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Dictionary
Asthenosphere- Part of the upper mantle over which
lithosphereic plates move; it has the consistancy of Silly Putty, and flows
under pressure.
Basin- A large depression containing,
or capable of receiving, sediment.
Bed- An individual
layer of sedimentary rock. Bedding - the layered arrangement of sedimentary
rocks.
Biogenic- Material produced by organisms or
their activities
Brachiopods- Phlym of
solitary, bilaterally symmetrical, unsegmented marine invertebrates with a
bivalved shell and a complex feeding apparatus. Brachiopods range from the
Cambrian all the way through to the Recent.
Carbonization- Decomposition of organic matter so that only
a thin film of carbon remains, which may retain features of the original
organism.
Coal- Combustible sedimentary rock containing
>50% by weight of carbonaceous material and composed mainly of lithified plant
remains
Continent- A large piece of land
composed primarily of relatively low-density rocks such as granite.
Continental plates- plates- Individual pieces of lithosphere
that move over the asthenosphere.
Cross stratification-
cross bedding- Slanted parallel lines within sandstone beds produced by the
migration of ripples and dunes. Individual sand grains, moving in response to
water or wind, bounce up the back (up-current) side of the dune or ripple and
come to rest on the protected front side of the bedform. This front side sits
at the angle of repose of the sand. Variations in the rate of sediment
accummulation layers results in development of a succession of planes parallel
to the front face of the bedform.
Cyclothems-
Sequence of sedimentary rocks characteristic of Pennsylvanian delta deposits;
deposited during a single cycle of relative sea level rise and fall in a
Pennsylvanian delta. In coal-bearing strata the sequence is sandstone, shale,
fireclay, coal, and shale.
Delta- Triangular shaped
sedimentary body, up to thousands of square kilomenters in area, where river
systems interact with lake or ocean water. Sediment is deposited as the flow
volume expands and channel flow becomes unconfined.
Deltaic- Refering to a delta system.
Dolostone- Rock made up of Calcium magnesium carbonate, a
magnesium limestone.
Echinoderms- A phylum of
marine invertebrates with a spiny calcite endoskeleton, a water vasular system
and pentameral symmetry. The range started at the Cambrian and are found all
the way to the Recent.
Elevation- Height above
some base level, usually sea level.
Epicontinental- Meaning on a continent
Epicontinental sea- eperic sea- Shallow inland sea
Erosion- A process in which
particles are detached from soil or rock and transported away by wind, ice, or
water.
Floodplain- Low-lying area adjacent to a
river that occasionally is covered with flood water.
Fluvial- River or stream
Fossil- Part or
trace of an organism that is buried naturally and is preserved.
Gastropods- A class of the Phlym Mulluska in which the anterior
part of the foot is developed into a head and a helically-coiled shell protects
the organism. The range of Gastropods is from the Cambrian all the way through
to the Recent.
Glacier- Mass of ice and snow which
deforms and flows under its own weight if thick enough.
Igneous rock- Rock that has solidified from a molten or partially
molten state.
Incursions- intrusions
Lifhification- Process of converting sediment to
sedimentary rock.
Limestone- Rock that is made up
of at least 50% calcium carbonate; may be partly or wholly of biogenic origin.
Lithosphere- Rigid "skin" of the
Earth; made up of the crust and upper part of the mantle.
Margin- A border.
Marine- Pertaining to
the sea.
Marker bed- A distinctive, easily
recognizable sedimentary bed that can be used for determining where you are in a
sequences of strata.
Meander scroll- The
topography, comprising low, curved ridges of relatively coarse sediment parellel
to a river channel, of exhumed point bars resulting from differential erosion of
beds in a truncated epsilon cross-stratified complex.
Metamorphic rock- Rock that has been altered by pressure, heat,
or chemical fluids or a combination of these agents.
Monocline- assymetric fold with one limb dipping at a lower angle
than the other.
Oceanic crust- A thin young crust
(approximately seven kilometers) of three layers; upermost layer is of
sediments, pillow lavas underlain by dikes are the middle layer, gabbroic and
underlying ultrabasic rock on the bottom layer.
Orogenic- Refering to orogeny (mountain
building); process of creating a mountain belt by tectonic activity usually by
collision of continental plates. Characterized by regional metamorphism,
igneous activity and vertical movements.
Pangea- The
supercontinent comprising all the continental crust in the late Paleozoic, which
split into supercontinents Laurasia and Gondwanaland.
Plateau- Relatively flat tract of level high ground
Sandstone- A sedimentary rock with greater than twenty five
percent by volume of sand, sediment between .625 and 2mm in diameter.
Sediment- Matter which may settle to the
bottom of liquid and given the right conditions may come together to form
sedimentary rock.
Sedimentary rock- Rock formed
by the consolidation of sediment.
Shale- Sedimentary
rock made from clay and/or silt; Shale can be split into thin, irregular
sheets.
Slag- The unwanted remains from the production
of steel; includes dirt, limestone, iron ore and/ or dolostone .
Strata- Any sedimentary layer or bed.
Subduction- Process of underthrusting an
oceanic plate into the asthenosphere at a destructive plate margin.
Tectonic- Pertaining to a major Earth structure
and its formation
Thrust fault- Compressional fault
with a low dip angle.
Trace fossils- (boigenic
sedimentary structure, ichnofossil) - Structure in sediment produced by the
activity of an ancient organism. Includes tracks, trails, and burrows.
Topography- the shape of
the land surface.
Turbidite- A dense, sediment-rich
currentof water; forms when a mass of sediment is abruptly dumped into a body of
water.
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