Authors
Clifford S Riebe, James W Kirchner, Robert C Finkel
Publication date
2003/11/15
Journal
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
Volume
67
Issue
22
Pages
4411-4427
Publisher
Pergamon
Description
Quantifying long-term rates of chemical weathering and physical erosion is important for understanding the long-term evolution of soils, landscapes, and Earth's climate. Here we describe how long-term chemical weathering rates can be measured for actively eroding landscapes using cosmogenic nuclides together with a geochemical mass balance of weathered soil and parent rock. We tested this approach in the Rio Icacos watershed, Puerto Rico, where independent studies have estimated weathering rates over both short and long timescales. Results from the cosmogenic/mass balance method are consistent with three independent sets of weathering rate estimates, thus confirming that this approach yields realistic measurements of long-term weathering rates. This approach can separately quantify weathering rates from saprolite and from overlying soil as components of the total. At Rio Icacos, nearly 50% of Si …
Total citations
200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024711118141816121422151930212924192425188