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Glite Dictionary
🪨 Missing rock layers 🚫 Not following rules
disconformity

disconformity

9.9
A break in flat rock layers where some layers are missing, showing past erosion
  • noun
  • /ˌdɪskənˈfɔːrmɪti/
  • Specialized
translation icon : disconformidad
  • A disconformity can indicate a significant period of erosion in the geological record.

Examples

  • A disconformity exists in this layer.

  • By studying the disconformity, scientists learned about ancient changes in sea level.

  • The geologist identified a disconformity between the two sedimentary layers.

  • The disconformity suggests a gap in time.

  • The geologist noted a significant disconformity in the rock strata, which indicated a long period of erosion.

  • During the field study, we observed a disconformity that showed a gap in the geological timeline.

  • The presence of a disconformity in the cliff face suggested that certain layers of rock had been eroded away.

Synonyms

discontinuity
vsdisconformity
9 7.8

A break or gap in something that normally continues

is the geological term restricting the break to missing parallel rock layers
unconformity
vsdisconformity
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A surface between rock layers that shows a long gap in time

is narrower, applying only to missing parallel layers rather than any gap surface

Surface Forms

disconformity singular
disconformities plural

Morphology

disconformity = conformity (semi-transparent) = dis + conform + ity

Formed by prefixing dis- to 'conformity', but the geological sense is a specialised technical usage (a type of unconformity) that may not be predictable for general learners.

Etymology

Disconformity is made of dis- meaning 'not' and conformity meaning 'agreement' or 'being the same'. In geology a conformity is when rock layers line up, so a disconformity is where they do not line up — a gap or break that shows missing time or erosion.