Transport and Reactions in Rocks

Abstract

In this chapter we focus on processes that take place when water flows through a mineral fabric and alters it in some manner. The mineralogy alterations (metamorphism) are caused by an interaction between dissolved particles in water and the solid mineral through which the water is flowing. The interactions can be physical or chemical, and they often lead to significant porosity changes in the domain. One type of interaction is cementation, where solid material is deposited at the pore boundaries, and another process is dissolution, where solid material is carried away by the liquid. Replacement reactions substitute one mineral for another on the surface of the fabric, often with an accompanying change of volume and density. Such processes, which occur on a geologic time scale, lead to the formation of caverns, the deposition of ore deposits and other minerals, and other natural geological structures. Physically, these processes are described in great detail in the hydrogeological literature [for example, see Phillips (1991) or Berner (1971)].