Sequence Stratigraphy is a branch of geology that attempts to subdivide and link sedimentary deposits into unconformity bound units on a variety of scales and explain these stratigraphic units in terms of variations in sediment supply and variations in the rate of change in accommodation space (often associated with changes in relative sea level). The essence of the method is mapping of strata based on identification of surfaces which are assumed to represent time lines (e.g. subaerial unconformities, maximum flooding surfaces), and therefore placing stratigraphy in chronostratigraphic framework. Sequence stratigraphy is a useful alternative to a lithostratigraphic approach, which emphasizes similarity of the lithology of rock units rather than time significance.
Sequence stratigraphy deals with genetically related sedimentary strata bounded by unconformities.
The 'sequence' part of the name refers to cyclic sedimentary deposits. Stratigraphy is the geologic knowledge about the processes by which sedimentary deposits form and how those deposits change through time and space on the Earth's surface.
Read more about Sequence Stratigraphy: System Tracts, Parasequences and Stacking Patterns, Sea Level Through Geologic Time, Economic Significance
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