High sensitivity of the continental-weathering carbon dioxide sink to future climate change

Beaulieu, E.; Goddéris, Yves; Donnadieu, Yannick; Labat, David; Roelandt, C.

doi:10.1038/nclimate1419

Cited by 217 publications

(164 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Furthermore, increased chemical weathering of continental surfaces caused by human-induced climate change and increased CO 2 levels contributes to the enhanced riverine export flux of C derived from rock weathering 82,83 (F 2 ). The anthropogenic perturbation could possibly reach 0.1 Pg C yr -1 , mainly through enhanced dissolution of carbonate rocks 83 . The impact of land-use change on weathering rates may have started 3,000 years ago 84 but its effect on atmospheric CO 2 is difficult to assess 85,86 .…”

Section: Anthropogenic Perturbation Of Lateral Carbon Fluxesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic perturbation of the carbon fluxes from land to ocean

et al. 2013

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A substantial amount of the atmospheric carbon taken up on land through photosynthesis and chemical weathering is transported laterally along the aquatic continuum from upland terrestrial ecosystems to the ocean. So far, global carbon budget estimates have implicitly assumed that the transformation and lateral transport of carbon along this aquatic continuum has remained unchanged since pre-industrial times. A synthesis of published work reveals the magnitude of present-day lateral carbon fluxes from land to ocean, and the extent to which human activities have altered these fluxes. We show that anthropogenic perturbation may have increased the flux of carbon to inland waters by as much as 1.0 Pg C yr(-1) since pre-industrial times, mainly owing to enhanced carbon export from soils. Most of this additional carbon input to upstream rivers is either emitted back to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (similar to 0.4 Pg C yr(-1)) or sequestered in sediments (similar to 0.5 Pg C yr(-1)) along the continuum of freshwater bodies, estuaries and coastal waters, leaving only a perturbation carbon input of similar to 0.1 Pg C yr(-1) to the open ocean. According to our analysis, terrestrial ecosystems store similar to 0.9 Pg C yr(-1) at present, which is in agreement with results from forest inventories but significantly differs from the figure of 1.5 Pg C yr(-1) previously estimated when ignoring changes in lateral carbon fluxes. We suggest that carbon fluxes along the land-ocean aquatic continuum need to be included in global carbon dioxide budgets

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Section: Anthropogenic Perturbation Of Lateral Carbon Fluxesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic perturbation of the carbon fluxes from land to ocean

et al. 2013

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“…It also has a practical interest-consumption of CO 2 by mineral hydrolysis is a significant global CO 2 sink (Brady 1991;Liu and Zhao 2000;Probst et al 1998;Gaillardet et al 1999;Amiotte-Suchet et al 2003;Beaulieu et al 2012) and large areas of the globe are underlain by crystalline rock terrain. The predominance of Model A in generating groundwater alkalinity potentially may lead to no permanent net CO 2 sink, as CO 2 can ultimately be re-released (Eq.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One, often under-recognized, potential sink is the consumption of CO 2 by weathering of carbonate, aluminosilicate and other basic minerals in the subsurface (Brady 1991;Liu and Zhao 2000;Probst et al 1998;Gaillardet et al 1999;Amiotte-Suchet et al 2003;Beaulieu et al 2012). Especially in the boreal regions of the globe, the terrain is underlain by large areas of glaciated shield terrain where relatively fresh crystalline bedrock mineral assemblages have been recently exposed (Canada, Fennoscandia, Greenland, parts of Russia and Siberia).…”

Section: Implications For Bedrock Weathering As a Global Co 2 Sinkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon-13 in groundwater from English and Norwegian crystalline rock aquifers: a tool for deducing the origin of alkalinity?

Bottrell

Hipkins

Lane

et al. 2017

Sustain. Water Resour. Manag.

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“…Not more than 10 % of total riverine flux of Ca, Mg, and HCO 3 is considered to be due to atmospheric input. An important consequence of our obtained results on soil porewaters in the WSL is that the intensity of chemical weathering and associated CO 2 consumption in the permafrost regions (i.e., Beaulieu et al, 2012) by small rivers without pronounced underground feeding in peatlands could be overestimated relative to the regions with shallow organic soil horizons. As a result, the flux of DIC and major cations in the peatland-draining rivers should be corrected for the input of these elements via peat porewater discharge to the river main stream.…”

Section: Comparison Of Peat Porewaters With Rivers and Thermokarst Lakesmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…The fluxes of Ca, Mg, and HCO − 3 ions carried by rivers are used for calculation the CO 2 uptake flux due to chemical weathering, i.e., reaction of atmospheric CO 2 with Ca, Mgbearing silicate minerals (Dessert et al, 2003;Beaulieu et al, 2012). Not more than 10 % of total riverine flux of Ca, Mg, and HCO 3 is considered to be due to atmospheric input.…”

Section: Comparison Of Peat Porewaters With Rivers and Thermokarst Lakesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissolved organic carbon and major and trace elements in peat porewater of sporadic, discontinuous, and continuous permafrost zones of western Siberia

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Mobilization of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and related trace elements (TEs) from the frozen peat to surface waters in the permafrost zone is expected to enhance under ongoing permafrost thaw and active layer thickness (ALT) deepening in high-latitude regions. The interstitial soil solutions are efficient tracers of ongoing bio-geochemical processes in the critical zone and can help to decipher the intensity of carbon and metals migration from the soil to the rivers and further to the ocean. To this end, we collected, across a 640 km latitudinal transect of the sporadic to continuous permafrost zone of western Siberia peatlands, soil porewaters from 30 cm depth using suction cups and we analyzed DOC, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and 40 major elements and TEs in 0.45 µm filtered fraction of 80 soil porewaters.Despite an expected decrease in the intensity of DOC and TE mobilization from the soil and vegetation litter to the interstitial fluids with the increase in the permafrost coverage and a decrease in the annual temperature and ALT, the DOC and many major and trace elements did not exhibit any distinct decrease in concentration along the latitudinal transect from 62.2 to 67.4 • N. The DOC demonstrated a maximum of concentration at 66 • N, on the border of the discontinuous/continuous permafrost zone, whereas the DOC concentration in peat soil solutions from the continuous permafrost zone was equal to or higher than that in the sporadic/discontinuous permafrost zone. Moreover, a number of major (Ca, Mg) and trace (Al, Ti, Sr, Ga, rare earth elements (REEs), Zr, Hf, Th) elements exhibited an increasing, not decreasing, northward concentration trend. We hypothesize that the effects of temperature and thickness of the ALT are of secondary importance relative to the leaching capacity of peat, which is in turn controlled by the water saturation of the peat core. The water residence time in peat pores also plays a role in enriching the fluids in some elements: the DOC, V, Cu, Pb, REEs, and Th were a factor of 1.5 to 2.0 higher in mounds relative to hollows. As such, it is possible that the time of reaction between the peat and downward infiltrating waters essentially controls the degree of peat porewater enrichments in DOC and other solutes. A 2 • northward shift in the position of the permafrost boundaries may bring about a factor of 1.3 ± 0.2 decrease in Ca, Mg, Sr, Al, Fe, Ti, Mn, Ni, Co, V, Zr, Hf, Th, and REE porewater concentration in continuous and discontinuous permafrost zones, and a possible decrease in DOC, specific ultraviolet absorbency (SUVA), Ca, Mg, Fe, and Sr will not exceed 20 % of their current values. The projected increase in ALT and vegetation density, northward migration of the permafrost boundary, or the change of hydrological regime is unlikely to modify chemical composition of peat porewater fluids larger than their natural variations within different micro-landscapes, i.e., within a factor of 2. The decrease in DOC and metal delivery to small rivers and lakes by peat soil ...

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High sensitivity of the continental-weathering carbon dioxide sink to future climate change

Cited by 217 publications

References 28 publications

Anthropogenic perturbation of the carbon fluxes from land to ocean

Anthropogenic perturbation of the carbon fluxes from land to ocean

Carbon-13 in groundwater from English and Norwegian crystalline rock aquifers: a tool for deducing the origin of alkalinity?

Dissolved organic carbon and major and trace elements in peat porewater of sporadic, discontinuous, and continuous permafrost zones of western Siberia

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