Lithification (from the Greek word lithos meaning 'rock' and the Latin-derived suffix -ific) is the process whereby sediments compact under pressure, expel connate fluids, and gradually become solid rock. Essentially, lithification is a process of porosity destruction through compaction and cementation. Lithification includes all the processes which convert unconsolidated sediments into sedimentary rocks. Petrification, though often used as a synonym, is more specifically used to describe the replacement of organic material by minerals in the formation of fossils. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Sediment is any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bed or bottom of a body of water or other liquid. ... The use of water pressure - the Captain Cook Memorial Jet in Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra. ... The term connate fluids in the context of geology, and of sedimentology in particular, refers to the liquids that fill the pore-space of sedimentary rocks. ... Used in geology, building science and hydrogeology, the porosity of a porous medium (such as rock or sediment) is the proportion of the non-solid volume to the total volume of material, and is defined by the ratio: where Vp is the non-solid volume (pores and liquid) and Vm... In geology, cementation is the process of deposition of dissolved mineral components in the interstices of sediments. ... Two types of sedimentary rock: limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... In geology, petrifaction or petrification is the process by which organic material is converted into stone or a similar substance. ... Benzene An organic compound is any member of a large class of chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon, with the exception of carbides, carbonates, carbon oxides and elementary carbon. ... Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ... An ammonite fossil Fossils (from Latin fossus, literally having been dug up) are the mineralized or otherwise preserved remains or traces (such as footprints) of animals, plants, and other organisms. ...

See also

• Diagenesis

school In geology, diagenesis refers to all the chemical, physical, and biological changes undergone by a sediment after its initial deposition and during and after its lithification, exclusive of surface alteration (weathering). ...