SOME TESTS OF THE EXXON GLOBAL CYCLE CHART

The Exxon global cycle chart is now widely used as a stratigraphic cor relation tool, although it remains a controversial one. It requires co ntinual testing against new data, but tests are difficult at present b ecause the assumptions behind the chart have not so far been precisely specified. Some reasonable assumptions are made here, and a few simpl e tests are then proposed on the basis of these. Some of these tests a re appropriate to specific situations in which the test data are estim ated sequence boundary ages: others are for situations in which sets o f undated sequence boundaries are available that are only known to lie within particular parts of the Exxon chart. No general test for the E xxon chart has yet been developed, and the specifications for such a t est are discussed.