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← GeographyWhich outcome occurs when groundwater's calcium bicarbonate saturation decreases?
A)Rapid speleothem dissolution accelerates erosion✓
B)Stalactite formation rate increases significantly
C)Increased acidity reduces calcite precipitation
D)Enhanced dissolution transports sediment faster
💡 Explanation
Decreased saturation leads to dissolution; reduced dissolved calcium levels cause existing cave formations (speleothems) to dissolve due to reversing the precipitation equilibrium because the saturation index drives mass transfer. Therefore, speleothem dissolution accelerates erosion, rather than precipitation, under these desaturated conditions.
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