Vérard et al. (2015, Journal of Palaeogeography, 4(1): 64-84) claim that their global geodynamic model allows one to reconstruct the surface features of topography on land and in adjacent oceans (i.e., paleobathymetry) anywhere on the globe and at any geological time during the past 600 million years (Ma). Such a grand model requires a rigorous scrutiny. The purpose of this discussion is to illustrate that the model suffers from (1) the selective omission of real-world datasets that do not fit the model, (2) the inclusion of datasets without revealing their original sources or without citing relevant peer-reviewed publications, (3) the emphasis on ‘unpublished’ internal company datasets that disallow open access to the international scientific community, and (4) the use of poorly understood concepts without providing the basic conceptual clarity. These deficiencies undermine the credibility of the heuristic model.
G. Shanmugam. 3D palaeogeographic reconstructions of the Phanerozoic versus sea-level and Sr-ratio variations: Discussion[J]. Journal of Palaeogeography, 2015, 4(3): 234-243.
G. Shanmugam. 3D palaeogeographic reconstructions of the Phanerozoic versus sea-level and Sr-ratio variations: Discussion[J]. Journal of Palaeogeography, 2015, 4(3): 234-243.
1. BBarnes, N. E., Normark, W. R., 1985. Diagnostic parameters for comparing modern submarine fans and ancient turbidite systems, in: Bouma, A. H., Normark, W. R., Barnes, N. E., (Eds.), Submarine Fans and Related Turbidite Systems. Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 13-14.
2. BBenedict, G. L., III, Walker, K. R., 1978. Paleobathymetric analysis in Paleozoic sequences and its geotectonic significance, in: Walker, K. R., Roeder, D., (Eds.), Appalachian Geodynamic Research. American Journal of Science, 278, 579-607.
3. BBouma, A. H., Normark, W. R., Barnes, N. E., (Eds.), 1985. Submarine Fans and Related Turbidite Systems. New York, Springer-Verlag, 351.
4. BBurke, W. H., Denison, R. E., Hetherington, E. A., Koepnick, R. B., Nelson, H. F., Otto, J. B., 1982. Variation of seawater 87Sr/86Sr through Phanerozoic time. Geology, 10, 516-519. 2.0.CO;2 target="_blank">
5. CCarlson, P. R., Karl, H. A., 1988. Development of large submarine canyons in the Bering Sea indicated by morphologic, seismic, and sedimentologic characteristics. GSA Bulletin, 100, 1594-1615. 2.3.CO;2 target="_blank">
6. CCurray, J. R., Moore, D. G., 1974. Sedimentary and tectonic processes in the Bengal Deep-sea Fan and Geosyncline, in: Burk, C. A., Drake, C. L., (Eds.), Continental Margins. Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 617-627.
7. CCurray, J. R., Emmel, F. J ., Moore, D. G., 2003. The Bengal Fan: morphology, geometry, stratigraphy, history and processes. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 19 (10), 1191-1223.
8. DDamuth, J. E., Flood, R. D., Kowsmann, R. O., Gorini, M. A., Belderson, R. H., Gorini, M. A., 1988. Anatomy and growth-pattern of Amazon deep-sea fan revealed by long-range side-scan sonar (GLORIA) and high-resolution seismic studies. AAPG Bulletin, 72, 885-911.
9. DDingle, R. V., 1977. The anatomy of a large submarine slump on a sheared continental margin (SE Africa). Geological Society of London Journal, 134, 293-310.
10. Dott, R. H., Jr., 1963. Dynamics of subaqueous gravity depositional processes. AAPG Bulletin, 47, 104-128.
12. Feng, Z. Z., 2015. Hope to be from model to practice �� Words of the Editor-in-Chief. Journal of Palaeogeography, 4(1), 63-63.
13. Gamboa, D., Alves, T., Cartwright, J., Terrinha, P., 2010. MTD distribution on a ��passive�� continental margin: The Esp��rito Santo Basin (SE Brazil) during the Paleogene. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 27, 1311-1324.
14. Greene, H. G., Murai, L. Y., Watts, P., Maher, N. A., Fisher, M. A., Paull, C. E., Eichhubl, P., 2006. Submarine landslides in the Santa Barbara Channel as potential tsunami sources. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 6, 63-88.
15. Harris, P. T., Whiteway, T., 2011. Global distribution of large submarine canyons: Geomorphic differences between active and passive continental margins. Marine Geology, 285, 69-86.
16. Hollister, C. D., 1967. Sediment distribution and deep circulation in the western North Atlantic. Columbia University, New York, Ph.D. Dissertation, 467 p.
17. Koepnick, R. B., Burke, W. H., Denison, R. E., Hetherington, E. A., Nelson, H. F., et al. 1985. Construction of the seawater 87Sr/86Sr curve for the Cenozoic and Cretaceous: Supporting data. Chemical Geology, 58, 55-81.
18. McArthur, J., Howarth, R., Bailey, T., 2001. Strontium isotope stratigraphy: LOWESS Version 3: Best fit to the marine Sr-isotope curve for 0-509 Ma and accompanying look-up table for deriving numerical age. Journal of Geology, 109, 155-170.
19. Mutti, E., Ricci Lucchi, F., 1972. Turbidites of the northern Apennines: Introduction to facies analysis (English translation by T.H. Nilsen, 1978). International Geology Review, 20, 125-166.
20. Normark, W. R., Carlson, P. R., 2003. Giant submarine canyons: Is size any clue to their importance in the rock record? in: Chan, M. A., Archer, A. W., (Eds.), Extreme Depositional Environments: Mega end Members in Geologic Time. Boulder, CO: Geological Society of America, Geological Society of America Special Paper, 370, 175-190.
21. Oppenheimer, J. R., 1951. Encouragement of Science, in: The Scientist in Public Affairs. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 7(1), 6-8.
22. Peltier, W. R., 1998. Postglacial variations in the level of the sea: Implications for climate dynamics and solid-earth geophysics. Reviews of Geophysics, 36 (4), 603-689.
23. Peltier, W. R., 2004, Global glacial isostasy and the surface of the ice-age Earth: The ICE-5G (VM2) model. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 32, 111-149.
24. Piper, D. J. W., Pirmez, C., Manley, P. L., Long, D., Flood, R. D., Normark, W. R., Showers, W., 1997. Mass-transport deposits of the Amazon Fan, in: Flood, R. D., Piper, D. J. W., Klaus, A., Peterson, L. C., (Eds.), Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results. 155, 109-143
25. Reading, H. G., (ed), 1996. Sedimentary Environments: Processes, Facies, and Stratigraphy, 3rd ed. Blackwell Science, Oxford, UK.
26. Rovere, A., Raymo, M. F., Mitrovica, J. X., Hearty, P. J., O��Leary, M. J., Inglis, J. D., 2014. The Mid-Pliocene sea-level conundrum: Glacial isostasy, eustasy and dynamic topography. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 387, 27-33.
27. Sella, G. F., Stein, S., Dixon, T. H., Craymer, M., James, T. S., Mazzotti, S., Dokka, R. K., 2007. Observation of glacial isostatic adjustment in ��stable�� North America with GPS. Geophysical Research Letters, 34 (2), L02306. Bibcode: 2007GeoRL..3402306S.doi:10.1029/2006GL027081.
28. Shanmugam, G., 1978. The stratigraphy, sedimentology, and tectonics of the Middle Ordovician Sevier Shale Basin in East Tennessee. Knoxville, Tennessee: The University of Tennessee. Ph.D. Dissertation, 222 p.
30. Shanmugam, G., 2003. Deep-marine tidal bottom currents and their reworked sands in modern and ancient submarine canyons. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 20, 471-491.
31. Shanmugam, G., 2006. Deep-Water Processes and Facies Models: Implications for Sandstone Petroleum Reservoirs. Elsevier, Amsterdam, Handbook of Petroleum Exploration and Production, v. 5, pp. 476.
32. Shanmugam, G., 2007. The obsolescence of deep-water sequence stratigraphy in petroleum geology. Indian Journal of Petroleum Geology, 16 (1), 1-45.
33. Shanmugam, G., 2008. The constructive functions of tropical cyclones and tsunamis on deepwater sand deposition during sea level highstand: Implications for petroleum exploration. AAPG Bulletin, 92, 443-471.
34. Shanmugam, G., 2012. New perspectives on deep-water sandstones: Origin, recognition, initiation, and reservoir quality. Elsevier, Amsterdam, Handbook of Petroleum Exploration and Production, v. 9, pp. 524.
35. Shanmugam, G., 2013. Modern internal waves and internal tides along oceanic pycnoclines: Challenges and implications for ancient deep-marine baroclinic sands. AAPG Bulletin, 97(5), 767-811.
36. Shanmugam, G., 2015. The landslide problem. Journal of Palaeogeography, 4(2), 109-166.
37. Shanmugam, G., Walker, K. R., 1978. Tectonic significance of distal turbidites in the Middle Ordovician Blockhouse and lower Sevier formations in east Tennessee, in: Walker, K. R., Roeder, D., (Eds.), Appalachian Geodynamic Research. American Journal of Science, 278, 551-578.
38. Shanmugam, G., Walker, K. R., 1980. Sedimentation, subsidence, and evolution of a foredeep basin in the Middle Ordovician, Southern Appalachians. American Journal of Science, 280, 479-496.
39. Shanmugam, G., Lash, G. G., 1982. Analogous tectonic evolution of the Ordovician foredeeps, southern and central Appalachians. Geology, 10, 562-566. 2.0.CO;2 target="_blank">
40. Shanmugam, G., Moiola, R. J., 1982. Eustatic control of turbidites and winnowed turbidites. Geology, 10, 231-235. 2.0.CO;2 target="_blank">
41. Shanmugam, G., Benedict, G. L., III, 1983. Manganese distribution in the carbonate fraction of shallow and deep marine lithofacies, Middle Ordovician, eastern Tennessee. Sedimentary Geology, 35, 159-175.
42. Shanmugam, G., Moiola, R. J., 1985. Submarine fan models: problems and solutions, in: Bouma, A. H., Normark, W. R., Barnes, N. E., (Eds.), Submarine Fans and Related Turbidite Systems. Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 29-34.
43. Shanmugam, G., Moiola, R. J., 1988. Submarine fans: Characteristics, models, classification, and reservoir potential. Earth-Science Reviews, 24, 383-428.
44. Shanmugam, G., Damuth, J. E., Moiola, R. J., 1985a. Is the turbidite facies association scheme valid for interpreting ancient submarine fan environments? Geology, 13, 234-237. 2.0.CO;2 target="_blank">
45. Shanmugam, G., Moiola, R. J., Damuth, J. E., 1985b. Eustatic control of submarine fan development, in: Bouma, A. H., Normark, W. R., Barnes, N. E., (Eds.), Submarine Fans and Related Turbidite Systems. Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 23-28.
46. Shanmugam, G., Shrivastava, S. K., Das, B., 2009. Sandy debrites and tidalites of Pliocene reservoir sands in upper-slope canyon environments, offshore Krishna-Godavari Basin (India): Implications. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 79, 736-756.
47. Shepard, F. P., Dill, R. F., 1966. Submarine Canyons and Other Sea Valleys. Rand McNally & Co., Chicago.
48. Vail, P. R., Mitchum Jr., R. M., Thompson III, S., 1977. Seismic Stratigraphy and Global Changes of Sea Level: Part 3. Relative Changes of Sea Level from Coastal Onlap, in: Payton, C. E., (Ed.), Seismic Stratigraphy-Applications to Hydrocarbon Exploration. AAPG Memoir, 26, 63-81.
49. Vail, P. R., Audemard, F., Bowman, S. A., Eisner, P. N., Perez-Cruz, P., 1991. The stratigraphic signatures of tectonics, eustasy and sedimentology �� An overview, in: Einsele, G., Ricken, W., Seilacher, A., (Eds.), Cycles and Events in Stratigraphy. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 618-659.
50. Van Wagoner, J. C., Posamentier, H. W., Mitchum, R. M., Vail., P. R., Sarg, J. F., Loutit, T. S., Hardenbol, J., 1988. An overview of the fundamentals of sequence stratigraphy and key definitions, in: Wilgus, C. K., Hastings, B. S., Kendall, C. G. St. C., Posamentier, H. W., Ross, C. A., Van Wagoner, J. C., (Eds). Sea-Level Changes: An Integrated Approach. SEPM Special Publication,Tulsa, OK. 42, 39-45.
51. Van Wagoner, J. C., Mitchum, R. M., Campion, K. M., Rahmanian, V. D., 1990. Siliciclastic Sequence Stratigraphy in Well Logs, Cores, and Outcrops. AAPG Methods in Exploration Series 7,Tulsa, OK.
52. Veizer, J., 1989. Strontium isotopes in seawater through time. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. 17, 141-67.
53. Veizer, J., Ala, D., Azmy, K., Bruckschen, P., Buhl, D., Bruhn, F., Carden, G., Diener, A., Ebneth, S., Godd��ris, Y., Jasper, T., Korte, C., Pawellek, F., Podlaha, O., Strauss, H., 1999. 87Sr/86Sr, ��13C, ��18O evolution of Phanerozoic sea-water. Chemical Geology, 161, 59-88.
54. V��rard, C., Hochard, C., Baumgartner, P. O., Stampfli, G. M., 2015. 3D palaeogeographic reconstructions of the Phanerozoic versus sea-level and Sr-ratio variations. Journal of Palaeogeography, 4(1), 64-84.
55. Walker, K. R., Roeder, D., (Eds.), 1978. Appalachian Geodynamic Research. American Journal of Science, 278, 386-607 (Special Issue).
56. Weimer, P., Link, M. H., 1991. Global Petroleum Occurrences in Submarine Fans and Turbidite Systems, in: Weimer, P., Link, M. H. (Eds.), Seismic Facies and Sedimentary Processes of Submarine Fans and Turbidite Systems. Springer-Verlag, New York. pp. 9-67.
2015, Vol. 4 
