Abstract: Evaporation of silica-rich geothermal waters is one of the main abiotic drivers of the formation of silica sinters around hot springs. An important role in sinter structural development is also played by the indigenous microbial communities, which are fossilized and eventually encased in the silica matrix. The combination of these two factors results in a wide variety of sinter structures and fabrics. Despite this, no previous experimental fossilization studies have focused on evaporative-driven silica precipitation. We present here the results...
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Topics: 
Chemical engineering
Mineralogy