Shape and Nature of Small Sedimentary Quartz Particles

1973/06/22 by D. H. Krinsley, Ian Smalley · 5 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Engineering · Environmental Science · #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Soil and Unsaturated Flow #Landslides and related hazards #Quartz #Loess #Sedimentary rock #Cleavage (geology) #Soil water #Geology #Mineralogy #Geotechnical engineering #Geochemistry #Geomorphology #Soil science #Fracture (geology) #Paleontology

paper · doi:10.1126/science.180.4092.1277

openalex publication_date 1973/06/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29

Abstract

Quartz particles in sediments become flatter with decreasing size; a cleavage mechanism may operate below the critical size of about 100 microns. Flat particles would tend to form a more open packing than spherical particles, and this may contribute to the collapse of loess and similar soils and the sudden loss of strength observed in "sensitive" clay soils.

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• The origin of loess microstructure: 3D insights from initial aeolian dust packing
• Silt [wikipedia]