Evolution of a Concept -- Stratigraphy: Evolution of a Concept -- The Search for Patterns: Ordering the Framework -- Buried Time: Chronostratigraphy as a Research Tool -- Ecostratigraphy's Basis, using Silurian and Devonian Examples, with Consideration of the Biogeographic Complication -- Devonian Palynostratigraphy in Western Gondwana -- Carboniferous and Permian Palynostratigraphy -- Biostratigraphy of the Non-Marine Triassic: Is a Global Correlation Based on Tetrapod Faunas Possible? -- The K-T Boundary -- The Search for Clues: Analyzing and Sequencing the Record -- Chemostratigraphy -- Paleobotany and Paleoclimatology -- Palynofacies Analysis and its Stratigraphic Application -- Sequence Biostratigraphy with Examples from the Plio-Pleistocene and Quaternary -- Taphonomy - Overview of Main Concepts and Applications to Sequence Stratigraphic Analysis -- Significance of Ichnofossils to Applied Stratigraphy -- Cyclostratigraphy -- The Role and Value of "Biosteering" in Hydrocarbon Reservoir Exploitation -- Modelling the Record -- Quantitative Methods for Applied Microfossil Biostratigraphy. Few, if any, fundamental disciplines in the earth sciences have seen so many dramatic changes and developments as stratigraphy. The discipline has come to be applied progressively, and indispensably, to nearly all branches of the earth sciences, including such endeavors as charting the course and complexities of life evolution through time, understanding how ancient ecosystems developed and operated, and furnishing data pivotal to exploration and exploitation of strategic mineral resources. This book aims to incorporate major aspects and essential elements underpinning the modern applications and perspectives of stratigraphy. It focuses on traditional and innovative techniques and how these can be utilized in reconstructing the geological history of sedimentary basins and in solving manifold geological problems and phenomena. Each chapter summarizes contributions by leading researchers in the field. It is hoped that this book will provide the reader with key insights into all these aspects and applications.