The Temporal Characteristics of the Geologic Record: Global Correlations of Multi-Million-Year Cycles

First published: 2026

Brief summary

Review of multi-million-year cyclicity in major geologic events (extinctions, impacts, volcanism) comparing internal-Earth versus astronomical pacing mechanisms, with updated crater and extinction datasets.

Article

The Temporal Characteristics of the Geologic Record: Global Correlations of Multi-Million-Year Cycles is a peer-reviewed journal article published by Earth-Science Reviews (ScienceDirect) in 2026. It reviews multi-million-year cyclicity in major geologic events (extinctions, impacts, volcanism) comparing internal-Earth versus astronomical pacing mechanisms, with updated crater and extinction datasets.

The analysis focuses on ~26-30 My cycle in mass extinctions and impact craters. The study includes figure comparing crater-formation rate for 37 dated craters against 12 marine extinction times. This gives the cycle claim a specific numerical and evidential setting rather than presenting periodicity only as a visual impression.

The article reports the following result: An apparent cycle of 26-My to 30-My in the record of marine mass extinctions over geologic time was followed by the discovery of a similar cycle in coincident mass extinctions of vertebrates on land, and in the ages of dated impact craters. The interpretation is strongest when it survives dating uncertainty, preservation bias, alternative event selections and correction for multiple statistical tests.

For cycles researchers, the article brings together geologic cycles, mass extinctions, impact craters, volcanism. It is relevant to debates over whether recurring patterns in the geological record reflect astronomical forcing, internal Earth processes, preservation bias or dating uncertainty.

Because it is a peer-reviewed journal article, the article is a strong starting point for discussion in the Geology & Paleontology forum, although its conclusions should still be compared with later replications and updated datasets.

Source details and credits

• Source / publisher: Earth-Science Reviews (ScienceDirect)
• Source type: Peer-reviewed journal article
• URL type: WWW
• Credits: Earth-Science Reviews (ScienceDirect)
• URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950117226000129