Carbon Exchange
The exchange of inorganic carbon between the solid earth and the atmosphere in the Portneuf watershed has produced deposits of CaCO3 throughout the system. Known as travertine and tufa, these deposits are formed as a function of the dynamic groundwater and geology of the region. Tufa is known throughout the geologic collective as the soft and porous CaCO3 deposits associated with moving freshwater environments. Travertine is a related deposit separated by the fact that it is associated with thermal waters. Deposition of tufa is complex, involving processes of dissolution, saturation, subsurface transport, emergence and precipitation. Both versions of precipitated CaCO3 are present in the Portneuf watershed. Several very different but related processes control the precipitation of CaCO3 in natural aqueous systems. The chemical processes are driven by the chemical properties of the elements and molecules involved. The physical processes are driven by characteristics of the watershed system (gradient, flow, substrate, groundwater flow properties). The biotic processes are driven by the activities of living organisms.
Read more about this topic: Portneuf River (Idaho), Biogeochemistry of The Portneuf River Watershed
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