The Brown Jurassic or Brown Jura (german: Brauner Jura or ''Braunjura'') in earth history refers to the middle of the three

lithostratigraphic Lithostratigraphy is a sub-discipline of stratigraphy, the geological science associated with the study of strata or rock layers. Major focuses include geochronology, comparative geology, and petrology. In general, strata are primarily igneou ...

units of the

South German Jurassic The term South German Jurassic (german: Süddeutscher Jura) in earth history is used to refer to a lithostratigraphic rock unit at the hierarchical level of a super group. The rocks of the South German Jurassic were mainly deposited during the Ju ...

, the latter being understood not as a geographical, but a geological term in the sense of a lithostratigraphic

super group ''Super Group'' is an album by the Japanese rock trio Shonen Knife. It was released in Japan on 7 November 2008, in the USA on 20 May 2009, and in the UK and Europe in 2010. The original Japanese CD issue was released as a mini-LP cartoon packa ...

. Formerly and even occasionally today in the popular scientific literature, this term is equated to the

chronostratigraphic Chronostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy that studies the ages of rock strata in relation to time. The ultimate aim of chronostratigraphy is to arrange the sequence of deposition and the time of deposition of all rocks within a geologi ...

series of the

Middle Jurassic The Middle Jurassic is the second Epoch (geology), epoch of the Jurassic Period (geology), Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 163.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively ...

. This is however not quite correct, because the Brown Jura does not exactly coincide with the chronostratigraphic boundaries of the Middle Jurassic. In addition, the term ''Dogger'', which was formerly frequently used (and sometimes is today) as a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...

should no longer be used in connexion with the South German Jurassic. Instead the term "Dogger" should be reserved for the roughly equivalent lithostratigraphic unit in the North German Jurassic. The Brown Jurassic was deposited about 175-161 million years ago. The Brown Jurassic follows the lithostratigraphic unit of the

Black Jurassic The Black Jurassic or Black Jura (german: Schwarzer Jura) in earth history refers to the lowest of the three lithostratigraphic units of the South German Jurassic, the latter being understood not as a geographical, but a geological term in the ...

and is superimposed on the lithostratigraphic group of the White Jurassic.

Literature

* Gert Bloos, Gerd Dietl & Günter Schweigert: ''Der Jura Süddeutschlands in der Stratigraphischen Tabelle von Deutschland 2002.'' Newsletters on Stratigraphy, 41(1-3): 263-277, Stuttgart, 2005, * Eckhard Mönnig: ''Der Jura von Norddeutschland in der Stratigraphischen Tabelle von Deutschland 2002.'' Newsletters on Stratigraphy, 41(1-3): 253-261, Stuttgart, 2005. * Friedrich August Quenstedt: ''Das Flözgebirge Würtembergs. Mit besonderer Rücksicht auf den Jura''. Verlag der Laupp'schen Buchhandlung, Tübingen, 1843. * Friedrich August Quenstedt: Der Jura. Verlag der Laupp’schen Buchhandlung, Tübingen, 1856-57.

External links

*Deutsche Stratigraphische Kommission (ed.): ''Stratigraphische Tabelle von Deutschland 2002'', Potsdam, 2002.
pdfGeologische Übersicht der Schichtenfolge in Baden-Württemberg
(pdf; 183 kB)
The Middle Jurassic in Baden-Württemberg
(pdf; 20.5 kB) {{Authority control *Brown Jurassic Jurassic System of Europe Geologic formations of Germany