Orography-driven chemical denudation in the Lesser Antilles: Evidence for a new feed-back mechanism stabilizing atmospheric CO2

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ID: 294165
2011
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Abstract
In this paper we present chemical composition data for major elements in rivers from three islands of the Lesser Antilles. The Lesser Antilles are a tropical volcanic subduction arc and are characterized by steep gradients of relief, bedrock age and precipitation. They constitute a natural laboratory where the response of the weathering engine to large variations of runoff can be understood. Data indicate that the Lesser Antilles are characterized by extremely variable chemical weathering (40-430 t/km^2^/a) and CO~2~ consumption (300-3500.10^3^ mol/km^2^/a) rates, amongst the highest found on Earth and consistent with the previous studies on the weathering of volcanic rock. A noteworthy observation is that, along the runoff gradient, concentrations of rock-derived solutes do not follow a pure dilution law and that a buffering mechanism exists stabilizing solute concentrations. As a result concentrations vary much less than runoff and chemical weathering rates are mainly controlled by runoff. Precipitation patterns in the Lesser Antilles are essentially orographic and controlled by the adiabatic decompression of the water-saturated Atlantic air masses. The production of acidity by volcanic degassing is an additional factor that modulates the runoff effect. Two main conclusions can be drawn from this study. First, chemical weathering fluxes of oceanic islands are strongly dependent upon relief repartition, which cautions the use of regional mean values to compare volcanic islands. Second, volcanic activity in the Lesser Antilles subduction arc, by creating relief, promotes high orographic precipitation and/or infiltration regimes, that in turn results in elevated chemical weathering and atmospheric CO~2~ consumption fluxes. This feedback mechanism, implying mainly precipitation and relief, is proposed to act in complement to the temperature-related feedback proposed by previous authors for stabilizing the atmospheric CO~2~ content of the atmosphere in response to volcanic CO~2~ degassing. This study highlights the importance of the water cycle in controlling chemical weathering of volcanic arc islands and associated CO~2~ consumption rates.
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Authors Jérôme Gaillardet, Sétareh Rad, Karine Rivé, Pascale Louvat, Caroline Gorge, C. J. Allègre, É. Lajeunesse
Journal american journal of science
Year 2011
DOI
10.2475/10.2011.02
URL
https://ajs.scholasticahq.com/article/61856.pdf
Keywords Keywords not found

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