Comment on “Tidal rhythmites and their implications” by R. Mazumder and M. Arima [Earth-Science Reviews, 69 (2005) 79-95]

The study of tidal rhythmites, involving sedimentology, time-series analysis and astronomy, can contribute to understanding the history of the Earth's rotation and the Moon's orbit. It is regrettable, therefore, that the paper by Mazumder and Arima (2005) [Mazumder R., Arima M., 2005. Tidal rhythmites and their implications. Earth-Sci. Rev. 69, 79-95.] on tidal rhythmites and their implications contains errors of methodology and unsubstantiated speculation that could confuse and mislead. Moreover, contrary to the introductory statement of Mazumder and Arima (2005, p. 79) [Mazumder, R., Arima M., 2005. Tidal rhythmites and their implications. Earth-Sci. Rev. 69, 79-95.] that the analysis of ancient tidal rhythmites “is not straightforward”, the analysis need not be complicated. Problems will arise, however, if the rhythmite raw data are of poor quality and basic astronomical laws are misapplied. Such shortcomings are to be found in the paper under discussion.