Abstract: The objectives of this overview are to establish fundamental concepts of sequence stratigraphy and to define terminology critical for the communication of these concepts. Many of these concepts have already been presented in earlier articles on seismic stratigraphy (Vail and others, 1977). In the years following, driven by additional documentation and interaction with co-workers, our ideas have evolved beyond those presented earlier, making another presentation desirable. The following nine papers reflect current thinking about the concepts of sequence stratigraphy and their applications to outcrops, well logs, and seismic sections. Three papers (Jervey, Posamentier and Vail, and Posamentier and others) present conceptual models describing the relationships between stratal patterns and rates of eustatic change and subsidence. A fourth paper (Sarg) describes the application of sequence stratigraphy to the interpretation of carbonate rocks, documenting with outcrop, well-log, and seismic examples most aspects of the conceptual models. Greenlee and Moore relate regional sequence distribution, derived from seismic data, to a coastal-onlap curve. The ast four papers (Haq and others; Loutit and others; Baum and Vail; and Donovan and others) describe application of sequence-stratigraphic concepts to chronostratigraphy and biostratigraphy.

Abstract: In central Alabama, near the town of Braggs, a complete section across the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary is present within the lower portion of the Clayton Formation. The K-T microfauna and microfloral transition occurs within a 2.5-m (8 ft) section of interbedded sandstones and limestones that directly overlies a sequence boundary, marked by regional truncation of the underlying Prairie Bluff Formation. This sequence boundary is related to a major eustatic fall in the late Maastrichtian (67 Ma). The interbedded sandstones and limestones in the basal Clayton Formation are interpreted as two backstepping marine parasequences deposited on the inner shelf during the subsequent relative rise in sea level. These two backstepping parasequences are overlain, in turn, by 1.5 m (5 ft) of glauconite-rich strata representing a condensed section produced during a period of slow terrigenous deposition, continued par-asequence backstepping, and shoreline retreat. Three small iridium anomalies have been identified at the Braggs locality. These anomalies occur at marine-flooding surfaces, interpreted to be parasequence boundaries, in the uppermost Prairie Bluff and basal Clayton formations. The uppermost of these anomalies also coincides with the base of the well-developed condensed section in the basal Clayton Formation. The concurrence of iridium concentrations with marine-flooding surfaces at Braggs suggests that iridium was present in the open ocean during the latest Maastrichtian through earliest Danian but concentrated only during periods of terrigenous-sediment starvation. Thus, variations in sediment supply and possibly basin location are critical factors controlling iridium enrichment across the K-T boundary.