Calcite dissolution rate spectra measured by in situ digital holographic microscopy

Digital holographic microscopy in reflection mode is used to track in situ, real-time nanoscale topography evolution of cleaved (104) calcite surfaces exposed to flowing or static deionized water. The method captures full-field holograms of the surface at frame rates of up to 12.5 s−1. Numerical reconstruction provides 3D surface topography with vertical resolution of a few nanometers and enables measurement of time-dependent local dissolution fluxes. A statistical distribution, or spectrum, of dissolution rates is generated by sampling multiple area domains on multiple crystals. The data show, as has been demonstrated by Fischer et al. (2012), that dissolution is most fully described by a rate spectrum, although the modal dissolution rate agrees well with published mean dissolution rates (e.g., 0.1 μmol m−2 s−1 to 0.3 μmol m−2 s−1). Rhombohedral etch pits and other morphological features resulting from rapid local dissolution appear at different times and are heterogeneously distributed across the surface and through the depth. This makes the distribution in rates measured on a single crystal dependent both on the sample observation field size and on time, even at nominally constant undersaturation. Statistical analysis of the inherent noise in the DHM measurements indicates that the technique is robust and that it likely can be applied to quantify and interpret rate spectra for the dissolution or growth of other minerals.