The kinetics of the vaterite-aragonite transformation in aqueous solution were studied to determine the factors involved in aragonite formation. The reaction involved the solution and equilibration of vaterite and subsequent nucleation and growth of aragonite. Extent of reaction was monitored by time-lapse photography. The effect of various geologically common ions was studied. Sulfate is a strong inhibitor of aragonite formation, while magnesium is weakly so. Strontium catalizes aragonite formation in solutions in which strontianite is supersaturated. Ionic strength catalizes aragonite formation. The predominance of either aragonite or calcite in natural environments is determined primarily by magnesium ion content.
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James L. Bischoff (1968) studied this question.