Glossary of terms used in this website [Back to Main Page]

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Allochthonous - transported to the site of deposition

Anoxic- absence of oxygen

Aragonite- type of calcium carbonate (CaCo3)

Archepelago- a group of many islands

Bedding plane- horizontal plane in which a sediment is laid down

Benthic - living at (epibenthic) or under (endobenthic) the sediment- water interface

Bioturbation- disruption of sediment resulting from organic activity.

Concretion- a mass formed by concentration of certain constituents of a sediment during diagenesis, often form around a nucleus.

Conservation Lagerstätte- a deposit with exceptional preservation (Concentration Lagerstätte = exceptional abundance)

Diagenesis- process of rock formation

Dip and strike- dip is the angle horizontal to the bedding plane, measured perpendicular to the strike; the direction in which a horizontal line may be drawn on a plane.

Hydrocarbon- naturally occuring compound of hydrogen and carbon of organic origin

Kerogene- solid organic material, major component of oil shale

Lamination- layers of sediment 1cm thick or less.

Lithification- formation of a massive, solid rock from a loose sediment

Periostracum- the proteinous outer layer of a shell (e.g. in ammonites).

pseudoplanktonic - drifting mode of life via external means i.e. attachment to floating log

Redox boundary - boundary between oxic and anoxic conditions

Siphuncle- the tube linking each of the chambers of a cephalopod to the next.

Substrate- an underlying substance and its surface

Toarcian- stratigraphic stage name