Growth and characterization of complex mineral surfaces

Abstract

Precipitation of mineral aggregates near the Earth's surface or in subsurface fractures and cavities often produces complex microstructures and surface morphologies. Here we demonstrate how a simple surface normal growth (SNG) process may produce microstructures and surface morphologies very similar to those observed in some natural carbonate systems. A simple SNG model was used to fit observed surfaces, thus providing information about the growth history and also about the frequency and spatial distribution of nucleation events during growth. The SNG model can be extended to systems in which the symmetry of precipitation is broken, for example by fluid flow. We show how a simple modification of the SNG model in which the local growth rate depends on the distance from a fluid source and the local slope or fluid flow rate, produces growth structures with many similarities to natural travertine deposits.