River dissolved and solid loads in the Lesser Antilles: New insight into basalt weathering processes

Rad, Sétareh; Louvat, Pascale; Gorge, Caroline; Gaillardet, Jérôme; Allègre, Claude J.

doi:10.1016/j.gexplo.2005.08.063

Cited by 76 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…More recent studies of weathering of arc crust in the Lesser Antilles Arc argue for lower chemical weathering transport of this type of crust. Rad et al (2006) calculated that chemical weathering fluxes were at least seven times less than the solid clastic flux in this setting. Studies of rivers in more stable continent regions, such as Siberia (Huh and Edmond, 1999) and even in more tectonized Venezuela (Tosiani et al, 2004) would also support rather lower values of dissolved material flux than suggested by Lee et al (2008).…”

Section: The Composition Of the Continental Crustmentioning

confidence: 93%

Crustal redistribution, crust–mantle recycling and Phanerozoic evolution of the continental crust

Clift

Vannucchi

Morgan

2009

Earth-Science Reviews

196

151

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Section: The Composition Of the Continental Crustmentioning

confidence: 93%

Crustal redistribution, crust–mantle recycling and Phanerozoic evolution of the continental crust

Clift

Vannucchi

Morgan

2009

Earth-Science Reviews

196

151

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“…Chemical weathering fluxes from rivers draining basaltic terranes are among the highest recorded worldwide (Gislason et al, 1996;Louvat and Allègre, 1997;Dessert et al, 2003Dessert et al, , 2009Das et al, 2005;Pokrovsky et al, 2005Pokrovsky et al, , 2006Eiríksdóttir et al, 2006;Rad et al, 2006;Schopka et al, 2011 etc.). Despite its relative accessibility, there has been little work on chemical weathering fluxes from the Hawaiian archipelago.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical weathering fluxes from volcanic islands and the importance of groundwater: The Hawaiian example

Schopka

Derry

2012

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

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We investigated the products and rates of chemical weathering on the Hawaiian Islands, sampling streams on Kaua'i and both streams and groundwater wells on the island of Hawai'i. Dissolved silica was used to investigate the flowpaths of water drained into streams. We found that flowpaths exert a major control on the observed chemical weathering rates. A strong link exists between the degree of landscape dissection and flowpaths of water through the landscape, with streams in undissected landscapes receiving water mainly from surface runoff and streams in highly dissected landscapes receiving a considerable fraction of their water from groundwater (springs and/or seepage). Total alkalinity in Hawaiian streams and groundwater is produced exclusively by silicate chemical weathering. We find that fluxes of total alkalinity (often called "CO 2 consumption rate" in the geochemical literature), from the islands are lower than those observed in basaltic regions elsewhere. Groundwater is, overall, the major transport vector for products of chemical weathering from the Hawaiian Islands. On the youngest and largest island, submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) transports more than an order of magnitude more solutes to the ocean than surface water and on the youngest part of the youngest island, SGD is the only link between the terrestrial weathering system and the ocean. These results suggest that groundwater, and particularly SGD, needs to be included in geochemical weathering budgets of volcanic islands.

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“…Volcanic islands commonly have high relief and runoff and are comprised of easily weathered volcanic material (Eiriksdottir et al 2008). Elevated mechanical and chemical weathering in volcanic terrains has been recognized as an important component in the transport of global dissolved load to the oceans (Rad et al 2007) and therefore plays a significant role in the consumption of atmospheric CO2 and the marine geochemical budgets of a variety of cations (Gaillardet et al 1999;Dessert et al 2003;Rad et al 2006;Goldsmith et al 2010). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The weathering and element fluxes from active volcanoes to the oceans: a Montserrat case study

et al. 2010

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The eruptions of the Soufrière Hills volcano on Montserrat (Lesser Antilles) from 1995 to present have draped parts of the island in fresh volcaniclastic deposits. Volcanic islands such as Montserrat are an important component of global weathering fluxes, due to high relief and runoff and high chemical and physical weathering rates of fresh volcaniclastic material. We examine the impact of the recent volcanism on the geochemistry of pre-existing hydrological systems and demonstrate that the initial chemical weathering yield of fresh volcanic material is higher than that from older deposits within the Lesser Antilles arc. The silicate weathering may have consumed 1.3% of the early CO 2 emissions from the Soufrière Hills volcano. In contrast, extinct volcanic edifices such as the Centre Hills in central Montserrat are a net sink for atmospheric CO 2 due to continued elevated weathering rates relative to continental silicate rock weathering. The role of an arc volcano as a source or sink for atmospheric CO 2 is therefore critically dependent on the stage it occupies in its life cycle, changing from a net source to a net sink as the eruptive activity wanes. While the onset of the eruption has had a profound effect on the groundwater around the Soufrière Hills center, the geochemistry of springs in the Centre Hills 5 km to the north appear unaffected by the recent volcanism. This has implications for the potential risk, or lack thereof, of contamination of potable water supplies for the island's inhabitants.

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River dissolved and solid loads in the Lesser Antilles: New insight into basalt weathering processes

Cited by 76 publications

References 14 publications

Crustal redistribution, crust–mantle recycling and Phanerozoic evolution of the continental crust

Crustal redistribution, crust–mantle recycling and Phanerozoic evolution of the continental crust

Chemical weathering fluxes from volcanic islands and the importance of groundwater: The Hawaiian example

The weathering and element fluxes from active volcanoes to the oceans: a Montserrat case study

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