What is "overlying"

Usage examples of "overlying".

Drag sufficed to outdo the wind, and it crunched through the overlying glaze of ice.

Once the drill reaches the oil reservoir, the oil is driven to the surface by the action of an overlying "gas cap," gases dissolved in the oil, underlying water, or, on rare occasions, gravity.

Or the oil in a trap may be tapped by a joint (a crack) or a fault in the overlying rock.

If the overlying rock is impermeable, it will seal off both the top and the flanks of the sandstone, resulting in a viable "pinch-out" oil trap.

Plenty of sunlight is transmitted by the overlying clouds, about as much as on an overcast day on the Earth.

The blue places are apparently deep holes in the overlying clouds through which we see clear sky.

Suffering alternate absorption and emission by the overlying matter, gradually working its way toward the surface of the star, losing energy at every step, the photon’s epic journey takes a million years until, as visible light, it reaches the surface and is radiated to space.

His tough overlying guard hairs were much darker, nearly black on his rump and flanks, but shading to a deep brown flecked with crimson on his forequarters.

As soon as the faintest ray of light reaches a seedling, heliotropism will guide it through any crack in the soil, or through an entangled mass of overlying vegetation.

Standing, she tested other areas, pressing her fingers into the layer of ash overlying the previously steaming rivulet.

It seemed to him that the only explanation must be that air was pressing down the water in a pump-tube, so when the weight of water lifted matched the weight of the overlying air, it would rise no further.