(geophysics) The outward-expanding force of pressure which is released within rock masses by unloading, as by erosion of superincumbent rocks or by removal of glacial ice.
pressure release
| Sci-Tech Dictionary: pressure release |
(′presh·ər ri′lēs)
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| Geography Dictionary: pressure release |
Also known as dilatation, this is the expansion of a rock formed under pressure when that pressure is released. Thus, a glacier may remove the overburden, and the revealed rock ‘bursts’ open. Some writers attribute the splitting of granite tors to pressure release. See inselbergs.
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 | unloading |
| sheeting |
| sheeting structure (geology) |
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 | Sci-Tech Dictionary. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. Copyright © 2003, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1978, 1976, 1974 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Geography Dictionary. A Dictionary of Geography. Copyright © Susan Mayhew 1992, 1997, 2004. All rights reserved. Read more |
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