Calcium Sources in Water are mostly Calcium Carbonate
Calcium occurs in water naturally. Seawater contains approximately 400 ppm calcium.
In most natural fresh water, calcium is the principle cation. The element is very widely distributed in common minerals of rock and soil.
Calcium is an important component of water harness. It also functions as a pH stabilizer because of it’s buffering qualities. Calcium also gives water a better taste.
Calcium is an essential constituent in many igneous rock minerals, especially the chain silicates and the feldspars. Calcium also occurs in other silicate minerals that were produced in metamorphism.
Therefore, some calcium is to be expected in water that has been in contact with igneous and metamorphic rock. The calcium concentration of this water generally is low, mainly because the rate of decomposition of most igneous rock minerals is very slow.
The most common forms of calcium in sedimentary rock are the carbonates. The two crystalline forms, calcite and aragonite, both have the formula CaC03. The mineral dolomite can be represented as CaMg(CO3)2. Limestone consists mostly of calcite with mixtures of magnesium and other impurities. Other calcium minerals common in sediments include sulfates such as gypsum and anhydrite.
In sandstone and other detrital rock, calcium carbonate commonly is present as a cement between particles or a partial filling of the inter spaces. Calcium is also present in the form of absorbed ions on negatively charged mineral surfaces in soils and rocks.
The chemical controls of calcium concentration involve a complex equilibrium. The equilibrium involves the carbonates, which are the major factor in limiting the solubility of calcium in most natural waters. The pH also controls the solubility of calcium carbonate in the water.
Commonly, streams which drain humid areas contain more calcium than any other cation. Streams in more arid regions, and especially where some of the more soluble rock types are exposed, tend to have much higher dissolved calcium concentrations.
When stream water is impounded in a storage reservoir or lake, changes may occur in calcium concentration as a result of calcium carbonate precipitation. The increased pH near the water surface caused by algae and plankton may bring about supersaturation and precipitation can occur around the edges of the reservoir or lake. A conspicuous white deposit called marl, which is formed in these areas, is partly made up of calcium carbonate.
The wide variation in calcium concentration and the corresponding correlations shown with hardness, stratification and biological productivity have stimulated many attempts at lake classification based on the calcium ion. The distribution of calcium in stratified lakes generally follows a more or less characteristic pattern.
In soft water lakes, the calcium content generally ranges from 0.7 to 2.3 mg/L, and during summer lake stagnation, little stratification of calcium exists.
Lakes of medium hardness and medium calcium content typically contain a moderately increased calcium concentration in the hypolimneon during stratification.
The hypolimneon of hard water lakes characteristically contains a greatly increased load of calcium. In some of these lakes, the curve of calcium concentration shows a steady increase of the ion from the surface to the upper region of the hypolimneon.
End of Calcium in Water
More about Calcium in Water…Significance of Calcium
Calcium Significance in Environment
Calcium Significance Humans
More about specific cations and anions…
Magnesium in Water
Iron in Water
Sodium in Water
Potassium in Water
Manganese in Water
Aluminum in Water
Carbonate and Bicarbonate in Water
Sulfate in Water
Chloride in Water
Fluoride in Water
Chemical Water Quality Parameters <<<...return
Dissolved Gasses in Water
Primary Nutrients in Water and Eutrophication
Toxic Constituents in Water
Pesticides in Water
Oil in Water
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