Factors controlling carbonate dissolution rates quantified in a field test in the Austrian alps

A mass balance, using high-resolution hydrological data, was calculated for the Kläffer Spring, which has an average outflow of 4.8 m3/s. It indicated a loss of 21×106 kg of carbonate rock per year which gives an average dissolution rate of 95 μm/a for the catchment area of 83 km2. The dissolution rates of ∼10 μm/a from the sub-aerially exposed samples are comparable to values from limestone pedestals, which were protected from dissolution by glacial erratics for the past 15 ka.