total displacement . (a) Cumulative geological slip. (b) A syn. of net slip.
GeoWord of the Day
The GeoWord of the Day is a free service of the American Geosciences Institute. All of the terms and definitions are from the Glossary of Geology, 5th Edition Revised.
cumberlandite (cum'-ber-land-ite''). A coarse-grained ultramafic rock with olivine crystals (approximately 50 percent of the total rock) in a groundmass of ilmenite and magnetite (together, 40 percent), labradorite, and accessory spinel. The state rock of Rhode Island; the name, given by Wadsworth in 1884, is for the town of Cumberland in that state. Obsolete.
isoperimetric curve (i''-so-per''-i-met'-ric). A line on a map or map projection (as on an equal-area projection) along which there is no variation from exact scale.
stanfieldite (stan'-field-ite). An reddish or amber-colored monoclinic meteorite mineral: Ca7(Ca,Mg)2(Mg,Fe2+)9(PO4)12 .
frost action . (a) The mechanical weathering process caused by alternate or repeated cycles of freezing and thawing of water in pores, cracks, and other openings, usually at the surface. It includes gelifraction and cryoturbation. (b) The resulting effects of frost action on materials and structures. Syn: freeze-thaw action.
turf-banked terrace . A nonsorted step whose riser is covered by vegetation and whose tread is composed of fine soil. The term should be reserved for an irregular, terracelike feature that is not a clearly defined form of patterned ground (Washburn, 1956, p.835). Syn: turf garland.
cirque [geomorph] . A semicircular, topographic hollow eroded by alpine glaciers. Also rarely used for a amphitheaterlike or armchair-shaped hollow of nonglacial origin but resembling a glacial cirque; e.g., a doline in a limestone region, a blowout in an arid region, or a depression formed by landslide sapping. Cf: pseudocirque.
displacement [photo] (dis-place'-ment). Any shift in the position of an image on a photograph that does not alter the perspective characteristics of the photograph. It may be caused by the relief of the objects photographed, the tilt of the photograph, changes of scale, or atmospheric refraction. Cf: distortion [photo].
stable relict . A relict [meta] that was not only stable under the conditions of its formation but also under the newly imposed conditions of metamorphism. Cf: unstable relict.
villamaninite (vil-la-man'-i-nite). A metallic gray triclinic (pseudo-cubic) mineral of the pyrite group: (Cu,Ni,Co,Fe)S2 .
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