Diagenesis is the suite of physical, chemical, and biological processes that alter unconsolidated sediments after deposition and during and after lithification, excluding surface weathering and high-grade metamorphism. It encompasses compaction, cementation, dissolution, recrystallization, authigenic mineral formation, and fluid–rock interaction within low-temperature and low-pressure regimes of the upper crust. Diagenetic reactions modify porosity, permeability, mineralogy, and geochemical signatures, critically influencing reservoir quality, basin evolution, and the preservation or alteration of primary paleoenvironmental and paleoecological signals. Diagenetic pathways are controlled by factors such as sediment composition, burial history, pore-fluid chemistry, redox conditions, and thermal gradients.
Over the last 3,800 years, agro-pastoral activities have accelerated alpine soil erosion at a pace four to 10 times faster than their natural formation. The history of this erosion has just been revealed for the first time ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 14, 2025
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