As Farley, Simmons,
and others have pointed out, there have been some advancements over Haq '87as
would be expected. Improvements/differences are found when investigators
scrutinize a particular basin more closely and find many/most of the key Haq
points plus some new events and surfaces that may or may not have global
significance but it's usually beyond the scope of their particular study to test
that worldwide applicability. They're busy in their own project basin and
rightly so. Ditto for the Ross and Ross curve.
Farley mentioned
that the petroleum industry drove the development of the Haq curve and
associated data set because of the need for a unified system within one
organization. That same type of driving force may never arise again within the
oil business. So for the foreseeable future Haq '87 will probably remain the
only broad framework available for comparison. What resources and funding would
be necessary to compile the biostratigraphic data and control points (from
innumerable diverse sources), the chronostratigraphy and Wheeler plots, the
interpreted seismic data and all the other supplementary data to build a new
truly worldwide dataset? Where would the money come from? Is it possible
that the new international drilling program, that will move onto
continental shelves and other areas comparable to the realm of the petroleum
industry, will provide an opportunity? This upcoming generation of reseachers
will have an need similar to Exxon's in the '70's and my provide the mechanism
and the demand for a global effort.
On another front,
Dr. Peter Thompson, formerly a researcher at the Plano Research Lab of ARCO, and
now an independent consultant (familiar story), offers software called
Computational Biochronology. Among other things, his software will produce a sea
level curve for a well or sampled section by plotting the interpreted
paleobathymetry results from the well data vs. the interpreted age data from the
same well. Once a user compiles a sufficient number of curves from individual
points it facilitates compilation of a composite curve. You can visit Dr.
Thompson's website at http://home1.gte.net/res0jnd7/index.htm and
contact him for more information and details. I have personally used the
software in Brazil, the GOM and West Africa and find it very useful and
revealing.
Anthony E. "Tony" D'Agostino
20746 Prince Creek Drive
Katy, Texas 77450
Phone: 281-646-1660