paleoecology (pa''-le-o-e-col'-o-gy). The study of the relationships between ancient organisms and their environments, the death of organisms, and their burial and postburial history in the geologic past, based on fossil faunas and floras and their stratigraphic position. See also: ecology.
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.
left bank . The bank of a stream situated to the left of an observer who is facing downstream.
in-situ temperature . The temperature of a small volume of seawater measured at its actual depth. Cf: potential temperature [oceanog].
mountain wood . (a) A compact, fibrous, gray to brown variety of asbestos resembling dry wood in appearance. Syn: rock wood. (b) A fibrous clay mineral such as sepiolite or palygorskite.
forelimb thrust . A thrust fault that cuts across the forelimb of an asymmetric anticline. Little used syn: front-limb thrust fault .
terraqueous zone (ter-ra'-que-ous). That part of the lithosphere that is penetrated by water.
Bravais lattice (Bra'-vais). A syn. of crystal lattice; it is named for the nineteenth-century French physicist, Auguste Bravais, who demonstrated that there are only 14 possible unique kinds of crystal lattices.
X-ray scattering . The phenomenon of changes in direction of X-ray transmission by interaction of the waves with objects or with the transmitting medium due to reflection, refraction, or diffraction.
black light . (a) A prospector's and miner's term for ultraviolet light, used in exploration and evaluation to detect mineral fluorescence. (b) An instrument, usually portable, that produces ultraviolet light for this purpose.
rejuvenation (re-ju''-ve-na'-tion). (a) The action of stimulating a stream to renewed erosive activity, as by uplift or by a drop of sea level; the renewal or restoration of youthful vigor in a stream that has attained maturity or old age. The causes of rejuvenation may be dynamic, eustatic, or static. (b) The development or restoration of youthful features of a landscape or landform in an area previously worn down nearly to base level, usually caused by regional uplift or eustatic movements, followed by renewed downcutting by streams; a change in conditions of erosion, leading to the initiation of a new cycle of erosion. (c) The renewal of any geologic process, such as the reactivation of a fissure. Syn: revival.
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