radiolariten.
/ˌreɪdɪə(ʊ)ˈlɛːrʌɪt/, U.S. /ˌreɪdiəˈlɛraɪt/, /ˌreɪdioʊˈlɛraɪt/ Geology.
A type of hard, homogeneous, fine-grained siliceous sedimentary rock formed mainly from the skeletal remains of radiolarians. Also: any sedimentary rock formed mainly from radiolarians; radiolarian earth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > sedimentary rock > [noun] > other siliceous
radiolarian chert1890
silcrete1902
radiolarite1910
1910 Proc. Sect. Sci. Koninkl. Akad. Wetenschappen te Amsterdam 12 141 In the year 1894 I [sc. G. A. F. Molengraaff] discovered in the basin of the Upper Kapoewas in Western Borneo cherts and hornstones, consisting almost entirely of tests of Radiolaria, which I described as deep-sea deposits. Such rocks are also known as Radiolarite.
1938 F. H. Hatch & R. H. Rastall Petrol. Sedimentary Rocks (ed. 3) x. 203 In Great Britain, two principal types of radiolarite may be distinguished, one represented by the jaspers and jasper-like cherts, and the other by the culm type of chert.
1972 Gloss. Geol. (Amer. Geol. Inst.) 587/1 Radiolarite,..(a) the comparatively hard, very fine-grained, chert-like, homogeneous, consolidated equivalent of radiolarian earth. (b) Indurated radiolarian ooze. (c) A term that is often applied as a syn. of radiolarian earth.
1977 A. Hallam Planet Earth 254/1 Ancient radiolarian-rich sediments are known as radiolarites, and many of these are believed to be deep-water deposits.
1993 Marine Micropaleontol. 21 329 Cold-water radiolarians carried into the Argo Basin upwelled along the margin, died, and accumulated in radiolarite layers due to winnowing by bottom currents.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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