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varve

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
varve, in geology, pair of thin sedimentary layers formed annually by seasonal climatic changes. Usually found in glacial lake deposits, varves consist of a coarse-grained, light-colored summer deposit and a finer-grained, dark-colored winter deposit formed when fine sediment settles out from the water under the ice cover. Varves, and the pollen they contain, are useful for interpreting recent climatic history.
varve [′värv]
(geology)
A sedimentary bed, layer, or sequence of layers deposited in a body of still water within a year's time, and usually during a season. Also known as glacial varve.


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Sayles (1919) reviewed what was known of Pleistocene glaciolacustrine varves and used this model to explain the presence of banded and laminated slates commonly found with Permian and Precambrian glacials.
Each annual layer, known as a varve, contains organic evidence of the earth's climate and ocean temperatures for the year it was deposited, Briskin says.
The lower, coarser grained portion of a varve is deposited during late spring and early summer snowmelt.
 
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