Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSPs)      

One must have a common and precise language of geologic time to discuss and unravel Earth’s history.

One of the main goals of the International Commission on Stratigraphy and its predecessors under the International Geological Congresses (IGC) has been to unite the individual regional scales by reaching agreement on a standardized nomenclature and hierarchy for stages defined by precise Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points (GSSPs).

Walsh, S.L., Gradstein, F.M. and Ogg, J.G., 2004. History, philosophy, and application of the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP). Lethaia, v. 37, p. 201 - 218.