title: Dynamics of precipitation pattern formation at geothermal hot springs.
abstract: We formulate and model the dynamics of spatial patterns arising during the precipitation of calcium carbonate from a supersaturated shallow water flow. The model describes the formation of travertine deposits at geothermal hot springs and rimstone dams of calcite in caves. We find explicit solutions for travertine domes at low flow rates, identify the linear instabilities which generate dam and pond formation on sloped substrates, and present simulations of statistical landscape evolution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Loomis Laboratory of Physics, Urbana, Illinois 61801-3080, USA.
authors.forename: Nigel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Goldenfeld
authors.forename: Pak Yuen
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Veysey