Luis Miguel Urbina Leonor, Rodolfo Sosa Echeverría**, Ana Luisa Alarcón Jiménez**, Mónica Solano Murillo, Nora A. Pérez, Pablo Sánchez Alvarez**, José Hernández Tellez, Elizabeth Vega* & Jonathan D. W. Kahl

* Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales | Grupo de Modelación y Medición de Emisiones a la Atmósfera

**Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales | Grupo de contaminación Ambiental

Abstract

oral limestone is an important building material worldwide. In this research, a limestone of coral origin (called múcara stone from Veracruz, Mexico) was subjected to weathering tests with the aim to develop an equation relating wet atmospheric deposition volume to stone damage. A two-year rain sampling campaign was performed in Veracruz, Mexico. The volume weighted mean (VWM) of major ions in precipitation was used to prepare artificial rain for accelerated weathering tests. To support the results, múcara stone samples were also exposed outdoors in the study area. Effluents of artificial rain that interacted with the coral limestone were analyzed through Ion Chromatography (IC) to indirectly identify phenomena occurring inside the material. Decay was monitored through mass, water absorption capacity (WAC) and open porosity (OP). The latter two did not present significant differences and its use as in situ monitoring variables is not advised. The main variables affecting coral limestone in rain are, in order of importance, volume and acidity. These factors are crucial for the dissolution of the CaCO₃ matrix. The carbonate equilibria are also essential to understanding the chemical decay process. The obtained damage function performs well when compared to outdoor exposition. Results can be used to estimate damage on coral limestone-built heritage worldwide, especially in tropical climates.