What is an authigenic mineral?

Authigenic minerals. Minerals that are formed in sediment or a sedimen- tary rock. Their in-place origin distinguishes them from minerals that are formed elsewhere and trans- ported to the site of deposition (detrital minerals). Authigenic minerals form at the Earth’s surface as well as during subsequent burial.

Where do authigenic sediments grow?

Authigenic (or Hydrogenous) Sediments: Precipitates from seawater or from interstitial water. Also products of alteration during early chemical reactions within freshly deposited sediment.

What minerals are detrital?

Detrital minerals, such as grains of quartz and feldspar, survive weathering and are transported to the depositional site as clasts. Authigenic minerals, like calcite, halite, and gypsum, form in situ within the depositional site in response to geochemical processes.

What is Authigenesis geology?

Authigenesis refers to processes by which minerals form, in place, within sediments and sedimentary rocks. Such minerals are referred to as authigenic minerals. In contrast, detrital minerals are erosion products deposited in the depositional environment.

What is an example of authigenic sediment?

Authigenic sediment, deep-sea sediment that has been formed in place on the seafloor. The most significant authigenic sediments in modern ocean basins are metal-rich sediments and manganese nodules. Metal-rich sediments include those enriched by iron, manganese, copper, chromium, and lead.

What are Cosmogenous sediments sources?

Cosmogenous sediment is derived from extraterrestrial sources, and comes in two primary forms; microscopic spherules and larger meteor debris. These high impact collisions eject particles into the atmosphere that eventually settle back down to Earth and contribute to the sediments.

What are the 4 types of marine sediments?

There are four types: lithogenous, hydrogenous, biogenous and cosmogenous. Lithogenous sediments come from land via rivers, ice, wind and other processes. Biogenous sediments come from organisms like plankton when their exoskeletons break down.

What is the most common detrital sedimentary rock?

What minerals are most common in detrital sedimentary rocks? The most abundant detrital minerals in sediments are quartz and clays. Quartz is an abundant mineral in many rocks. It resists cracking and mechanical weathering and is resistant to solution and decomposition from chemical weathering.

What is the meaning of diagenesis?

Diagenesis, sum of all processes, chiefly chemical, by which changes in a sediment are brought about after its deposition but before its final lithification (conversion to rock). An example of diagenesis is the chemical alteration of a feldspar to form a distinctly new mineral in its place, a clay mineral.

What is the meaning of detrital?

1. adj. [Geology] Pertaining to particles of rock derived from the mechanical breakdown of preexisting rocks by weathering and erosion.

What are biogenic sediments?

Biogenic ooze, also called biogenic sediment, any pelagic sediment that contains more than 30 percent skeletal material. These sediments can be made up of either carbonate (or calcareous) ooze or siliceous ooze. Siliceous oozes are more reliable indicators of high productivity than carbonate oozes.

Where are authigenic minerals found in the sediments?

The formation of various authigenic minerals, primarily dolomite, has been described in the lacustrine and fluvio-lacustrine Miocene sediments of the Madrid and Duero Basins.

Why is authigenic phosphorus important to marine sediments?

As burial with sediments is the sole process by which phosphorus is removed from the ocean, formation of authigenic phosphorus minerals plays an important role in setting the oceanic phosphorus residence time. Because of its low abundance in most marine sediments, determination of the mineralogy of sedimentary phosphorus is a challenging endeavor.

How does authigenic calcite form in the ocean?

Authigenic calcite is widespread in the ocean and forms mostly from biogenic calcite recrystallization as well as being geochemically distinct in its minor and trace element concentrations from its precursor. This recrystallization process ultimately transforms calcareous ooze into chalk and limestone.