The term South German Jurassic (german: Süddeutscher Jura) in

earth history The history of Earth concerns the development of planet Earth from its formation to the present day. Nearly all branches of natural science have contributed to understanding of the main events of Earth's past, characterized by constant geologi ...

is used to refer to a

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

rock unit at the hierarchical level of a

super group ''Super Group'' is an album by the Japanese rock music, 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 ca ...

. The

rocks In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...

of the South German Jurassic were mainly deposited during the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

period (199 to 146 million years ago). The boundaries of the South German Jurassic and those of 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 geological ...

or international Jurassic are not, however, exactly coincident. The depositions began rather later than the date of the international Triassic/Jurassic boundary and end as a result of erosion of the uppermost strata at various times during the

Upper Jurassic The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...

, i.e. well before the international Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary. The rock unit of the South German Jurassic is underlain by

Keuper The Keuper is a lithostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Keuper consists of dolomite, shales or claystones and evaporites that were deposited during the Middle and Late ...

; in between is a small stratigraphic hiatus. Above the South German Jurassic the beds follow discordantly and with a large stratigraphic gap; in addition, Regensburg Green Sandstone occurs very locally, which is dated to the

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...

stage of the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

period. In its southern fringes the South German Jurassic dives under the

Palaeogene The Paleogene ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning o ...

molasse __NOTOC__ The term "molasse" () refers to sandstones, shales and conglomerates that form as terrestrial or shallow marine deposits in front of rising mountain chains. The molasse deposits accumulate in a foreland basin, especially on top of flys ...

depositions of the

basement A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, ...

Divisions

The main divisions of the South German Jurassic are 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 sen ...

- 199 to 175 million years ago *

Brown Jurassic The Brown Jurassic or Brown Jura (german: Brauner Jura or ''Braunjura'') in earth history refers to the middle of the three lithostratigraphic units of the South German Jurassic, the latter being understood not as a geographical, but a geological ...

- 175 to 161 million years ago *

White Jurassic The White Jurassic or White Jura (german: Weißer Jura or ''Weißjura'') in earth history refers to the upper of the three lithostratigraphic units of the South German Jurassic, the latter being understood not as a geographical, but a geological t ...

-161 to 150 million years ago

References

Literature

* Leopold von Buch: ''Über den Jura in Deutschland.'' Abhandlungen der königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, 1837: 49-135, Berlin, 183
online
*Eckhard Mönnig: ''Der Jura in Norddeutschland in der STD 2002.'' Newsletters on Stratigraphy, 41(1-3): 253–261, Stuttgart, 2005 * Albert Oppel: ''Die Juraformation Englands, Frankreichs und des südwestlichen Deutschlands.'' Württembergische naturwissenschaftliche Jahreshefte, 12-14: 857 pp., Stuttgart, 1856-58 * 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

* (pdf; 300 kB) *Deutsche Stratigraphische Kommission (publ.): ''Stratigraphische Tabelle von Deutschland 2002''. Potsdam, 2002, {{ISBN, 3-00-010197-7 �
pdf; 6.57 MB
(large)
Geologische Übersicht der Schichtenfolge in Baden-Württemberg
(pdf; 183 kB) Geologic formations of Germany Jurassic System of Europe Jurassic Germany