Chert is a sedimentary rock mainly consisting of micro- or cryptocrystalline (=submicroscopic) quartz (SiO2) varieties.
Cherts often have an “indirect” biogenic origin as they result from re-precipitation of dissolved opal-A shells derived from microorganisms such as diatoms (diatomite , diatomaceous cherts, see also entry “ Diatoms ”) and radiolarians (radiolarite , see also entry “ Protozoa (Heterotroph, Eukaryotic) ”). Postsedimentary dissolution of these shells leads to the accumulation of silica-rich fluids within pore waters, thus, inducing precipitation of metastable cristobalite , also known as opal-CT (Konhauser, 2007). Opal-CT may, under increasing temperatures and pressures, be converted into stable quartz. Chert may also originate from microbial silification, and it may form, with or without microbial mediation, in hydrothermal environments (Konhauser et al., 2004; Jones et al., 2004, see also entries “ Sinter ” and “ Hot Springs and Geysers ”). Depending on the content of...
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Thiel, V. (2011). Cherts. In: Reitner, J., Thiel, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geobiology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9212-1_54
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