b y - n c : L e o R e y n o l d s Calcite Photo courtesy Robert Sawin, KGS
Dec 24, 2015
by-nc: L
eo R
eyno
lds
Calcite
Pho
to c
our
tesy
Ro
be
rt S
aw
in,
KG
S
Coral and other organisms use
calcite to construct their hard parts.
Eug
en
e W
eb
er ©
Califo
rnia A
cade
my of S
cience
sE
uge
ne
We
be
r ©
Cal
iforn
ia A
cade
my
of S
cien
ces
E. E
ug
enia
Patte
n, ©
CA
Aca
de
my o
f Scie
nces
A colorful seashell, coneshell, in a few of the beautiful colors of calcite and aragonite.
NO
AA
/Do
CN
OA
A/D
oC
Brain coral and sea fans use calcite.
NO
AA
/Do
CN
OA
A/D
oC
NO
AA
/Do
C
These calcite pieces, the hard-part remains of organisms, may wash up on a shore and get picked up by a
human, or they may fall to the bottom of the ocean where they will form the
limestone of the future.
EP
AN
AS
A G
FC
Jerr
y P
rezi
oso
, N
OA
A/D
oC
These are microscopic plankton and coccoliths, all calcite-bodied creatures. After they die, their remains falls to the ocean floor, or are dissolved, and eventually help create limestone.
(credit: )
© M
arli M
iller (E
arth
Scie
nce
Wo
rld Im
ag
e B
an
k)
Travertine deposits near a hot spring. Standing here at Yellowstone in Wyoming, you could almost watch the travertine (calcite) precipitate out of the hot water as it evaporates.
Calcite is easily dissolved in water. This dissolution creates caves and makes water hard. When that water evaporates, the calcite minerals come out of the water to form a solid such as speleothems in caves, travertine near springs, or hard water scum in your bathtub.
Calcite speleothems:
US
GS
Travertine (calcite) draperies in Mitchell Caverns.
Wind
Cave
/NP
SW
ind
Cav
e/N
PS
helictite bush aragonite
frostwork
calcite popcorn
La
Cro
sse/US
FW
S
This river in northeast Iowa is edged with limestone cliffs, formed in an ocean hundreds of millions of years ago.
US
GS
This homeowner in Florida has a sinkhole in her yard due to the dissolution of the limestone bedrock below.
The White Cliffs of Dover, in southeast England. The cliffs are chalk, which is made of microscopic calcitic plankton.
pu
blic
do
ma
in
Chalkboard chalk originally was made from pure calcite “chalk”, but now is mixed with other
minerals.
by-
nc-n
d: M
oni
ka H
oin
kis
by-nc-n
d: R
yan O
zaw
aby-
nd:
Ma
tt M
cGe
e
by-nc: L
indle
y Ash
line
Michelangelo's Pieta is made of marble.
Marble is a popular sculpture material made
of metamorphosed carbonate.
Marble exposed to rain can disintegrate, either
by the acidic water dissolving the calcite ions, or by physical
freeze-thaw weathering.
pu
blic
do
ma
in
http://ww
w.w
indows.ucar.edu
limestone = a carbonate sedimentary rock made of the mineral calcite
marble = any metamorphic rock that is made up of recrystallized minerals of calcite and/or dolomite
Wait: Calcite? Limestone? Carbonate? Marble?
calcite = mineral calcium carbonate
chemical formula: CaCO3
by-
nc-s
a: m
tch
m
carbonate = generic name for any sedimentary rock that is made of deposited carbonate (CO3) minerals, like limestone or dolomite rock
US
GS
The Washington monument is made of several different types of marble. Marble is carbonate that was subjected to heat or pressure, or metamorphosed, while buried deep in the earth.
After blocks are cut out of the rock and into the desired shape, they are shipped from the quarries to the construction site by railroad.
Carbonates are very popular building stones.
Pho
to c
our
tesy
Gra
ce M
uile
nb
urg
, K
GS
© 2
006
VA
Dep
artm
en
t of Ga
me
and
Inla
nd F
isherie
s
Here, 150 tons of limestone dust are added to Laurel Bed Lake to improve pH.
Calcite calms our acidic stomachs.
by-
nc-s
a: T
om
Ma
glie
ryb
y-nc: Roa
dsid
epictu
res
from the January 1939 Popular Science by-nc-sa: Todd Ehlers
by-sa
: ho
bvias sud
on
eigh
m
Calcium is an important dietary mineral, but the mineral carbonate forms are not absorbed by the human body.
Make sure your dietary supplements are from a food (not a rock) source!
by-
nc-n
d: K
eith
Da
venp
ort
by-
nc-s
a: L
ast
aii
by-nc-sa
: Ala
n P
en
ner
Water with dissolved carbonate in it,
usually groundwater from carbonate
aquifers, is known as hard water.
Hard water can be
improved by “water softening” treatment.
Hard water causes “scaling”.
by-
nc:
Nof
ole
te /
Da
ne L
ars
en
by-
nc:
Dan
e L
arse
nb
y-nc
-sa
: sp
ike
551
51
Carbonates, like calcite,
are added to animal feed.
by-
nc-n
d: M
aur
y M
cCo
wn
by-sa
: Pete
r Hu
ysb
y-sa: re
djarb
y-nc
: Ja
ne C
ockm
an
Carbonate is used as a flux for metallurgy. A flux is a material that melts easily and can be used to remove impurities from metal ores, or that makes the slag produced by metal ore smelting more fluid.
by-
sa:
Sou
the
rn_
Co
mfo
rtb
y-nc-sa: B
BC
olin
Carbonates condition soils for home
gardening.
by-nc-sa
: Sa
rah S
eren
dip
ityby:
Ed
itor
B
by-nc-sa
: ed
ge
plot
by-
nc-n
d: ~
Livi
ng
the
Am
eri
can
Dre
am~
by-
nc-s
a: e
wa
nrb
y-sa: C
hrischa
ng
Carbonate minerals are important to plants. Calcium, from calcite, is utilized by cells in building their cell walls.
Powdered fertilizer is spread on farm fields.
Carbon dioxide from the air, and not
carbonate from rocks, are the main building
blocks of plant life.
Live plants underwater also need fertilizer.
by:
Ku
mo
n
Carbonate is manufactured into a powdered lime, which is combined with water to form plaster, mortar, and cement.
Plaster is used on walls and in art
Mortar holds bricks together.
Cement and rocks make concrete.
GN
U
by: A
lan
Levin
e
by-nc-n
d: O
liver E
lser &
And
rea
s Mu
hsC
VC
/ A
rch
itect
of
the
Cap
itol
OS
HA
Casca
de
s Job
Co
rps C
en
ter/US
Do
L
CD
C
Carbonates are in concrete as the cement and as rocks. In these pictures concrete masons put the smooth finish on a concrete floor.
by-sa
: Beig
e A
lert
Many buildings and sculptures are made of carbonate, both stone and concrete. We use a great deal of calcite and dolomite in building the hard parts
of our society.
Concrete
Carbonate stone
by: Jo
nn
y200
5
by-nc: ja
ben
aki
by-nc-sa
: nzn
om
ad
by-nc: A
ndre
a K
irkby
by-
nc:
Ada
m H
en
nin
g
FH
A/U
S D
OT
Cal
tra
n
Think of all the roads you have ever been on: carbonates make them all possible.
MN
DO
T
by-nc: L
eo R
eyno
lds
Calcite
Pho
to c
our
tesy
Ro
be
rt S
aw
in,
KG
S
media rights
Many of the photos in this presentation were obtained through Flickr and Wikipedia.
Funded by FIPSE and by the University of Minnesota. Compiled for Dr. Kent Kirkby, Department of Geology and Geophysics, by Kate Rosok, 2007. Each displayed image
retains its original media rights. For educational purposes only; not to be used commercially.
public domain (none)
© Copyright. All rights reserved
by-nc-sa
by
by-nd
by-sa
by-nc-ndCre
ativ
e C
omm
ons
Lice
nses
GNU GNU Free Documentation License
Our notation description