Global silicate weathering flux overestimated because of sediment–water cation exchange

Tipper, Edward T.; Stevenson, Emily I.; Alcock, Victoria; Knight, Alasdair C. G.; Baronas, J. Jotautas; Hilton, Robert G.; Bickle, Mike J.; Larkin, Christina S.; Feng, Linshu; Relph, Katy E.; Hughes, Genevieve

Abstract

Large rivers transport water and sediment to floodplains and oceans, supplying the nutrients that sustain life. They also transport carbon, removed from the atmosphere during mineral dissolution reactions, which is thought to provide a key negative climate feedback on long timescales. We demonstrate that the (million-year) carbon flux associated with mineral dissolution has been overestimated by up to 28% because of a reactive pool of elements transported with river-borne suspended sediment. This is most acute in regions of high erosion, where silicate weathering is thought to be most intense.

Citation

Tipper, E. T., Stevenson, E. I., Alcock, V., Knight, A. C. G., Baronas, J. J., Hilton, R. G., …Hughes, G. (2021). Global silicate weathering flux overestimated because of sediment–water cation exchange. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(1), Article e2016430118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2016430118

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Dec 21, 2020
• Publication Date: Jan 5, 2021
• Deposit Date: Dec 12, 2023
• Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• Print ISSN: 0027-8424
• Electronic ISSN: 1091-6490
• Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 118
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: e2016430118
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2016430118
• Keywords: Multidisciplinary
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2024204
• Additional Information: Published: 2020-12-21