Quantifying the functional relationships relating river discharge and weathering products places key constraints on the negative feedback between the silicate weathering and climate. In this study we analyze the conce...Quantifying the functional relationships relating river discharge and weathering products places key constraints on the negative feedback between the silicate weathering and climate. In this study we analyze the concentration–discharge relationships of weathering products from global rivers using previously compiled time-series datasets for concentrations and discharge from global rivers. To analyze the nature of the covariation between specific discharge and concentrations, we use both a power law equation and a recently developed solute production equation. The solute production equation allows us to quantify weathering efficiency, or the resistance to dilution at high runoff, via the Damkohler coefficient. These results are also compared to those derived using average concentration–discharge pairs.Both the power law exponent and the Damkohler coefficient increase and asymptote as catchments exhibit increasingly chemostatic behavior, resulting in an inverse relationship between the two parameters. We also show that using thedistribution of average concentration–discharge pairs from global rivers, rather than fitting concentration–discharge relationships for each individual river, underestimates global median weathering efficiency by up to a factor of ～10. This study demonstrates the utility of long time-series sampling of global rivers to elucidate controlling processes needed to quantify patterns in global silicate weathering rates.展开更多
基金supported by a Stanford EDGE-STEM Fellowshipinitiated under NSF EAR-1254156 to Kate Maher and was also supported by the California Alliance Research Exchange NSF HRD-1306595 to C.Page Chamberlain
文摘Quantifying the functional relationships relating river discharge and weathering products places key constraints on the negative feedback between the silicate weathering and climate. In this study we analyze the concentration–discharge relationships of weathering products from global rivers using previously compiled time-series datasets for concentrations and discharge from global rivers. To analyze the nature of the covariation between specific discharge and concentrations, we use both a power law equation and a recently developed solute production equation. The solute production equation allows us to quantify weathering efficiency, or the resistance to dilution at high runoff, via the Damkohler coefficient. These results are also compared to those derived using average concentration–discharge pairs.Both the power law exponent and the Damkohler coefficient increase and asymptote as catchments exhibit increasingly chemostatic behavior, resulting in an inverse relationship between the two parameters. We also show that using thedistribution of average concentration–discharge pairs from global rivers, rather than fitting concentration–discharge relationships for each individual river, underestimates global median weathering efficiency by up to a factor of ～10. This study demonstrates the utility of long time-series sampling of global rivers to elucidate controlling processes needed to quantify patterns in global silicate weathering rates.
