mineraldriven

Mineraldriven refers to processes whose outcomes are primarily controlled by minerals' properties—composition, crystal structure, surface chemistry, and phase behavior. The term emphasizes that minerals, not external agents, govern rate, pathway, and final state of a system. It's used across disciplines to highlight mineral-centered mechanisms.

In geochemistry and sedimentology, mineraldriven processes include precipitation and dissolution controlling porosity, trace-element distribution, and rock transformation. Clay minerals, carbonates, and silicates can steer diagenesis, cementation, and weathering. In soils, mineral surfaces mediate nutrient retention via cation exchange and adsorption, shaping fertility.

In materials science, mineraldriven concepts describe how mineral-like surfaces catalyze reactions, influence crystallization kinetics, or template synthesis of nanomaterials. In planetary science, mineraldriven weathering may affect atmospheric evolution and surface habitability.

Applications and significance: understanding mineraldriven processes aids resource exploration, environmental remediation, soil management, and the design of synthetic minerals and catalysts. It also helps interpret ancient climates and sedimentary records by linking mineralogy to observed geochemical signals.