Surface chemistry, etch pits and mineral-water reactions

The role of surface chemistry and defects in the formation of etch pits in minerals is analyzed. Elastic properties, surface free energies, and dislocation characteristics are incorporated into a theory which predicts the outcome of dislocation-controlled dissolution for a variety of free energies of reaction with aqueous solutions. The influence of the core regions of dislocations on the etch pit formation is also developed. The predictions of the analytic theory are compared with the situations to be expected in natural solutions. Finally, the powerful Monte Carlo method is introduced as a means to study mineral dissolution. The method enables a close scrutiny of the simplified analytic theory and significantly extends it.