Which mechanism accelerates stalactite growth on submerged, aerated limestone?

💡 Explanation

Stalactite growth accelerates due to enhanced CO₂ transfer via aerated water; increased CO₂ causes increased carbonic acid formation, thereby increasing limestone dissolution and calcite precipitation. This, rather than reduced supersaturation, promotes faster deposition because CO₂ availability becomes the rate-limiting factor only where aerated pockets form underwater.

• Which outcome occurs when wave energy dissipates unevenly along a coastline featuring alternating headlands and bays?
• Which compositional result can diminish soil during laterization?
• Which risk increases when human-constructed artificial levees constrict floodplain widening during extreme flooding events?
• Which outcome occurs when intense wave action destabilizes beach sediments near a barrier island?
• Which mechanism causes frequent shallow earthquakes along the San Andreas Fault in California?
• Which outcome occurs when gradual 'longshore drift' along a coastline encounters a significant river estuary?