Tectonic and climatic controls on silicate weathering

West, A. Joshua; Galy, Αlbert; Bickle, M. J.

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2005.03.020

Cited by 882 publications

(765 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…In contrast, chemical weathering rates were significantly reduced in North America due to persistent ice coverage during the last glacial period (Marshall and Clark, 2002). At the same time non-glaciated North American regions experienced colder climatic conditions, which are also expected to have resulted in reduced chemical weathering rates (Tranter et al, 2002;Millot et al, 2003;White et al, 2003;West et al, 2005;Gislason et al, 2009). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet tracked by the isotopic composition of Pb in western North Atlantic seawater during termination 1

Gutjahr¹,

Halliday²,

Keigwin³

2009

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet tracked by the isotopic composition of Pb in western North Atlantic seawater during termination 1

Gutjahr¹,

Halliday²,

Keigwin³

2009

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

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“…As a result, chemical weathering rates may be expected to vary dramatically across the study area in response to changes in climatic, tectonic, or geomorphic factors (Millot et al, 2002;West et al, 2005). Because major ions such as Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ may be easily influenced by the weathering of trace carbonates and Na + is affected by hydrothermal inputs and evaporite weathering, dissolved Si fluxes may provide a good measure of overall silicate weathering rates.…”

Section: Relationships Between Climate Tectonics and Chemical Weathmentioning

confidence: 99%

Major ion chemistry of the Yarlung Tsangpo–Brahmaputra river: Chemical weathering, erosion, and CO2 consumption in the southern Tibetan plateau and eastern syntaxis of the Himalaya

Hren

Chamberlain

Hilley

et al. 2007

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

168

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The Yarlung Tsangpo-Brahmaputra river drains a large portion of the Himalaya and southern Tibetan plateau, including the eastern Himalayan syntaxis, one of the most tectonically active regions on the globe. We measured the solute chemistry of 161 streams and major tributaries of the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra to examine the effect of tectonic, climatic, and geologic factors on chemical weathering rates. Specifically, we quantify chemical weathering fluxes and CO 2 consumption by silicate weathering in southern Tibet and the eastern syntaxis of the Himalaya, examine the major chemical weathering reactions in the tributaries of the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, and determine the total weathering flux from carbonate and silicate weathering processes in this region. We show that high precipitation, rapid tectonic uplift, steep channel slopes, and high stream power generate high rates of chemical weathering in the eastern syntaxis. The total dissolved solids (TDS) flux from the this area is greater than 520 tons km À2 yr À1 and the silicate cation flux more than 34 tons km À2 yr À1 . In total, chemical weathering in this area consumes 15.2 · 10 5 mol CO 2 km À2 yr À1 , which is twice the Brahmaputra average. These data show that 15-20% of the total CO 2 consumption by silicate weathering in the Brahmaputra catchment is derived from only 4% of the total land area of the basin. Hot springs and evaporite weathering provide significant contributions to dissolved Na + and Cl À fluxes throughout southern Tibet, comprising more than 50% of all Na + in some stream systems. Carbonate weathering generates 80-90% of all dissolved Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ cations in much of the Yarlung Tsangpo catchment.

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“…Edmond and Huh, 1997;Gaillardet et al, 1999a;West et al, 2005). High mountain regions are typically associated with kinetically-limited weathering regimes due to high rates of mechanical erosion, which ultimately lead to export of poorly weathered material by rivers.…”

Section: Global Relationships Between River D 30 Si Clay and Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

The silicon isotopic composition of fine-grained river sediments and its relation to climate and lithology

Bayon

Delvigne

Ponzevera

et al. 2018

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

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The d 30 Si stable isotopic composition of silicon in soils and fine-grained sediments can provide insights into weathering processes on continents, with important implications on the Si budget of modern and past oceans. To further constrain the factors controlling the distribution of Si isotopes in sediments, we have analysed a large number (n = 50) of separate size-fractions of sediments and suspended particulate materials collected near the mouth of rivers worldwide. This includes some of the world's largest rivers (e.g. Amazon, Congo, Mackenzie, Mississippi, Murray-Darling, Nile, Yangtze) and rivers from the case study areas of the Congo River Basin and Northern Ireland. Silt-size fractions exhibit a mean Si isotopic composition (d 30 Si = À0.21 ± 0.19‰; 2 s.d.) similar to that previously inferred for the upper continental crust. In contrast, clay-size fractions display a much larger range of d 30 Si values from À0.11‰ to À2.16‰, which yield a global d 30 Si clay of À0.57 ± 0.60‰ (2 s.d.) representative of the mean composition of the average weathered continental crust. Overall, these new data show that the Si isotopic signature transported by river clays is controlled by the degree of chemical weathering, as inferred from strong relationships with Al/Si ratios. At a global scale, the clay-bound Si isotopic composition of the world's largest river systems demonstrates a link with climate, defining a general correlation with mean annual temperature (MAT) in corresponding drainage basins. While the distribution of Si isotopes in river sediments also appears to be influenced by the tectonic setting, lithological effects and sediment recycling from former sedimentary cycles, our results pave the way for their use as paleo-weathering and paleo-climate proxies in the sedimentary record.

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Tectonic and climatic controls on silicate weathering

Cited by 882 publications

References 47 publications

Retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet tracked by the isotopic composition of Pb in western North Atlantic seawater during termination 1

Retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet tracked by the isotopic composition of Pb in western North Atlantic seawater during termination 1

Major ion chemistry of the Yarlung Tsangpo–Brahmaputra river: Chemical weathering, erosion, and CO2 consumption in the southern Tibetan plateau and eastern syntaxis of the Himalaya

The silicon isotopic composition of fine-grained river sediments and its relation to climate and lithology

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