Geobiodiversity Database: a comprehensive section-based integration of stratigraphic and paleontological data

Abstract

The Geobiodiversity Database (GBDB-www.geobiodiversity.com), an integrated system for the management and analysis of stratigraphic and paleontological information, was started in 2006 and became available online in 2007. Its goal is to facilitate regional and global scientific collaborations focused on regional and global correlation, quantitative stratigraphy, systematics, biodiversity dynamics, paleogeography and paleoecology. It is unique among global, public access databases in that it is a section-based online database system, incorporating data from a wide range of disciplines of stratigraphy and paleontology, with inherent interrelationship between different kinds of data sets. It provides the capability of completely digitizing raw data, as well as integrating of different interpretations to the same paleontological and stratigraphic content. Several Windows-based visualization and analysis applications, either fully integrated with the database or supported by subset-export functions, have been developed to make the database more useful as a scientific and educational tool. The GBDB became the formal database of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) in August 2012 at the 34 th International Geological Congress in Brisbane, and will produce comprehensive and authoritative web-based stratigraphic information service for global geoscientists, educators and the public.

Depauperate fusulinid faunas of the Tengchong Block in western Yunnan, China, and their paleogeographic and paleoenvironmental indications

“…It ranges up to the Guadalupian Maokou Formation . Schwagerina pseudocompacta occurs widely in the Maokou Formation in South China (Fan et al, 2013). These elements altogether suggest a Wordian-Capitanian age.…”

“…Nankinella mingshanensis Sheng was first found in the upper Permian in Jiangxi (Sheng and Rui, 1984) and later discovered in the Guadalupian Maokou Formation in Guizhou and Yunnan of South China Zhou, 1998). Nankinella orientalis is widely distributed in the Changhsingian strata of North and South China (Geobiodiversity Database, Fan et al, 2013) and ranges down to the Guadalupian strata in Azerbaijan (Ruzhentsev and Sarycheva, 1965). These data suggest an age of RoadianCapitanian for the Chusenella-Nankinella fauna.…”

“…Occurrence.-This species is widely distributed in the Guadalupian Maokou Formation in North and South China, and in the Lhasa Block (Fan et al, 2013).…”

Temporal and spatial distribution of the Wufeng Formation black shales (Upper Ordovician) in South China

“…We used the Geobiodiversity Database (GBDB, http://www.geobiodiversity. com; Fan et al 2011aFan et al , 2013 to compile the lithostratigraphic data. As of the end of 2012, a data-set with 389 digitized and verified sections were available to conduct a precise temporal and spatial analysis of the Wufeng Formation and correlative sediments.…”

Geographic dynamics of some major graptolite taxa of the Diplograptina during the Late Ordovician mass extinction in South China

“…In this paper, a data-set of graptolite occurrences in the late Katian -Hirnantian from 61 localities in South China was compiled using the GBDB online database (Geobiodiversity Database, http://www.geobiodiversity.com; Fan et al 2013), and the geographic distributions of five major taxa belonging to the Diplograptina were reconstructed for the study interval using the minimum polygon method (Rode & Lieberman 2004;Stigall 2006). The dynamics of the graptolite distributions during four successive time slices were examined to elucidate the relationship between the geographic distributions of graptolites and their biodiversity changes.…”