Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A stalactitic variety of calcite. See stalactite.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun geology An isolated fragment of rock found within a sedimentary rock (that had fallen, rather than being carried along)

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

drop +‎ stone

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Examples

  • First, they have a variety of data flags, including flags for turbidity, earthquake, drainage event, and dropstone, indicating that the particular data point is not to be used.

    Loso: Varves in Alaska « Climate Audit 2007

  • The dropstone group gathered a 150 graduation speeches together and attempted to code and extract "meta-advice" by combining the insights together.

    Archive 2006-05-01 Wynn Williamson 2006

  • PS I mapped a few thousand sq miles of late Precambrian in the Richtersveld, just inside South Africa years ago, which was older than the Nama and included the Numees tillite in which I found a stromatolite in associated dolomite, and also a dropstone and varves.

    The Cambrian as an evolutionary exemplar - The Panda's Thumb 2005

Comments

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  • "Each of these layers defines an annual accumulation of sediment. Varved sediments may contain dropstones, which are fragments of rock that have dropped from an overlying floating ice sheet and that have sunk into and depressed the layers beneath them."

    - Encyclopaedia Britannica.

    October 2, 2008

  • Nifty!

    October 2, 2008