cyclopel

noun

A rhythmic silt–clay lamination formed in a tide-water glacial marine inlet. <!Each cyclopel has a distinct base of a thin sandy unit that grades upward to poorly sorted mud. Cyclopels have a specific genesis. They are formed in low energy, glacial marine environments when an intrusion of salt water due to tidal fluctuations causes floculation of the clay particles, and the silt and clay fall out of suspension in the water column. As a result, several cyclopels may be formed in one day.

See Also: cyclopsam