saltation

1. (biology) The act of jumping, or hopping, using all legs simultaneously (although the contribution to motion is typically made chiefly by the hind legs).countableuncountable

2. (biology) A sudden change from one generation to the next; a mutation.Examples: "Indeed we have always thought that Mr. Darwin has unnecessarily hampered himself by adhering so strictly to his favourite “Natura non facit saltum.” We greatly suspect that nature does make considerable jumps in the way of variation now and then, and that these saltations give rise to some of the gaps which appear to exist in the series of known forms."countableuncountable

3. (geology, fluid mechanics) The transport of loose particles by a fluid (such as wind or flowing water).Examples: "Of extreme importance in the saltation phenomenon is the vertical distribution of particles, as well as total flux, as functions of the wind speed. The formations of all scales of bed formations, from centimeter-size ripples to kilometer-size dunes, are all due to the saltation process."; "2004, Basil Gomez, Mobile Bed, entry in Andrew Goudie (editor), Encyclopedia of Geomorphology, Volume 2, page 685, Saltation rapidly becomes the dominant type of motion as the flow intensity increases further, and at still higher flow intensities suspension begins to dominate. […] There is also an important difference between the movement of particles by saltation, in air and in water."; "Rolling is thought to account for about 10% of the mass when creep and saltation occur together.[…]The transition from saltation to suspension occurs when the wind speed exceeds about 15 m/s."countableuncountable