Definition
Epigenesis is a term derived from the Greek (epi+genesis = after formation) that is primarily used to describe a geological process involving the addition, modification, and/or removal of minerals from a rock subsequent to its formation. It typically refers to a metasomatic process that has, as well as transforming the mineral assemblage, modified the chemical composition and even textural properties of the bulk rock via the addition or removal of elements. The term may be applied in geomorphology to the formation of glacial valleys, in soil science to soil formation, and in sedimentology to the process of formation of a mineral, texture, or structure subsequent to compaction – thus partly synonymous with diagenesis. However, it is most commonly used in geochemistry in relation to the formation of mineral deposits – in particular those formed from hydrothermal solutions such as sediment-hosted mineral deposits (Brown 2014; Ramanaidou and Wells 2014; Wilkinson 2014) and...
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Wilkinson, J.J. (2018). Epigenesis. In: White, W.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39312-4_97
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39312-4_97
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