Rawhiti Cave become increasingly finer deeper down into the cave. A short walking track leads halfway down into the cavernous opening to a viewing platform. The diverse twilight-zone flora near the entrance of Rawhiti Cave makes this cave nationally significant. Over long periods of time, plant growth on the cave formations causes them to grow towards the sunlight as more calcium carbonate is deposited regularly on top of the plant growth. This phenomenon, called phytokarst, is most evident on the larger stalactites near the cave entrance, which are strongly curved outwards due to the heavy moss and fern growth on their sunlit
Amorphous calcium carbonate the ability to stabilize poorly soluble drug molecules in its extensive pore system and could also enhance the drug release rates of these drugs. Paleoclimate reconstruction: A better understanding of the transformation process from amorphous to crystalline calcium carbonate will improve reconstructions of past climates that use chemical and biological proxies. For example, the calibrations of the clumped C-O carbonate paleothermometer and understanding the origins and evolution of skeletal structures. Environmental remediation: Improving environmental remediation efforts through gaining insight into the roles of earth materials in biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and metals through better understandings of the properties of environmental