Use of rock tablet method to measure rock weathering and landscape denudation

Dissolution of Carbonate Rocks in a Laboratory Setting: Rates and Textures

“…The major field-based methods for measuring the dissolution rates of carbonate rocks typically depend on: (1) Using limestone tables and measuring chances in mass (e.g., [13,14]); (2) using some sort of karrentisch/pedestals/differential weathering to physically measure landscape lowering (e.g., [4,15]); (3) hydrochemical analysis of watersheds to measure the makeup of discharging waters (e.g., [3][4][5]); or (4) microerosion meters to physically measure landscape lowering (e.g., [15,16]).…”

“…One of the most commonly used methods for observing the changes in mass of a sample is that proposed by Trudgill [13], which involved making a polished disc of rock which is placed in a dissolutional environment and then removed at some future date and weighed again to determine the amount of material dissolved (e.g., [3,4,14,15,17]). This method of measuring dissolution from a table has been applied extensively in cave settings, streams, and in soils (e.g., [3,4,14,15]). This method excels in that it places the rock sample in a more authentic dissolutional environment than the lab setting, albeit one at least somewhat altered to get the sample emplaced there [4,14,15].…”

“…This method of measuring dissolution from a table has been applied extensively in cave settings, streams, and in soils (e.g., [3,4,14,15]). This method excels in that it places the rock sample in a more authentic dissolutional environment than the lab setting, albeit one at least somewhat altered to get the sample emplaced there [4,14,15]. The longer a sample is in place the more representative the dissolution rate becomes as climatic conditions begin to average out over time [4,14,15,17].…”

“…This method excels in that it places the rock sample in a more authentic dissolutional environment than the lab setting, albeit one at least somewhat altered to get the sample emplaced there [4,14,15]. The longer a sample is in place the more representative the dissolution rate becomes as climatic conditions begin to average out over time [4,14,15,17]. This method's weaknesses are the time it takes to process a sample, ensuring uniform sample characteristics (e.g., density, size, smoothness), and ensuring even/equal treatment of the samples through the entire process [4,14,15,17] The use of karrentisch/pedestals/differential weathering to measure limestone dissolution is simple as it only requires a direct measurement of the surface relative to a benchmark feature, be that a resistant mineral (e.g., quartz vein), a cap rock, or an anthropogenic feature [3,4,15, and references therein].…”

“…The longer a sample is in place the more representative the dissolution rate becomes as climatic conditions begin to average out over time [4,14,15,17]. This method's weaknesses are the time it takes to process a sample, ensuring uniform sample characteristics (e.g., density, size, smoothness), and ensuring even/equal treatment of the samples through the entire process [4,14,15,17] The use of karrentisch/pedestals/differential weathering to measure limestone dissolution is simple as it only requires a direct measurement of the surface relative to a benchmark feature, be that a resistant mineral (e.g., quartz vein), a cap rock, or an anthropogenic feature [3,4,15, and references therein]. These methods can be used over short time scales (decades-centuries) if using anthropogenic features as the benchmark, or millennia if relative to a different rock/lithology or in regions where other direct methods would be difficult [4,15].…”