Calcite particulate material

Recent measurements of calcium and alkalinity in the ocean above the calcite saturation horizon (Milliman et ai, 1999 Chen, 2002) suggest dissolution in supersaturated waters. The proposed mechanisms are variations of the organic matter driven CaC03 dissolution mechanism. In these cases the authors suggest that microenvironments in falling particulate material (Milliman et al., 1999) or anerobic dissolution in sediments of the continental shelves and marginal seas (Chen, 2002) are locations of CaC03 dissolution. As the details and accuracy of measurements improve, thermodynamic and kinetic mechanisms required to interpret the results become more and more complex. 

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