Karst_Formation

Karst Formation Florida Karst Formation: A Geochemistry Profile Abstract Florida is a perfect environment for karst formation. In most parts of the state limestone, CaCO3, and other carbonates constituent a majority of the subsurface rock. This formation is the remnant of ocean sediments uplifted from the ancient sea. There are other reactants in the dissolution equation though. Liquid water, H2O, serves dual purposes in karst formation. It is a transport and solvent, that picks up and moves away the dissolved limestone. The other major reactant is carbon dioxide, CO2, which together with water forms carbonic acid, H2CO3. This moderately weak acid, pH=4.2 in a 0.01m solution, will travel through the limestone pore space and dissolve it until the solution reaches saturation. The result is a karst structure. In Florida karst depressions, such as sinkholes, are found have a distribution density of just over 6 depressions per kilometer. The Florida Everglades provide ample water and decaying vegetable matter to fuel the reaction forwards infinitely with carbonic acid. Introduction There are many kinds of karst landforms, such as sinkholes, caves, disappearing streams, springs, and underground drainage systems, all of which are common occurrences in Florida. Karst is a general term referring to terrain produced by erosion, associated with water, limestone, karst, florida, through, rocks, co2, acidic, acid, solution, dissolution, caco3, underground, rock, rain, ocean, h2o, formation, dioxide, decaying, common, carbonic, carbonate, carbon, weak, waters, two, transport, systems, system, structure, state, springs, space, sinkholes, reaction