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Carbonate Minerals and the CO2-Carbonic Acid System

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Encyclopedia of Geochemistry

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition

Carbonic acid, H2CO3, forms from the dissolution of CO2 in water and plays a key role in weathering, biological production, formation and deposition of sediments, and the carbon cycle. Carbonate minerals, primarily calcite, aragonite, and dolomite precipitating from these solutions, constitute the second most abundant class of sedimentary rocks.

Introduction

Carbonate rocks, consisting mainly of the minerals calcite (CaCO3) and dolomite [CaMg(CO3)2], are the second most abundant class of sedimentary rocks , after terrigenous clastics, on land and on the ocean floor. The widespread occurrence of carbonate rocks in the geologic record is attributable to the following factors:

  1. 1.

    CO2 gas has a relatively high solubility in water, higher than molecular oxygen and nitrogen.

  2. 2.

    CO2 hydrolyzes in water, making the bicarbonate and carbonate anions (discussed in more detail in section “CO2-Carbonic Acid-Carbonate System and Seawater”) that react with divalent and monovalent metals.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by NOAA Hawaii Sea Grant, School of Earth and Ocean Science and Technology, University of Hawaii, and by Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University. We thank Mr. Noah Howins, University of Hawaii, for help with the compilation of references cited.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208-3130, USA

    Abraham Lerman

  2. Department of Oceanography, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA

    Fred T. Mackenzie

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  1. Department of Earth, Cornell University Department of Earth, Ithaca, New York, USA

    William M. White

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Lerman, A., Mackenzie, F.T. (2016). Carbonate Minerals and the CO2-Carbonic Acid System. In: White, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39193-9_84-1

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