The “Stratigraphic Notes” series is intended to be an outlet for publication of short papers on stratigraphy, changes in stratigraphic nomenclature, and explanation of stratigraphic names and concepts used on published geologic maps. This report provides authors with suggestions for the content and format of papers submitted to “Stratigraphic Notes” in which geologic names are proposed or their definitions and supporting information are modified. These suggestions are based on the guidance and rules found in the North American Stratigraphic Code (North American Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature [NACSN], 2021) and from experience compiling the U.S. Geologic Names Lexicon (Geolex, https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/). It is with the hope that authors will find these suggestions useful when organizing and presenting their observations and interpretations in a succinct and straightforward fashion, appropriate to “Stratigraphic Notes” (see also, U.S. Geological Survey, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1991, 1994a, b, 1995).
Appendix 1 contains suggested topics and their section headings and subheadings for papers submitted to “Stratigraphic Notes” on new geologic names or changes to names. Within the body of this report, guidance on the content of these sections is provided; for reasons of clarity, suggestions that pertain to changes to formal geologic names are discussed separately from those for proposing new names. Note that, herein, the term “geologic name” is used interchangeably with “geologic unit” and refers to a three-dimensional body of earth material (rock or sediment), recognized by its lithologic content and its boundaries at the surface and (or) subsurface.
