ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors discuss features of limestone solution data sets at the local, basin and global scales. But before doing so, they introduce a new feature into analytical reviews of this kind by considering the converse of limestone solution, i.e. calcite precipitation that occurs at sites within the karst cascading system or basin. Spatial and temporal variations in erosion rates within a metastable phase are greatly dependent upon the space- and timescales considered. At the microscopic scale, the rates of solution of the various shell fragments in a magnesian calcite are different, depending upon their particular mineralogy. Karst erosion rates can only be estimated at particular scales of area and time, and they may be estimated directly or indirectly. Even within Canada, annual runoff in karst regions varies from over 3000 mm in parts of Vancouver Island to less than 25 mm in southern Alberta – a factor of 120.
