Although parasequence and sequence are scale‐independent terms, they are frequently applied only to specific scales of cycles. For example, meter‐scale cycles are commonly assumed to be parasequences or PACs. In the Upper Ordovi‐cian Kope and Fairview Formations of northern Kentucky, we examined a succession of 50 meter‐scale cycles that have been variously interpreted as deepening‐upward, shallowing‐upward, or showing no relationship with water depth. Our analysis shows that these cycles, characterized by shifts in storm‐bed proximality, are highly variable in their thickness and internal construction. Most cycles are best considered high‐frequency sequences, because deepening‐upward intervals are common, and many cycles contain evidence of abrupt basinward shifts in facies as expected at sequence boundaries. A minority fit the parasequence model of shallowing‐upward cycles bounded by flooding surfaces. Larger, 20 m scale cycles are defined by systematic thickening and thinning trends of meter‐scale cycles. However, meter‐scale cycles do not display any systematic trends in cycle anatomy as a function of position within the 20 m cycles or position within the Kope and Fairview Formations. The high cycle variability and the lack of systematic stratigraphic organization with respect to longer‐term cyclicity reflect either the irregularity of relative sea‐level changes, the poor recording of sea‐level changes in this deep‐water setting, or the generation of these cycles by climate‐induced cyclicity in storm intensity. These three mechanisms would generate similar patterns at the outcrop scale, so it is not possible at the present to distinguish between them.

中文翻译：

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风暴主导型辛辛那提（上奥陶纪）的旋回解剖和变异性：掌握旋回划分和成因

尽管平行序列和序列是与尺度无关的术语，但它们经常仅适用于特定尺度的循环。例如，米级周期通常被假定为准序列或 PAC。在肯塔基州北部的上奥陶纪 Kope 和 Fairview 组中，我们检查了一系列 50 米尺度的旋回，这些旋回被不同地解释为向上加深、向上变浅或显示与水深无关。我们的分析表明，这些循环的特点是风暴床附近的变化，它们的厚度和内部结构变化很大。大多数旋回最好被认为是高频层序，因为向上加深的间隔很常见，而且许多旋回包含在层序边界处预期的相向盆地突然移动的证据。少数拟合以洪水面为界的浅层向上循环的准层序模型。更大的 20 m 尺度循环由米尺度循环的系统增厚和变薄趋势定义。然而，米尺度周期在周期解剖学中没有显示任何系统趋势，作为 20 m 周期内的位置或 Kope 和 Fairview 地层内的位置的函数。高周期变异性和长期周期性缺乏系统地层组织反映了相对海平面变化的不规则性、深水环境中海平面变化的记录不佳，或这些循环的产生由气候引起的风暴强度周期性变化。这三种机制会在露头尺度上产生类似的模式，