A speleoseismite is a damaged

speleothem A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation made by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depen ...

(cave deposit) argued to have been deformed by a

seismic Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes (or generally, quakes) and the generation and propagation of elastic ...

event (an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

). Speleoseismites can include severed

stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; ; ) is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically composed of calcium carbonate, but may consist ...

s (those growing from the floor), fallen

stalactite A stalactite (, ; , ) is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble and that can be deposited as a colloid, or is in suspension (chemistry ...

s (those growing from the ceiling of caves), collapsed cave ceilings, tilted speleothems, change in growth axis of speleothems, stalactite-stalagmite pair displaced from one another and others. These

seismite {{Earthquakes Seismites are sedimentary beds and structures deformed by seismic shaking. The German paleontologist Adolf Seilacher first used the term in 1969 to describe earthquake-deformed layers. Today, the term is applied to both sedimentar ...

s can be used in

paleoseismological Paleoseismology is the study of ancient Earthquake, earthquakes using geologic evidence, such as geologic Sediment, sediments and Rock (geology), rocks. It is used to supplement Seismology, seismic monitoring to calculate seismic hazard. Paleose ...

studies of ancient earthquakes.

References

* ''Kagan, E.J., Agnon, A., Bar-Matthews, M., Ayalon, A., 2005, Dating large, infrequent earthquakes by damaged cave deposits. Geology, v. 33; no. 4; p. 261-264.'' * ''Gilli, E., Levret, A., Sollogoub, P., and Delange, P., 1999, Research on the February 18, 1996 earthquake in the caves of Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet area, (eastern Pyrenees, France): Geodinamica Acta, v. 12, p. 143.'' Speleothems {{geology-stub