The room for the Vendian in the International Chronostratigraphic Chart

Abstract

Abstract The Vendian was proposed by B.S. Sokolov as a stratigraphic subdivision comprising the last of the Proterozoic glacial periods (the Laplandian Glaciation) and the overlying strata delineated by a full stratigraphic range of fossil soft-bodied organisms. For over three decades the Vendian had been an informal part of the Standard Global Chronostratigraphic Chart, until 2004, when it gave place to the new Ediacaran System. Further research has shown that the Ediacaran System significantly exceeds the stratigraphic range of the Vendian in Sokolov’s definition and includes stratigraphic analogs of the Laplandian Glaciation in sections across North America, Australia, Newfoundland, Scotland, Ireland, Chinese Tien Shan Range, and Tasmanian microcontinent. Carbon isotope variations in carbonates provide criteria for subdivision of the Ediacaran into two series. If a relationship between the Laplandian Glacial Period (600–580 Ma) and the negative excursions EN2 and EN3 on the δ13C curve for the Doushantuo Formation of China is established, the Vendian might take its place in the Standard Global Chronostratigraphic Chart as a formal upper series of the Ediacaran System. The Vendian Series, in turn, might be further subdivided into the Laplandian, Redkinian, Belomorian, and Kotlinian stages typified by regional stages of the Vendian of the East European Platform.