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Chemical Alteration

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Encyclopedia of Geoarchaeology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definitions

Authigenic minerals: Minerals forming in situ within sediments.

Chemical equilibrium: The state of a chemical reaction where the concentration of reactants and products is constant.

Cementation: Formation of new minerals that fill the pore spaces within a sediment.

Diagenesis: All of the processes that act to modify sediments after deposition.

Dissolution: Removal in solution of all or part of previously existing mineral.

Oxidation-reduction (redox): All reactions that involve changes in the oxidation number. Some oxidation reactions can be described as the combination of a substance with oxygen.

pH: A measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. The mathematical definition of this is the negative decimal logarithm of the concentration of the hydronium cation (H3O+) in a solution.

Recrystallization: Change in size or shape of a crystal of a given mineral with no change in its chemical composition or mineralogy.

Saturation: The point at which a solution of a...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ephoreia of Palaeoanthropology & Speleology of Southern Greece, Ardittou 34b, Athens, 11636, Greece

    Panagiotis Karkanas

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  1. Panagiotis Karkanas
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Correspondence to Panagiotis Karkanas .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fordham University, Bronx, NY, USA

    Allan S. Gilbert

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Karkanas, P. (2017). Chemical Alteration. In: Gilbert, A.S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geoarchaeology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4409-0_126

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