Formed or produced in place within a rock through local chemical precipitation, rather than transported from another source.
From Greek 'autos' (self) + 'genic' (produced, generated). The most common form in modern geological literature, solidified as the standard terminology.
Geologists use 'authigenic' to unlock stories in sedimentary rocks—finding authigenic minerals helps them reconstruct ancient climates, ocean salinity, and even past microbial activity.
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