Chatter Mark

chatter mark, small, curved fracture found on glaciated rock surfaces. Chatter marks are commonly 1–5 centimetres (¹/₂–2 inches) but may be submicroscopic or as much as 50 cm in length. They occur mainly on hard, brittle rocks such as granite and are formed under a glacier by the pressure and impact of boulders moved along by irregular rolling or sliding. The resulting pattern of impacts has been likened to the “chatter” of a carpenter’s chisel slipping along the surface of a piece of wood. Chatter marks are commonly arranged in nested series, with the orientation of the fractures at right angles to the direction of glacial movement. Three main types are recognized: the crescentic gouge, which is concave upstream and is made by the removal of a chip of rock; the crescentic fracture, which is concave downstream and also made by the removal of rock; and the lunate fracture, which is also concave downstream but without the removal of rock. Chatter marks in a series commonly decrease in size downstream.