SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR NATURAL WATER CHEMISTRY
Hydrophobic organic acids cause dramatic inhibitory effects on calcite growth
kinetics. Acids collected from localities only a few miles apart have measurably
different inhibiting abilities related to their chemical properties.
This work illustrates that kinetic effects induced by spatially-variable,
naturally-occurring growth inhibitors should be considered when attempting to
understand chemical processes associated with periphyton and the inorganic deposition
of calcitic muds in the Everglades.
The significant effect of organic acids on calcite growth kinetics suggests that
organic/inorganic interactions should be considered as an important parameter when
modeling interactions of minerals with natural waters.
