Continental weathering; Model; Carbon Cycle; Last Glacial Maximum; Atmospheric CO2
Abstract :
[en] The export of carbon from land to sea by rivers represents a major link in the global carbon cycle, For all principal carbon forms, the main factors that control the present-day fluxes at the global scale have been determined in order to establish global budgets and to predict regional fluxes. Dissolved organic carbon fluxes are mainly related to drainage intensity, basin slope, and the amount of carbon stored in soils. Particulate organic carbon fluxes are calculated as a function of sediment yields and of drainage intensity. The consumption of atmospheric/soil CO2 by chemical rock weathering depends mainly on the rock type and on the drainage intensity. Our empirical models yield a total of 0.721 Gt of carbon (Gt C) that is exported from the continents to the oceans each year. From this figure, 0.096 Gt C come from carbonate mineral dissolution and the remaining 0.625 Gt C stem from the atmosphere (F-CO2). Of this atmospheric carbon, 33% is discharged as dissolved organic carbon, 30% as particulate organic carbon, and 37% as bicarbonate ions. Predicted inorganic carbon fluxes were further compared with observed fluxes for a set of 35 major world rivers, and possible additional climatic effects on the consumption of atmospheric CO2 by rock weathering were investigated in these river basins. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results for the river carbon fluxes and the role of continental erosion in the global carbon cycle during the last glacial maximum.
Research center :
Centre de Géochimie de la Surface (CNRS), Strasbourg
Disciplines :
Earth sciences & physical geography
Author, co-author :
Ludwig, Wolfgang
Amiotte-Suchet, Philippe
Munhoven, Guy ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP) - Pétrologie et géochimie endogènes
Probst, Jean-Luc
Language :
English
Title :
Atmospheric CO2 consumption by continental erosion: present-day controls and implications for the last glacial maximum
Publication date :
1998
Journal title :
Global and Planetary Change
ISSN :
0921-8181
Publisher :
Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Volume :
16-17
Pages :
107-120
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Funders :
DG RDT - Commission Européenne. Direction Générale de la Recherche et de l'Innovation [BE]
Adams J.M., Faure H., Faure-Denard L., McGlade J.M., Woodward F.I. Increases in terrestrial carbon storage from the last glacial maximum to the present. Nature. 348:1990;711-714.
Amiotte-Suchet, P., 1995. Cycle du carbone, érosion chimique des continents et transferts vers les océans, Sci. Géol. Mém. 97, Strasbourg, 156 pp.
Amiotte-Suchet P., Probst J.-L. Flux de CO2 consommé par altération chimique continentale: influence du drainage et de la lithologie. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris. 317:1993;615-622.
Amiotte-Suchet P., Probst J.-L. Modelling of atmospheric CO2 consumption by chemical weathering of rocks: application to the Garonne, Congo and Amazon basins. Chem. Geol. 107:1993;205-210.
Amiotte-Suchet P., Probst J.-L. A global model for present day atmospheric/soil CO2 consumption by chemical erosion of continental rocks (GEM-CO2). Tellus B. 47:1995;273-280.
Arain, R., 1987. Persisting trends in carbon and mineral transport monitoring of the Indus River. In: Degens, E.T., Kempe, S., Wei-Bin, G. (Eds.), Transport of Carbon and Minerals in Major World Rivers, Part 4. Mitt. Geol.-Paläont. Inst. Univ. Hamburg, SCOPE/UNEP Sonderband 64, pp. 417-421.
Berner R.A. A model for atmospheric CO2 over Phanerozoic time. Am. J. Sci. 291:1991;339-376.
Berner R.A., Lasaga A.C., Garrels R.M. The carbonate-silicate geochemical cycle and its effect on atmospheric carbon dioxide over the past 100 millions years. Am. J. Sci. 283:1983;641-683.
Biksham G., Subramanian V. Nature of solute transport in the Godavari basin. Indian J. Hydrol. 103:1988;375-392.
Clair T.A., Pollock T.L., Ehrman J.M. Exports of carbon and nitrogen from river basins in Canada's Atlantic provinces. Global Biogeochem. Cycles. 8:1994;441-450.
Cossa, D., Tremblay, G., 1983. Major ions composition of the St. Lawrence River: seasonal variability and fluxes. In: Degens, T., Kempe, S., Soliman, H. (Eds.), Transport of Carbon and Minerals in Major World Rivers, Part 2, Mitt. Geol.-Paläont. Inst. Univ. Hamburg, SCOPE-UNEP Sonderband 55, pp. 253-259.
Degens, E.T., Kempe, S., Richey, J.E., 1991. Biogeochemistry of Major World Rivers. SCOPE Rep. 42, Wiley, New York, 356 pp.
Depetris P.J. Hydrochemical aspects of the Negro River, Patagonia, Argentina. Earth Surf. Processes. 5:1980;181-186.
Eswaran H., Van Den Berg E., Reich P. Organic carbon in soils of the world. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 57:1993;192-194.
Fairbanks R.G. A 17 000 year glacio-eustatic sea level record: influence of glacial melting rates on the Younger Dryas event and deep-ocean circulation. Nature. 342:1989;637-642.
Franzén L. Are wet lands the key to the ice-age cycle enigma? Ambio. 23:1994;300-308.
Garrels, R.M., Mackenzie, F.T., 1971. Evolution of sedimentary rocks. W.W. Norton, New York, 397 pp.
Gibbs M.T., Kump L.R. Global chemical erosion during the last glacial maximum and the present: sensitivity to changes in lithology and hydrology. Paleoceanograpy. 9:1994;529-543.
Gitelson, I.I., Abrosov, N.S., Gladyshev, M.I., 1988. The main hydrological and hydrobiological characteristics of the Yenisei River. In: Transport of Carbon and Minerals in Major World Rivers, Lakes and Estuaries, Part 5, Mitt. Geol.-Paleont. Inst., Univ. Hamburg, SCOPE-UNEP Sonderband 66, pp. 43-46.
Global Runoff Data Center Koblenz, 1991. Flow rates of selected world rivers. A database. DS 552.0. Distributed by: National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, CO.
Herczeg A.L., Simpson H.J., Mazor E. Transport of soluble salts in a large semiarid basin: river Murray. Aust. J. Hydrol. 144:1993;59-84.
Ittekkot V. Global trends in the nature of organic matter in river suspensions. Nature. 332:1988;436-438.
Kempe, S., 1982. Long-term records of CO2 pressure fluctuations in fresh waters. In: Degens, E.T. (Ed.), Transport of Carbon and Minerals in Major World Rivers, Part 1. Mitt. Geol.-Paläont. Inst. Univ. Hamburg, SCOPE/UNEP Sonderband 52, pp. 91-332.
Kempe, S., 1983. Impact of Aswan high dam on water chemistry of the Nil. In: Degens, E.T., Kempe, S., Soliman, H. (Eds.), Transport of Carbon and Minerals in Major World Rivers, Part 2, Mitt. Geol.-Paläont. Inst. Univ. Hamburg, SCOPE-UNEP Sonderband 55, pp. 401-423.
Kempe, S., 1995. Coastal seas: a net source or sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide? LOICZ reports and studies No. 1, Stockholm, 27 pp.
Korzoun, V.I., Sokolov, A.A., Budyko, M.I., Voskresensky, G.P., Kalinin, A.A., Konoplyantsev, E.S., Korotkevich, E.S., Lvovich, M.I., 1977. Atlas of World Water Balance. UNESCO, Paris.
Kramer, J.R., 1994. Old sediment carbon in global budgets. In: Rounsevell, M.D.A., Loveland, P.J. (Eds.), Soil Responses to Climate Change. NATO ASI Series, 123. Springer Verlag, Berlin, pp. 169-183.
Lautenschlager M., Herterich K. Atmospheric response to ice age conditions: climatology near the earth's surface. J. Geophys. Res. 95:1990;22547-22557.
Livingstone, D.A., 1963. Chemical composition of rivers and lakes. Data of geochemistry. U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper, 440 G, 1-64.
Ludwig, W., Probst, J.L., 1996. A global model for the climatic and geomorphologic control of river sediment discharges to the oceans. In: Erosion and Sediment Yield: Global and Regional Perspectives, Proceedings on the Exeter Symposium, IAHS Publ. No. 236, IAHS Press, Wallingford, UK, pp. 21-28.
Ludwig, W., Probst, J.-L., 1998. River sediment discharge to the oceans: Present-day controls and global budgets. Am. J. Sci. 298, in press.
Ludwig W., Probst J.L., Kempe S. Predicting the oceanic input of organic carbon by continental erosion. Global Biogeochem. Cycles. 10:1996;23-41.
Ludwig, W., Amiotte-Suchet, P., Probst, J.L., 1996b. River discharges of carbon to the world's oceans: determining local inputs (4°×5° grid resolution) of alkalinity and of dissolved and particulate organic carbon. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris 323, IIa, 1007-1014.
Martins, O., 1983. Transport of carbon in the Niger river. In: Degens, E.T., Kempe, S., Soliman, H. (Eds.), Transport of Carbon and Minerals in Major World Rivers, Part 2. Mitt. Geol.-Paläont. Inst., Univ. Hamburg, SCOPE/UNEP Sonderband 55, pp. 435-449.
Meybeck M. Concentrations des eaux fluviales en éléments majeurs et apports en solution aux océans. Rev. Géol. Dyn. Géogr. Phys. 21:1979;215-246.
Meybeck M. Carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus transport by world rivers. Am. J. Sci. 282:1982;401-450.
Meybeck M. Composition chimique des ruisseaux non pollués de France. Sci. Géol. Bull. 39:1986;3-77.
Meybeck M. Global chemical weathering of surficial rocks estimated from river dissolved loads. Am. J. Sci. 287:1987;401-428.
Meybeck, M., 1993. C, N, P, and S in rivers: from sources to global inputs. In: Wollast, R.F., Mackenzie, T., Chou, L. (Eds.), Interactions of C, N, P and S. Biogeochemical Cycles and Global Change. Springer Verlag, Berlin, pp. 163-193.
Milliman J.D., Syvitski J.P.M. Geomorphic/tectonic control of sediment discharge to the ocean: the importance of small mountainous rivers. J. Geol. 100:1992;525-544.
Milliman, J.D., Rutkowski, C., Meybeck, M., 1995. River discharge to the sea. A global river index (GLORI). LOICZ Core Project Office, Texel, The Netherlands, 125 pp.
Ming-Hui H., Stallard R.F., Edmond J.M. Major ion chemistry of some large Chinese rivers. Nature. 298:1982;550-553.
Munhoven, G., François, L.-M., 1994. Glacial-interglacial changes in continental weathering: possible implications for atmospheric CO2. In: Zahn, R. et al. (Eds.), Carbon Cycling in the Glacial Ocean: Constraints on the Ocean's Role in Global Change. Springer Verlag, Berlin, pp. 39-58.
Munhoven, G., Probst, J.L., 1995. Influence of Continental Erosion Processes on the Glacial/Interglacial Evolution of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide. Scientific final report, EC contract ERBCHBIC 94 1053, Strasbourg, 16 pp.
Paolini, J., Hevia, R., Herrera, R., 1987. Transport of carbon and minerals in the Orinoco and Caroni rivers during the years 1983-1984. In: Degens, T., Kempe, S., Wei-Bin, G. (Eds.), Transport of Carbon and Minerals in Major World Rivers, Part 4. Mitt. Geol.-Paläont. Inst. Univ. Hamburg, SCOPE-UNEP Sonderband 64, pp. 325-338.
Probst, J.L., 1992. Géochimie et hydrologie de l'érosion continentale. Mécanismes, bilan global actuel et fluctuations au cours des 500 derniers millions d'années. Sci. Geol. Mém. 94, Strasbourg, 161 pp.
Probst J.L., Nkounkou R.R., Krempp G., Bricquet J.P., Thiébaux J.P., Olivry J.C. Dissolved major elements exported by the Congo and the Ubangui rivers during the period 1987-1989. J. Hydrol. 135:1992;237-257.
Probst J.L., Mortatti J., Tardy Y. Carbon river fluxes and weathering CO2 consumption in the Congo and Amazon river basins. Appl. Geochem. 9:1994;1-13.
Qunying, Z., Feng, L., Xun, L., Minghui, H., 1987. Major ion chemistry and fluxes of dissolved solids with rivers in southern coastal China. In: Degens, E.T., Kempe, S., Wei-Bin, G. (Eds.), Transport of Carbon and Minerals in Major World Rivers, Part 4. Mitt. Geol.-Paläont. Inst. Univ. Hamburg, SCOPE-UNEP Sonderband 64, pp. 243-249.
Reeder S.W., Hitchon B., Levinson A.A. Hydrogeochemistry of the surface waters of the Mackenzie River drainage basin, Canada. Factors controlling inorganic composition. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 36:1972;825-865.
Sarmiento J.L., Sundquist E.T. Revised budget for the oceanic uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide. Nature. 356:1992;589-593.
Sharp M., Tranter M., Brown G.H., Skidmore M. Rates of chemical denudation and CO2 drawdown in a glacier-covered alpine catchment. Geology. 23:1995;61-64.
Smith S.V., Hollibaugh G.T. Coastal metabolism and the oceanic organic carbon balance. Rev. Geophys. 31:1993;75-89.
Spitzy, A., Leenheer, J., 1991. Dissolved organic carbon in rivers. In: Degens, E.T., Kempe, S., Richey, J.E. (Eds.), Biogeochemistry of Major World Rivers, SCOPE Report 42. Wiley, Chichester, pp. 213-232.
Subramanian V. Chemical and suspended sediment characteristics of rivers of India. J. Hydrol. 44:1979;37-55.
Starkel L. Global paleohydrology. Bull. Pol. Acad. Sci. 36:1988;71-89.
Tans P.P., Fung I.Y., Nakazawa T. Observational constraints on the global atmospheric CO2 budgets. Science. 247:1989;1431-1438.
U.S. Geological Survey (annual). Quality of surface waters of the United States. Geol. Surv. Wat. Supply Paper.
Walker J.C.G., Hays P.B., Kasting J.F.A. A negative feedback mechanism for the long-term stabilisation of earth's surface temperature. J. Geophys. Res. 86:1981;9776-9782.
Wei-Bin, G., Hui-Min, C., Yun-Fang, H., 1983. Carbon transport by the Yangtse (at Nanjing) and Huanghe (at Jinan) rivers, China. In: Degens, E.T., Kempe, S., Soliman, S. (Eds.) Transport of Carbon and Minerals in Major World Rivers, Part 2. Mitt. Geol.-Paläont. Inst. Univ. Hamburg, SCOPE/UNEP Sonderband 55, pp. 459-470.