Weathering rates of buried machine‐polished rock disks, Kärkevagge, Swedish Lapland

Abstract

Some 48 dolomite, 37 granite, and 19 limestone machine-polished disks were buried at soil horizon boundaries in 16 soil pits to maximum depths of 0Ð5-0Ð6 m within Kärkevagge, a presently periglacial, glaciated trough in Arctic Sweden. The objective of the ongoing study is to determine near-surface 'potential' weathering rates beneath birch forest, Dryas heath, heath, meadow, solifluction meadow, and willow vegetation cover types. Selected disks were excavated after 1 year, and all disks were excavated after 4 or 5 years.The limestone disks weathered fastest, followed closely by the dolomite disks, but the granite disks weathered at much slower rates. Mean annual percentage mass loss over 4 or 5 years was 0Ð473 š 0Ð145% (two standard errors) for dolomite disks, 0Ð032 š 0Ð005% (two standard errors) for granite disks, and 1Ð104 š 0Ð446% (two standard errors) for limestone disks. For dolomite disks the Dryas heath and heath environments weathered the most slowly, a trend that was generally followed by the granite disks. Poor drainage (i.e. increasing wetness) and decreasing pH were found to promote dolomite weathering rates in a statistically significant manner. Surficial and subsurface weathering rates at individual sites were generally found to be correlated for dolomite, but not granite.

Ten Years (1994–2004) of ‘potential’ weathering in Kärkevagge, Swedish Lapland

“…Field installation and removal, plus laboratory protocols, were presented in Thorn et al (2002). Reinstallation and reweighing procedures for the 1999-2004 period were identical with those previously described.…”

“…The second phase of the project was explicitly designed to replicate the first phase, and a comprehensive presentation of the research area, design and methodology was presented in Thorn et al (2002). Herein only critical elements of those components are presented.…”

Factors Controlling Weathering Rates of Carbonate Rocks in Soil: An Approach from a Field Weathering Experiment

“…Weight loss rates of Abukuma (marble) include the results for the initial five years and the entire period (22 years) . (Matsukura and Hirose, 1999;Thorn et al, 2002, 2006b, Matsukura et al, 2007Akiyama et al, 2015 …”

Weathering of andesite monuments in archaeological sites

“…However, after excavation, deposited soil and soluble salts may lead to a rapid weathering of stone. The main factors that affect the weathering of buried stones are amount of soluble salts in soil, dissolved carbon dioxide, organic material content, soil reaction (pH), vegetation cover and the particle size of the soil [13][14][15][16].…”

“…The main factors effective in the weathering process of unburied stones are the mineralogical composition of the stone, climate, air pollution, differential stresses, biological formations, soluble salts, presence of clay minerals and human intervention [11,12]. The main factors that affect the weathering of buried stones are soil temperatures in different layers, soluble salts in soil structure, dissolved carbon dioxide, organic material content, soil reaction (pH), vegetation cover and the particle size of the soil [13][14][15][16]. After excavation of stones in an archaeological site, the rapid and massive humidity and temperature changes in the environment accelerate the weathering process of stones [15].…”