovician glaciation.

The Sandbian is the first stage of the Upper Ordovician. It follows the Darriwilian and is succeeded by the Katian. Its lower boundary is defined as the first appearance datum of the graptolite species Nemagraptus gracilis around 458.4 million years ago. The Sandbian lasted for about 5.4 million years until the beginning of the Katian around 453 million years ago.

The Dapingian is the third stage of the Ordovician period and the first stage of the Middle Ordovician series. It is preceded by the Floian and succeeded by the Darriwilian. The base of the Dapingian is defined as the first appearance of the conodont species Baltoniodus triangularis which happened about 470 million years ago. The Dapingian lasted for about 2.7 million years until about 467.3 million years ago.

Stage 10 of the Cambrian is the still unnamed third and final stage of the Furongian series. It follows the Jiangshanian and precedes the Ordovician Tremadocian Stage. The proposed lower boundary is the first appearance of the trilobite Lotagnostus americanus around 489.5 million years ago, but other fossils are also being discussed. The upper boundary is defined as the appearance of the conodont Iapetognathus fluctivagus which marks the beginning of the Tremadocian and is radiometrically dated as 485.4 million years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flo, Sweden</span> Historic parish (socken) in Swedish

Flo is a historic parish (socken) in the Swedish province of Västergötland. Since 1971 it has been a part of Grästorp Municipality.

<i>Tetragraptus approximatus</i> Species of marine worm-like animal

Tetragraptus approximatus is a species of dichograptid graptolite belonging to the genus Tetragraptus. It existed during the Floian Age of the Ordovician. It is an important index fossil in biostratigraphy.

Westergaardodina is a species-rich genus of spine, U or W-shaped paraconodont known from Middle Cambrian to Lower Ordovician strata.

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