Sedimentation rates in relation to the Phanerozoic time-scale

Summary Sedimentation rates combined with stratigraphical correlation provided the earliest reasonably objective geological time-scales, but these were at best crude approximations. Later, sedimentation rates were used only to interpolate between radiometrically determined ages. The hypothesis that average maximum rates of sedimentation (or subsidence) have increased during Phanerozoic time is discussed and it is concluded that the evidence for it is unsatisfactory.