Editing Carboniferous (section)

== Etymology and history ==
The development of a Carboniferous [[Chronostratigraphy|chronostratigraphic]] timescale began in the late 18th century. The term "Carboniferous" was first used as an adjective by Irish geologist [[Richard Kirwan]] in 1799 and later used in a heading entitled "Coal-measures or Carboniferous Strata" by [[John Farey Sr.]] in 1811. Four units were originally ascribed to the Carboniferous, in ascending order, the [[Old Red Sandstone]], [[Carboniferous Limestone]], [[Millstone Grit]] and the [[Coal measures|Coal Measures]]. These four units were placed into a formalised Carboniferous unit by [[William Conybeare (geologist)|William Conybeare]] and [[William Phillips (geologist)|William Phillips]] in 1822 and then into the Carboniferous System by Phillips in 1835. The Old Red Sandstone was later considered [[Devonian]] in age.<ref name="Davydov-2012">{{Citation |last1=Davydov |first1=V.I. |title=The Carboniferous Period |date=2012 |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780444594259000238 |work=The Geologic Time Scale |pages=603–651 |access-date=2021-06-17 |publisher=Elsevier |language=en |doi=10.1016/b978-0-444-59425-9.00023-8 |isbn=978-0-444-59425-9 |s2cid=132978981 |last2=Korn |first2=D. |last3=Schmitz |first3=M.D. |last4=Gradstein |first4=F.M. |last5=Hammer |first5=O.}}</ref>

The similarity in successions between the British Isles and Western Europe led to the development of a common European timescale with the Carboniferous System divided into the lower [[Dinantian]], dominated by [[Carbonate rock|carbonate]] deposition and the upper [[Silesian (series)|Silesian]] with mainly [[siliciclastic]] deposition.<ref name="Woodcock-2012">{{Cite book |title=Geological history of Britain and Ireland |date=2012 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=978-1-4051-9381-8 |editor-last=Woodcock |editor-first=Nigel H. |edition=2nd |location=Chichester |editor-last2=Strachan |editor-first2=R. A.}}</ref> The Dinantian was divided into the [[Tournaisian]] and [[Viséan]] stages. The Silesian was divided into the [[Namurian]], [[Westphalian (stage)|Westphalian]] and [[Stephanian (stage)|Stephanian]] stages. The Tournaisian is the same length as the [[International Commission on Stratigraphy]] (ICS) stage, but the Viséan is longer, extending into the lower [[Serpukhovian]].<ref name="Davydov-2012" />

North American geologists recognised a similar stratigraphy but divided it into two systems rather than one. These are the lower carbonate-rich sequence of the [[Mississippian (geology)|Mississippian]] System and the upper siliciclastic and coal-rich sequence of the [[Pennsylvanian (geology)|Pennsylvanian]]. The [[United States Geological Survey]] officially recognised these two systems in 1953.<ref name="Stanley-2015">{{Cite book |last1=Stanley |first1=Steven |title=Earth System History |last2=Luczaj |first2=John |publisher=W.H.Freeman and Company |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-319-15402-8 |edition=4th |location=New York}}</ref> In Russia, in the 1840s British and Russian geologists divided the Carboniferous into the Lower, Middle and Upper series based on Russian sequences. In the 1890s these became the Dinantian, [[Moscovian (Carboniferous)|Moscovian]] and Uralian stages. The Serpukivian was proposed as part of the Lower Carboniferous, and the Upper Carboniferous was divided into the Moscovian and [[Gzhelian]]. The [[Bashkirian]] was added in 1934.<ref name="Davydov-2012" />

In 1975, the ICS formally ratified the Carboniferous System, with the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian subsystems from the North American timescale, the Tournaisian and Visean stages from the Western European and the Serpukhovian, Bashkirian, Moscovian, [[Kasimovian]] and Gzhelian from the Russian.<ref name="Davydov-2012" /> With the formal ratification of the Carboniferous System, the Dinantian, Silesian, Namurian, Westphalian and Stephanian became redundant terms, although the latter three are still in common use in Western Europe.<ref name="Woodcock-2012" />