Chemical mass balance and rates of mineral weathering in a high-elevation catchment, west glacier lake, wyoming

Finley, J. B.; Drever, James I.

doi:10.1002/(sici)1099-1085(199706)11:7<745::aid-hyp521>3.0.co;2-e

Cited by 17 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“… Clow and Ingersoll [1994] did find calcium carbonate particulate matter in the snowpack at GLEES using special techniques to prevent the dissolution of calcite particles in melting snow. Finley and Drever [1997] studied weathering at GLEES through a mass balance approach and suggested either epidote or calcite as a source for excess calcium in the watershed. Aluminosilicates like epidote weather more slowly than calcite [ Mast and Drever , 1990].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial variability of snow chemistry in an alpine snowpack, southern Wyoming

Rohrbough

Davis

Bales

2003

Water Resources Research

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[1] The spatial variability of ionic concentrations in snowpack at the Glacier Lakes Ecosystem Experimental Site (GLEES) in Wyoming's Rocky Mountains during the 1988-1990 water years was examined using a variety of statistical analyses. Snow chemical concentrations were quite variable over small increments of time and space; however, the extensive sampling at GLEES allowed concentration patterns in the basin to be detected. Only Ca 2+ and H + had significantly different average values in pits from different parts of GLEES. These differences plus further geological and multivariate analyses indicated a separate eolian source for those ions. Concentration patterns resembled reports from other continental sites and were distinct from the Sierra Nevada of California, which has marine-dominated snow chemistry. All major ions, except Ca 2+ and NH 4 + , showed significant concentration differences in snow strata with different morphologies. Lower concentrations of H + and NO 3 À were observed in more highly metamorphosed snow, and lower concentrations of NO 3 À were observed in shallow pits as compared to deeper pits at the same location, indicating that HNO 3 was released from the pack prior to snowmelt. The large spatial variations in concentrations require 50 or more samples for reasonably narrow confidence intervals for basin-wide values for most means and coefficients of variation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial variability of snow chemistry in an alpine snowpack, southern Wyoming

Rohrbough

Davis

Bales

2003

Water Resources Research

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“…Mass balance calculations suggest that carbonate-derived Ca 2C is the dominant cation in other high-altitude catchments dominated by igneous and metamorphic bedrock (e.g. Raiswell, 1984;Drever and Hurcomb, 1986;Mast et al, 1990;Finley and Drever, 1997). Brown and Fuge (1998a,b) explained the distribution of minor and trace elements in meltwaters draining Haut Glacier d'Arolla on the basis of lithogenic provenance.…”

Section: Dissolved Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Minor and trace element export from a glacierized Alpine headwater catchment (Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland)

Mitchell

Brown

Fuge

2001

Hydrological Processes

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Abstract:Major ion concentrations in meltwaters draining glacial environments have been widely reported. However, concentrations of minor and trace elements have received scant attention. This study presents trace and minor element variations in bulk meltwaters draining Haut Glacier d'Arolla (Switzerland) based on twice-daily sampling throughout the 1999 ablation season, which represents the most detailed meltwater quality dataset to date. In order to assess the mode of export from the catchment, these elements are partitioned into (i) 'dissolved' and (ii) 'particulate-associated' minor and trace element components.A computer-based speciation model (PHREEQCi) was applied to the bulk meltwater data, suggesting that Ba, Be, Cd, Cu, Li, Rb and Sr exist primarily as mobile monovalent or divalent dissolved cations, which may be involved in interactions with suspended sediment surfaces. Conversely, the model predicts the precipitation of Fe, Al, Mn and Cr (oxi)hydroxides, suggesting these species may be predominantly transported as colloids, which may remove other minor and trace elements from solution by co-precipitation reactions.Laboratory leaching experiments on suspended sediments and fresh rock powder suggests that minor and trace element concentrations may also be influenced by (oxi)hydroxide precipitation and adsorption-desorption reactions with suspended sediment surfaces. The quantity and transport mode of trace and minor elements may influence their bioavailability downstream of glacierized headwater catchments. Further, the enrichment of many dissolved minor and trace elements in meltwaters compared with world stream-waters, coupled with the timing of water and sediment delivery during the summer months, may have implications for downstream aquatic environments.

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“…Watershed mass-balance calculations often involve more unknowns (the rates of weathering of individual primary minerals, the rates of formation of secondary minerals, and/or the elemental transfer into or out of the biomass) than equations (the number of elements for which stream-water solute data are available) (e.g. Finley and Drever, 1997;Bowser and Jones, 2002;Bricker et al, 2003;Price et al, 2005a;Velbel and Price, 2007). When the number of unknowns exceeds the number of equations, the calculations will not yield a unique solution.…”

Section: The Watershed Mass-balance Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass‐balance modeling of mineral weathering rates and CO₂ consumption in the forested, metabasaltic Hauver Branch watershed, Catoctin Mountain, Maryland, USA

Price

Rice

Szymanski

2013

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Mineral weathering rates and a forest macronutrient uptake stoichiometry were determined for the forested, metabasaltic Hauver Branch watershed in north‐central Maryland, USA. Previous studies of Hauver Branch have had an insufficient number of analytes to permit determination of rates of all the minerals involved in chemical weathering, including biomass. More equations in the mass‐balance matrix were added using existing mineralogic information. The stoichiometry of a deciduous biomass term was determined using multi‐year weekly to biweekly stream‐water chemistry for a nearby watershed, which drains relatively unreactive quartzite bedrock. At Hauver Branch, calcite hosts ~38 mol% of the calcium ion (Ca2+) contained in weathering minerals, but its weathering provides ~90% of the stream water Ca2+. This occurs in a landscape with a regolith residence time of more than several Ka (kiloannum). Previous studies indicate that such old regolith does not typically contain dissolving calcite that affects stream Ca2+/Na+ ratios. The relatively high calcite dissolution rate likely reflects dissolution of calcite in fractures of the deep critical zone. Of the carbon dioxide (CO2) consumed by mineral weathering, calcite is responsible for approximately 27%, with the silicate weathering consumption rate far exceeding that of the global average. The chemical weathering of mafic terrains in decaying orogens thus may be capable of influencing global geochemical cycles, and therefore, climate, on geological timescales. Based on carbon‐balance calculations, atmospheric‐derived sulfuric acid is responsible for approximately 22% of the mineral weathering occurring in the watershed. Our results suggest that rising air temperatures, driven by global warming and resulting in higher precipitation, will cause the rate of chemical weathering in the Hauver Branch watershed to increase until a threshold temperature is reached. Beyond the threshold temperature, increased recharge would produce a shallower groundwater table and reduced chemical weathering rates. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Chemical mass balance and rates of mineral weathering in a high-elevation catchment, west glacier lake, wyoming

Cited by 17 publications

References 47 publications

Spatial variability of snow chemistry in an alpine snowpack, southern Wyoming

Spatial variability of snow chemistry in an alpine snowpack, southern Wyoming

Minor and trace element export from a glacierized Alpine headwater catchment (Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland)

Mass‐balance modeling of mineral weathering rates and CO₂ consumption in the forested, metabasaltic Hauver Branch watershed, Catoctin Mountain, Maryland, USA

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Chemical mass balance and rates of mineral weathering in a high-elevation catchment, west glacier lake, wyoming

Cited by 17 publications

References 47 publications

Spatial variability of snow chemistry in an alpine snowpack, southern Wyoming

Spatial variability of snow chemistry in an alpine snowpack, southern Wyoming

Minor and trace element export from a glacierized Alpine headwater catchment (Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland)

Mass‐balance modeling of mineral weathering rates and CO2 consumption in the forested, metabasaltic Hauver Branch watershed, Catoctin Mountain, Maryland, USA

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Mass‐balance modeling of mineral weathering rates and CO₂ consumption in the forested, metabasaltic Hauver Branch watershed, Catoctin Mountain, Maryland, USA