The dissolution of calcite in acid waters: mass transport versus surface control

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Abstract
SUMMARY. 1. A new experimental method for the study of kinetics and mechanism of reactions at the solid‐liquid interface has shown that the dissolution of calcite in acidic waters is, under conditions of high mass transport, controlled by the first order heterogeneous reaction of H+ at the interface and not by diffusion as previously thought.2. The implications of this for lake liming strategies (aimed at countering the effects of ‘acid rain’) are significant in that under typical liming conditions, the rate of calcite dissolution will be surface controlled and consequently appreciably slower than previously considered.