sapropeln.
/ˈsaprəʊpɛl/ Geology.
An unconsolidated nitrogen-rich slime or sludge, formed of incompletely decomposed aquatic micro-organisms, esp. algæ, found in anaerobic environments on the bottoms of lakes and seas.
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the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > sediment or alluvium > [noun] > marine with organic remains
ooze1858
Globigerina ooze1862
Globigerina mud1868
radiolarian ooze1876
sapropel1907
1907 Rep. 76th Meeting Brit. Assoc. Advancem. Sci. 1906 748 The sapropel is formed from the excrements and bodies of completely aquatic animals and plants which have lived in stagnant water, and therefore, because the water is stagnant, do not decay completely.
1907 Rep. 76th Meeting Brit. Assoc. Advancem. Sci. 1906 748 Cannel coal..is a fossil sapropel.
1929 H. B. Milner Sedimentary Petrogr. (ed. 2) 335 The coal-substance has been regarded by Potonié as ‘sapropel’, a solidified jelly-like carbonaceous slime.
1970 Nature 17 Oct. 200/1 Cores from the Mediterranean's three deep basins also yielded dolomites,..diatomites and organic sapropels.
1978 Nature 16 Nov. 259/2 The preservation of non-siliceous algae is uncommon, although found in the sapropel deposits of the USSR.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1982; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
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n.1907