An atomic force microscopy study of calcite dissolution in seawater

We present the first examination of calcite dissolution in seawater using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). We quantify step retreat velocity and etch pit density to compare dissolution in seawater to low ionic strength water, and also to compare calcite dissolution under AFM conditions to those conducted in bulk solution experiments (e.g. Subhas et al., 2015, Dong et al., 2018). Bulk dissolution rates and step retreat velocities are slower at high and mid-saturation state (Ω) values and become comparable to low ionic strength water rates at low Ω. The onset of defect-assisted etch pit formation in seawater is at Ω ∼ 0.85 (defined as Ωcritical), higher than in low ionic strength water (Ω ∼ 0.54). There is an abrupt increase in etch pit density (from ∼106 cm−2 to ∼108 cm−2) occurring when Ω falls below 0.7 in seawater, compared to Ω ∼ 0.1 in low ionic strength water, suggesting a transition from defect-assisted dissolution to homogeneous dissolution much closer to equilibrium in seawater. The step retreat velocity (v) does not scale linearly with undersaturation (1-Ω) across an Ω range of 0.4 to 0.9 in seawater, potentially indicating a high order correlation between kink rate and Ω for non-Kossel crystals such as calcite, or surface complexation processes during calcite dissolution in seawater.