Stylolite

stylolite

Sedimentary structure consisting of a series of relatively small, alternating, interlocked, toothlike columns of stone; it is common in limestone, marble, and similar rock. The individual columns never appear singly but occur as a succession of interpenetrations that in cross section make a zigzag suture across the face of the stone. Most geologists believe that they are of secondary origin; that is, they result from differential chemical solution as groundwater circulates along a parting in hardened rock.

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stylolite [′stī·lə‚līt]

(geology)

An irregular surface, generally parallel to a bedding plane, in which small toothlike projections on one side of the surface fit into cavities of complementary shape on the other surface; interpreted to result diagenetically by pressure solution.

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stylolite

A jointed or irregular columnar structure occasionally found in beds of limestone, uniting the adjoining surfaces of two layers of rock.

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Stylolite 

a type of feature encountered in sedimentary rocks wherein spinous or columnar projections on the surface of one layer fit into cavities of complementary shape on a second layer. In cross section, the stylolite surface suggests gear teeth in mesh. The columns can reach 1 m in length, and their sides are covered with striations parallel to the longitudinal axis. A clayey substance forms along the plane of the seam. Stylolites are often converted to sutures—zigzag seams with conical teeth. Stylolites occur in limestones and, more rarely, dolomites, coal, argillites, quartzites, gypsum, and other sedimentary formations.

REFERENCES

Kholodov, V. N. “K voprosu o proiskhozhdenii suturo-stilolitovykh shvov.” Izv. AN SSSR: Ser. geologicheskaia, 1955, no. 2.
Bushinskii, G. I. “O stilolitakh.” Izv. AN SSSR: Ser. geologicheskaia, 1961, no. 8.