American thesis abstracts are widely distributed as publications through the Dissertation Abstracts of University Microfilm, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the annual abstract volumes of The Geological Society of America. Many guidebooks of the geological societies are also widely circulated. The appearance of new stratigraphic names in these sources is recorded in the Lexicon of Geologic Names of the United States. Most thesis advisors or editors do not allow new stratigraphic names to appear in published abstracts or guidebooks, but in some cases new names have been published in these types of publications, as well as in microfilms, newspapers, and commercial and trade journals.

Publication in these sources does not meet most of the requirements for validity of a new rock stratigraphic unit (Article 13) or of a time-stratigraphic unit (Article 34). Although less clear, it seems unlikely that requirements for validity of the other stratigraphic terms covered

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by the Code would be met. To avoid possible future confusion in the use of new names in abstracts, guidebooks, microfilms, newspapers, or in commercial or trade journals, we recommend that the American Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature reword Article 3 and Remarks (c) and (e) of Article 13 as hereafter proposed.

PROPOSAL

Article 3:
The code is a systematic collection of rules of formal stratigraphic classification and nomenclature. A stratigraphic unit of one of the categories mentioned in Article 2 and its name are classified as formal if they are proposed in Article 13 and meet other requirements specified in the code. A ((Its)) valid name is ((then)) preempted from use as the name of any other formal unit in the same category. See also Articles 4i, 10 ((,11, and 12)) to 12, 14 to 18, 24, and 32 to 35). Publication in abstracts, guidebooks, microfilms, newspapers, or in commercial or trade journals, even in regularly published series, is not valid publication.

Article 13:
Establishing a formal rock-stratigraphic unit requires publication in some scientific medium (see Article 3) of a definition that includes:

(c) Form of publication:
The phrase "recognized scientific medium" is difficult to determine. Availability to the scientific public is the chief determining factor regardless of size of edition or form of publication, such as type printing, mimeographing, or lithography. A publication must be generally available either on request or by purchase. Any well-known, regularly issued, numbered series, meets this requirement. Many independent or irregularly issued publications also meet it, though some notice should appear in a nationally circulated scientific journal. Names proposed in informal or restricted media such as letters, company reports unavailable to the public, or unpublished addresses, theses or dissertations, have no status in stratigraphic literature. Microfilming or publication in newspapers and commer ial or trade journals is not valid publication. (See Article 3.)

(e) Publication in abstracts and guidebooks:
New stratigraphic names should not be included in an abstract published in advance of a more complete report, as the essential conciseness of abstracts does not permit full definitions. New stratigraphic names should not be introduced in guidebooks. (See Article 3.)

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