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You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.

Geology related definitions

  • aa: a lava flow with a rubbly surface.
  • ablation: the removal of ice at the toe of a glacier by melting, sublimation and/or calving.
  • absolute plate velocity: the movement of a plate relative to a fixed point in the mantle.
  • abyssal plan: a broad, relatively flat region of the ocean that lies at least 4.5 km below sea level.
  • adiabatic cooling /heating: cooling or heating of a body of matter without the addition or subtraction of thermal energy (heat).
  • allochem: ooids, peloids, oncolites, pellets, fossil or pre-existing carbonate fragments found in carbonate rocks.
  • alluvium: unconsolidated geological materials accumulated as a result of streams and rivers pouring out to sea, larger water deposit or land.
  • anticline: a fold with an arch-like shape in which the limbs dip away from the hinge.
  • aquiclude: asediment or rock that do not transmit water.
  • aquifer: sediment or rock that transmit water.
  • aquitard: sediment or rock that transmit water slowly therefore retards the motion of the water.
  • bar: (1) sheet or elongate lens or mound of alluvium; (2) unit of air pressure equals to 1 atm.
  • contact metamorphism: around intrusive igneous rocks as a result of the temperature increase caused by the intrusion of magma into cooler country rock causing the country rock surrounding the magma to under go metamorphism.
  • Darcy's law: mathematical equation where volume of water passing through a specified area of material at a given time, depends on the material's permeability and hydraulic gradient.
  • decompression melting: melting of rocks that occurs when hot mantel rock rises to shallower depths in the Earth causing pressure to decrease while temperature do not change.
  • dike: a tabular aka wall-shaped intrusion of rock that cuts across the layering of country rock.
  • dip-slip fault: a fault in which sliding occurs up or down the slope (dip) of the fault.
  • Doppler effect: phenomenon which the frequency of wave energy appears to change when a moving source of wave energy passes an observer.
  • electron affinity: the energy released when an electron added to an atom or molecule. also read Geochemistry
  • eolian (transport): a type of transport where sediment particles are transported by wind.
  • eon: larget subdivision of geologic time.
  • erosion: : grinding away and removal of Earth's surface materials by moving water, air, or ice.
  • floodplain: the flat land on either side of a stream that becomes covered with water during a flood.
  • fluvial deposit: sediment deposited in a stream channel, along a stream a stream bank, or on a floodplain.
  • foliation: layering formed as a result of the alignment of mineral grains, or of compositional banding in a metamorphic rock.
  • geology: study of the Earth (sometimes other planets), its history and nature of materials. (I am NOT sure about this one!)
  • hydraulic conductivity: K in Darcy's law, where permeability of the rocks and fluid's viscosity is used to calculate it.
  • igneous rock: hot molten rock of magma or lava solidify as a result of cooling to form a rock.
  • lava: hot molten rock on the Earth's surface.
  • magma: hot molten rock under the Earth's surface.
  • metamorphic rock: forms due to increase in pressure and temperature on preexisting rocks.
  • mineral: "a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic defined chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties." (according to the professional standards)
  • oceanic crust: composed of gabbro and basalt, an overlain by sediment beneath the oceans.
  • ore: rocks containing native metals or ore minerals.
  • ore deposit: an area with a significant accumulation of ore.
  • oxbow lake: a mender that has been cut off yet remains filled with water.
  • peat: compacted partially decayed vegetation accumulating beneath a swamp.
  • PPL: plane polarized light; used in mineralogy and other areas where microscopes are used to identify minerals. Most minerals behaves differently in XPL compared to PPL. also read XPL
  • REE: rare earth elements; 17 elements found on Earth which includes, Sc, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu. also read REE
  • rock: a stupid rock? I have no idea what's a rock and what is not? I will update this soon. Stupid f**king rocks.
  • sedimentary rock: forms due to cementation of preexisting rock fragments and/or by precipitation of minerals out of solutions at or near the Earth's surface.
  • state function: depends only on the current state of a system and is independent of the path which the state was achieved. Ex. internal energy, enthalpy, entropy.
  • structure: from the Latin word Stracere which means to build. It is defined as a fundamental, tangible or intangible notion referring to the recognition, observation, nature, and permanence of patterns and relationships of entities.
  • structural geology: the study of deformation of lithospheric structures in three demention (3D) by scientific means to underrstand the geometry, distribution and formation.
  • syncline: a trough-shaped fold whose limbs dip toward the hinge.
  • tectonics: the structures within the lithosphere of the Earth, which has several 'broken' pieces of crust.
  • TOT: tetraheral - octahedral - tetrahedral. Related to silicate structure.
  • XPL: cross-polarized light; used in mineralogy and other areas where microscopes are used to identify minerals. Most minerals behaves differently in XPL compared to PPL. also read PPL
  • Like many other parts of this site, this list is still under development. Please check back for updates.


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