THE 2020 CANADA DATAPACK FOR TIMESCALE CREATOR: A NEW TOOL FOR MESOZOIC–CENOZOIC STRATIGRAPHY OF THE CANADIAN NORTH

The Geo-mapping for Energy and Mineral’s (GEM) program (2010 to 2020) provided a unique opportunity to advance the current level of understanding of the geological history of the Canadian North. In this contribution, a compilation of Mesozoic–Cenozoic stratigraphic data from across the GEM program regions and beyond is presented, with a focus on biostratigraphic events, using TimeScale Creator®, a JAVA package that facilitates the compilation and comparison of large amounts of stratigraphic data while keeping track of changing absolute ages. The ‘2020 Canada datapack’, which incorporates some information re-evaluated and refined from an earlier datapack, includes schemes using dinoflagellate cysts, spores and pollen, foraminifers and conodonts, and a new synthesis of Canadian Arctic Jurassic ammonite and Buchia bivalve biostratigraphy. This datapack will continue to be augmented after completion of the GEM program and will become a major tool in supporting an understanding of Canada’s sedimentary basins, their resource potential, and management.