Continental freeboard

The other trends of decreasing epoch mass with decreasing age of continental sedimentary carbonates (Figure 10.46B) for Cambrian to early Devonian and Devonian to early Triassic strata correlate very well with the continental freeboard curve (relative elevation of continents with respect to sea level) (Figure 10.47) for the cratonic interior of the United States and southern Canada. The preserved mass... 

Figure 10.47. Phanerozoic continental freeboard curve (stippled pattern) of the North American craton (Wise, 1974) compared with generalized Epoch-interval survival rate of cratonic carbonates calculated as mass of carbonate rock in a Series divided by duration of Epoch. (Data from Wilkinson and Walker, 1989.)...

Finally, this tripartite cyclicity is also seen in the frequency of occurrence of Phanerozoic ironstones and oolites (Figure 10.18). As sea level withdrew from the continents and continental freeboard increased, shallow-water areas with the requisite environmental conditions necessary to form oolite and ironstone deposits decreased in extent. Thus, as calcium carbonate deposidon increased on slopes and in the deep sea, carbonate oolite and ironstone deposition on shelves and banks nearly ceased. 

Continental freeboard arguments The continental freeboard is the position of sea-level relative to the continental masses. It is thought that the continental freeboard has remained approximately constant, within 1 km of the present level, for at least 2,000 Ma. If this observation is true, then it suggests that the... 

Tectonic Processes, Continental Freeboard, and the Rate-controlling Step for Continental Denudation... 

Wise D.U. (1974) Continental margins, freeboard and the volumes of continents and oceans through time. In The Geology of Continental Margins (eds.K. Burke and C.L. Drake) pp. 45-58. Springer, Berlin/New York. 

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