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Proactive disclosure Print version   | |  GSC Guide to Authors L: Alphabetical Listing
Spelling, Usage and GSC Recommendations
label, labelling labour, but laborious LA-ICP-MS Abbreviation for laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry lake Capitalized as in Great Slave Lake, Lake Erie, but lakes Huron and Ontario. lakebed, lakefront, lakeshore, lakeside, but lake basin lamina (pl. laminae) Lamina is the layer, lamination is the structure. Do not use lamination(s) for layer(s), use lamina(e). landform, landmark, landmass, landslide, but land ice landlocked Landsat images lapilli tuff larger sized grains large scale (n.), large-scale (adj.) last, latest Last means 'final: the end of a sequence'. Latest means 'the most recent'. laser Raman spectroscopy late See EARLY. late, upper A stratigraphic unit may be referred to in either physical (rock) or temporal (time) terms, depending on the context, and regardless of whether or not the word age is used. Late and Upper, for example (also Early and Lower), are not interchangeable as they have different meanings:
Upper refers to relative physical position in a stratigraphic section
Late refers to the relative temporal attribution in a continuum of age See also EARLY, LATE; EARLY, LOWER; LOWER, UPPER; MIDDLE. Late Precambrian (= Proterozoic), but late Precambrian (indefinite) later, See EARLIER. latitude Write as: latitude 64°28'30"N and (lat. 64°28'30"N), or (lat. 64°28'30"N; long. 115°21'42"W). Do not omit the words latitude (lat.), longitude (long.), or the compass direction. latter See FORMER. Laurentide Ice Sheet lead-zinc vein least Least is the superlative of little; less is the comparative form. It is incorrect to use least when referring to only two persons or things: He is the less efficient of the two supervisors but Of all the people in the company, he works the least (or he is the least efficient). lebensspur (pl. lebensspuren) leda clay left-lateral fault lens (pl. lenses) less, lesser See FEWER. less than (>) See GREATER THAN. leuco-quartz diorite, but leucodiorite levée levelled, levelling (not leveled, leveling) liable See APT. liaison licence (n.), license (vb.) lie, lay It is easy to confuse the verbs to lie and to lay although they are quite distinct. Their forms are:
To lie means 'to recline, to be positioned on a flat surface, or to be moved into such a position', and is an intransitive verb taking no direct object:
The boulder of Precambrian charnockite lies on the Ordovician limestone. The erratic lay undisturbed
for thousands of years. It is not lying there now, as it has been moved to a university campus. It had lain
on the outcrop since the Ice Age.
To lay means 'to place in a recumbent position, to deposit, or to put', and is a transitive verb having a direct object:
The farmer lays each stone in its most appropriate place in the dry stone dyke. He laid the entire dyke
in two weeks. By laying each stone with care, the wall could last for generations. His ancestors laid a
limestone dyke that is still perfect.
Confusion arises because the past tense of to lie is lay. Liesegang rings light coloured, light weathering Avoid using these meaningless descriptive terms by describing the colour of the rock, weathering, etc. lignite A, lignite B See COAL. like, as Use like as a preposition, not as a conjunction with subordinate clauses. As may be used as a preposition and as a subordinating conjunction:
At the fault contact, water acted like (or as) a lubricant.
In the field he behaves as (not like) he does in the office. No interpretation can convince the geologist as much as the evidence of the rocks themselves. likely, likelihood Likely means 'probable'. Likely does not imply any suggestion of habit or that the probability arises from the character of the subject. See also APT. lime mudstone (not lime-mudstone) lime packstone Note, however, lime-packstone lithofacies, mixed-skeletal lime packstone, and mixed-skeletal lime-packstone lithofacies limestone See ROCK NAMES USED IN THE PLURAL FORM. limited Do not use limited as a substitute for few, small, meagre, inadequate, or scant. limy Containing calcite, lime, or limestone. line 'Along these lines', meaning 'in this way', or 'a course of procedure', is an overworked phrase and should be avoided. lineament, lineation liquefaction, liquefy literally Literally means 'truly, accurately, actually, adhering to the facts'; the opposite of 'figuratively'. Do not confuse it with 'figuratively, virtually, or metaphorically'. lithological (not lithologic) lithology In its original sense, lithology was essentially synonymous with petrography, but it is now used for the description of rocks in outcrop and hand specimen. Different rock types or units should be called lithological units, not 'lithologies'. A rock such as limestone has a certain lithology, but limestone, shale, and sandstone are not 'lithologies'. 'Lithologies' are not present in a section or a map area, but rocks, rock types, strata, or lithological units are. LITHOPROBE lithostratigraphic units Position within lithostratigraphic units (group, formation, member, etc.) is indicated by basal, lower, middle, upper, uppermost. lithotectonic lit-par-lit litre Note that 'L' is the correct SI symbol for litre. little See LEAST. littoral Means 'benthic oceanic, between high water and low water'. loan Use loan only as a noun; the verb is lend. loaned The better form is lent, past participle of lend. loc. For singular and plural GSC location numbers locate This word is commonly misused, as in the expressions: the company located the mill; he was located in Toronto; or he located the ore shoot. Use other words, such as find, place, reside, situate. A millsite may be located (i.e. its position established), but the mill is built at a certain place. You may locate a claim, but you find the ore on it. In many instances, the word may be omitted, as in the sentence: The millsite is on (not located on) Spring Creek. lodgment till loess longitude Write as: longitude 115°21'42"W and (long. 115°21'2"W), or (lat. 64°28'30"N; long. 115°21'42"W). Do not omit the words latitude (lat.), longitude (long.), or the compass direction. longshore low energy, low water, but low-energy environment, low-water mark lower, upper These terms are applied to chronostratigraphic units (system, series, stage, etc.) to indicate stratigraphic position within the geological column; the terms early and late are used for age. They correspond to early and late as applied to the equivalent geochronological unit, for example: rocks of the Lower Cambrian System formed during the Early Cambrian Period. The current rule is to use lower and upper for informal, loosely defined divisions: lower Paleozoic, upper Paleozoic, lowermost Cambrian, lower Albian, upper Tertiary. Lower and Upper are used for formal, clearly defined divisions: Lower Cambrian, Upper Devonian, Lower Jurassic, Upper Cretaceous. See also BASAL; EARLY, LATE; EARLY, LOWER; LATE, UPPER; MIDDLE. lowland (Capitalized as in St. Lawrence Lowland), lowstand low-lying low-pressure conditions, low-velocity zone low volatile coal See COAL. L-tectonite lustre (not luster) L-wave
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