Stratigraphic Correlation

Stratigraphic correlation is the practice of identifying equivalent rock layers or chronostratigraphic units across space by tracing physical or chemical signatures. Rooted in 19th-century work on Alpine glacial sequences, this method was formalized in the 20th century by geologists like Vail who unified global sea-level change with depositional sequences. Correlation is foundational to basin-scale understanding of sediment transport, resource distribution, and paleoenvironmental change.