cryoturbationn.
/ˌkrʌɪə(ʊ)təːˈbeɪʃn/, U.S. /ˌkraɪoʊtərˈbeɪʃ(ə)n/ Geomorphology and Soil Science.
Physical disturbance of the soil by the action of frost on water in the soil; an instance of such disturbance.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > formation of features > movement of material > [noun] > disturbance by frost
frost heave1853
frost thrust1893
cryoturbation1946
1946 K. Bryan in Amer. Jrnl. Sci. 244 633 A recent coinage by Edelman, Florshutz and Jeswiet (1936) is ‘cryoturbation’.
1954 Proc. Prehistoric Soc. 20 134 At a similar time cryoturbation took place where a clay and sand interface occurred near enough to the surface.
1979 R. Anderton et al. Dynamic Stratigr. Brit. Isles xvii. 270/1 The climate was also conducive to the widespread formation of periglacial features, such as cryoturbations, ice-wedge polygons and solifluction deposits.
2000 Geoderma 95 1 Approximately 50% of the sites sampled had no or partial vegetation cover, due either to human activity..or active geomorphic processes such as cryoturbation on patterned ground.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1946