Vocabulary

This file contains the CGI Particle Shape vocabulary, as defined by the IUGS Commission for Geoscience Information (CGI) Geoscience Terminology Working Group. The Shape attribute describes, a) the development of crystal faces bounding particles in crystalline compond materials, and b) surface rounding of grains in sedimentary rocks. Roundness is a measure of the sharpness of the edges between surfaces bounding a particle (see Jackson, 1997; Wadell, 1932) and is an indication of the degree of abrasion of a clastic particle. Expressed by Wadell (1932) as the ratio of the average radius of curvature of the several edges or corners of the particle to the radius of curvature of the maximum inscribed sphere (or to one-half the nominal diameter of the particle). The value is more conveniently computed from a plane figure (a projection or cross section); thus, roundness may be defined as the ratio of the average radius of curvature of the corners of the particle image to the radius of the maximum inscribed circle. A perfectly rounded particle (such as a sphere) has a roundness value of 1.0; less-rounded particles have values less than 1.0. The corresponding concept in aggregates with crystalline as opposed to clastic grains is here referred to as crystallinity, and is the degree to which a mineral grain is bounded by crystal faces. Terms should be appropriate for the kind of compound material (eg: for crystalline rocks- euhedral, ideoblastic, subhedral, anhedral, xenoblastic; for sedimentary rocks - angular, rounded). By extension, this vocabulary includes all concepts in this conceptScheme, as well as concepts in any previous versions of the scheme.

• angular
• anhedral
• any shape
• diffuse
• euhedral
• resorbed
• rounded
• sub-angular
• sub-rounded
• subhedral
• very angular
• well rounded