Global silicate weathering and CO2 consumption rates deduced from the chemistry of large rivers

http://quebec.hwr.arizona.edu/classes/hwr696t/gosse01-cosmogenic-nuclide-review.pdf

Terrestrial in situ cosmogenic nuclides: theory and application

Foreword 1. Introduction 2. Runoff, erosion and delivery to the coastal ocean 3. Temporal variations 4. Human impacts Appendices. Global River Database: Appendix A: North and Central America Appendix B: South America Appendix C: Europe Appendix D: Africa Appendix E: Eurasia Appendix F: Asia Appendix G: Oceania References Index.

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River Discharge to the Coastal Ocean: A Global Synthesis

Detrital zircon spectra reﬂ ect the tectonic setting of the basin in which they are deposited. Convergent plate margins are charac-terized by a large proportion of zircon ages close to the depositional age of the sediment, whereas sediments in collisional, extensional and intracratonic settings contain greater proportions with older ages that reﬂ ect the history of the underlying basement. These differences can be resolved by plotting the distribution of the difference between the measured crystallization ages (CA) of individual zircon grains present in the sediment and the depositional age (DA) of the sedi-ment. Application of this approach to successions where the original nature of the basin and/or the link to source are no longer preserved constrains the tectonic setting in which the sediment was deposited.INTRODUCTION Detrital zircons are a minor constituent of clastic sedimentary rocks, yet their physiochemical resilience and high concentrations of certain key trace elements means that they have become an important phase in sedimentary provenance analysis and in crustal evolution studies (e.g., Cawood et al., 2007b; Hawkesworth et al., 2010). Large numbers of in situ, high precision analyses of both igneous and detrital zircons are now available, and a striking feature of the zircon record is that it clusters into peaks of crystallization ages (Condie et al., 2009). Compilations of crys-tallization ages for detrital and igneous zircons show remarkably similar patterns of peaks and troughs, although with some variation in the rela-tive amplitude of the peaks (Condie et al., 2009). This coincidence sug-gests that the sedimentary record is a valid representation of the magmatic record (Hawkesworth et al., 2010).We establish that detrital zircon spectra have distinctive age distribu-tion patterns that reﬂ ect the tectonic setting of the basin in which they are deposited. These patterns are principally controlled by (i) the volumes of magma generated in each tectonic setting and their preservation poten-tial, (ii) the ease with which magmatic and detrital zircons of various ages and origins become incorporated into the sedimentary record, and (iii) the record of old zircons incorporated into the sediment. These in turn provide a framework that can be used to constrain the tectonic setting of sedimen-tary packages. This approach distinguishes between three tectonic settings (i.e., convergent, collisional, and extensional), and it is most sensitive when the depositional age of the sediment investigated is well constrained. Basin setting will evolve with tectonic regime; for example, arc-continent or continent-continent collision will result in the evolution of convergent and extensional basins into collisional foreland basins. Hence the three settings distinguished herein are end-members, and the zircon age patterns associ-ated with each show a spectrum of distributions that merge and overlap rather than deﬁ ne discrete ﬁ elds. Discriminant plots developed for igneous rock geochemistry (e.g., Pearce and Cann, 1973) or sediment framework modes (e.g., Dickinson and Suczek, 1979) often have diffuse boundaries or overlap between ﬁ elds, but remain important approaches in understanding and constraining tectonic setting. Equally important, exceptions to simple end-member classiﬁ cations can provide insight into subtleties of tectonic process, such as outlined below for Avalonia in eastern North America.

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Detrital zircon record and tectonic setting

For a large set of major world rivers we established the empirical relations existing between the observed organic carbon fluxes and the climatic, biologic, and geomorphologic patterns characterizing the river basins. These characteristics were extracted from various ecological databases. The corresponding carbon fluxes were taken from the literature. Dissolved organic carbon fluxes are mainly related to drainage intensity, basin slope, and the amount of carbon stored in soils. Particulate organic carbon fluxes are calculated as a function of sediment fluxes, which depend principally upon drainage intensity, rainfall intensity, and basin slope. Although the drainage intensity is mainly related to the amount of precipitation and to mean temperature in the basin, slope is also retained as one of the controlling factors. Our empirical models result in a total organic carbon flux to the oceans of about 0.38 Gt per year globally. About 0.21 Gt carbon (Gt C) enter the oceans in dissolved form and about 0.17 Gt C in particulate form. We further regionalize fluxes with respect to major climates, different continents, and different ocean basins. About 45 % of the organic carbon is discharged from tropical wet regions. The major part of the dissolved organic carbon is discharged into the Atlantic Ocean, while the bulk of the particulate organic carbon is discharged into the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Predicting the oceanic input of organic carbon by continental erosion

We present a new compilation of estimates of modern rates of mechanical and chemical denudation for externally drained basins exceeding 5×105 km2 in area. These estimates are based on sediment and solute load data selected in order to represent natural rates as far as possible. Chemical denudation rates have been calculated by deducting the nondenudational component of solute load. Mechanical denudation rates range from 1 mm kyr−1 for the St. Lawrence and Dnepr basins to 670 mm kyr−1 for the Brahmaputra basin. Chemical denudation rates vary from 1 mm kyr−1 (Kolyma, Niger, Nile and Rio Grande basins) to 27 mm kyr−1 (Chiang Jiang basin). The Kolyma basin has the lowest (4 mm kyr−1), and the Brahmaputra basin the highest, overall rate of denudation (688 mm kyr−1). Relationships between denudation rates and a range of morphometric, hydrologic, and climatic variables are investigated through correlation and regression analysis. Morphometric variables, such as mean local relief, are accurately calculated for large basins for the first time by using the National Geophysical Data Center 10-minute topographic database. Variables expressing basin relief characteristics and runoff are found to be most strongly associated with both mechanical and chemical denudation rates, with more than 60% of the variance in total denudation being accounted for by basin relief ratio and runoff. Basin area, runoff variability, and mean temperature, however, are only weakly associated with rates of denudation. Although direct comparisons cannot be made, it appears that rates of basin denudation derived from present-day mass flux estimates are not, overall, significantly different from estimates of long-term rates based on sediment volume and thermochronologic data. It therefore appears that the key factors identified as controlling denudation rates here are also applicable to the geological time spans relevant to the interaction between tectonic and denudational processes.

N. J. Hulton

Papers

Natural controls of fluvial denudation rates in major world drainage basins