mudstone

noun mud·stone \ -ˌstōn \

|Updated on: 6 Jul 2018

Definition of mudstone

: an indurated shale produced by the consolidation of mud

Recent Examples of mudstone from the Web

Everything else told them that the lake environment in which the mudstones formed 3 billion years ago would have been a likely place for life to exist.

— eric berger, Ars Technica, "Finally, scientists have found intriguing organic molecules on Mars," 7 June 2018
The mudstone samples analyzed by Curiosity came from Confidence Hill and Mojave, two sites near the base of Mount Sharp in Gale crater.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "Chasing Signs of Life, Curiosity Rover Discovers Organic Building Blocks on Mars," 7 June 2018
Searching for life beyond Earth means searching for organic compounds (like the organic matter in the mudstone) and molecules (methane is considered the simplest organic molecule).

— doug criss, CNN, "5 things for June 8: Trump summits, leak probe, migrants, suicides, Mars," 8 June 2018
The rover began exploring an iron-rich ridge, leaving the mudstone behind.

— paul voosen, Science | AAAS, "NASA rover hits organic pay dirt on Mars," 7 June 2018
Curiosity drilled samples of mudstone in a region that is thought to have been a lake about three and a half billion years ago.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "Chasing Signs of Life, Curiosity Rover Discovers Organic Building Blocks on Mars," 7 June 2018
In a related finding also published in Science Thursday, space agency scientists said that the Curiosity rover found organic molecules contained in samples of three-billion-year-old mudstone on Mars.

— robert lee hotz, WSJ, "Mars Rover Curiosity Finds More Clues to the Potential for Life," 7 June 2018
After more than four decades of searching for organic molecules on the surface of Mars, scientists have conclusively found them in mudstones on the lower slopes of Mount Sharp.

— eric berger, Ars Technica, "Finally, scientists have found intriguing organic molecules on Mars," 7 June 2018
After carefully accounting for background contamination from SAM, Freissinet and her colleagues baked 3-billion-year-old mudstone samples at over 500 degrees C, a temperature at which perchlorates should have fully burned away.

— adam mann, Scientific American, "Curiosity Rover Uncovers Long-Sought Organic Materials on Martian Surface," 7 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mudstone.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.