摘要
We review examples of placement of select Cenozoic Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points(GSSP=“golden spikes”)from a geochemical and magnetostratigraphic perspective.Though biostratigraphy is the sine qua non for placing modern chronologic tools(high-resolution radiometric dates,magnetochronology,and astrochronology)into proper stratigraphic context,its use as the primary correlation tool for GSSP is less desirable than using magnetostratigraphic or chemostratigraphic markers.Here,we advocate for defining of GSSPs at lithologic levels that are globally correlatable using magnetic reversals and/or abrupt geochemical changes,and the avoidance of biostratigraphic datum levels(that are necessarily biogeographically restricted)as primary criterion for correlation.
