dolomite
/ˈdɒləmʌɪt
/noun [mass noun]
1A translucent mineral consisting of a carbonate of calcium and magnesium, usually also containing iron.Vein minerals are aragonite, barite, calcite, dolomite, quartz, sphalerite, and whewellite....
- Vein minerals are ferroan dolomite, barite, calcite, pyrite, and quartz.
- Red chalcedony-lined geodes were prevalent at one time, their inclusions typically being quartz, calcite, ferroan dolomite, and iron sulfide microcrystals.
1.1A sedimentary rock formed chiefly of dolomite.In the Mesozoic, and into the Paleocene, limestone and dolomite interbedded with shale, clay and anhydrite prevailed in a more restricted, shallow marine to lagoonal environment....
- The host rocks for these deposits include limestone and dolomite that have undergone dissolution by low-temperature fluids, either before or during the mineralizing event.
- Polyphase deformation accompanied metamorphism of the original sediments, that were probably dolomite, shales and siltstones.
Derivatives
dolomitic
/ adjective ...- The Barton Creek dolomite is in fact a dolomitic limestone, strongly recrystallized.
- If considered irrespective of depth, limestones and dolomitic limestones are more porous than dolostones, whereas at burial depths of greater than 2000 m dolostones are significantly more porous and permeable than limestones.
- The cavity was in relatively dense dolomitic limestone, suggesting that recovery of undamaged specimens could present a problem.
Origin
Late 18th century: from French, from the name of Dolomieu (1750–1801), the French geologist who discovered it, + -ite1.