Which process dominates the widening of limestone karst fissures?

💡 Explanation

Preferential dissolution enlarges karst fissures because slightly acidic water dissolves limestone along fractures faster than surrounding rock; therefore pathways expand rather than uniform erosion occuring because equilibrium thermodynamics would predict far greater dissolution from uniform contact.

• Which outcome results when a riverbank's root systems vanish?
• Which outcome reliably occurs when accumulated stress along a transform fault exceeds the rock's shear strength?
• Which outcome is exacerbated when groundwater pressure increases within fault zones?
• Which risk increases when earthquake-induced liquefaction weakens ground infrastructure on a coastal slope?
• Which climatic shift occurs when weakened trade winds disrupt equatorial ocean currents during strong El Niño events?
• Which sinkhole risk increases when soil acidification occurs?