Basalt weathering in Central Siberia under permafrost conditions
Résumé
Chemical weathering of basalts in the Putorana Plateau, Central Siberia, has been studied by combining chemical and mineralogical analysis of solids (rocks, soils, river sediments, and suspended matter) and fluid solution chemistry. Altogether, 70 large and small rivers, 30 soil pore waters and groundwaters and over 30 solids were sampled during July to August 2001. Analysis of multiannual data on discharge and chemical composition of several rivers of the region available from the Russian Hydrological Survey allowed rigorous estimation of mean annual major element concentrations, and dissolved and suspended fluxes associated with basalt weathering. For the rivers Tembenchi and Taimura that drain monolithologic basic volcanic rocks, the mean multiannual flux of total dissolved cations (TDS_c = Ca + Mg + Na + K) corrected for atmospheric input is 5.7 ± 0.5 t/km2/yr. For the largest river Nizhniya Tunguska?draining essentially basic rocks?the TDS_c is 6.1 ± 1.5 t/km2/yr. The overall CO2 consumption flux associated with basalt weathering in the studied region (?700,000 km2) achieves 0.08 × 1012 mol/yr, which represents only 2.6% of the total CO2 consumption associated with basalt weathering at the Earth?s surface. The fluxes of suspended matter were estimated as 3.1 ± 0.5, 9.0 ± 0.8, and 6.5 ± 2.0 t/km2/yr for rivers Taimura, Eratchimo, and Nizhniya Tunguska, respectively. Based on chemical analyses of river solutes and suspended matter, the relative dissolved versus particulate annual transport of major components is Cinorg ? Corg > Na + K > Ca > Mg > Si > Fe ? Mn ? Ti ? Al which reflects the usual order of element mobility during weathering. According to chemical and mineralogical soil and sediment analyses, alteration of basalt consists of (1) replacement of the original basaltic glass by Si-Al-Fe rich amorphous material, (2) mechanical desegregation and grinding of parent rocks, leading to accumulation of ?primary? hydrothermal trioctahedral smectite, and (3) transformation of these trioctahedral (oxy)smectites and mixed-layer chlorite-smectite, into secondary dioctahedral smectite accompanied by removal of Ca, Mg, and Fe, and enrichment in Al. No vertical chemical differentiation of fluid and solid phases within the soil profile was identified. All sampled soil pore waters and groundwaters were found to be close to equilibrium with respect to chalcedony, gibbsite, halloysite, and allophanes, but strongly supersaturated with respect to goethite, nontronite, and montmorillonite. Over the annual cycle, the contribution of atmospheric precipitation, permafrost melting, underground reservoirs, litter degradation, and rock and soil mineral weathering for the overall TDS_c transport in the largest river of the region (Nizhniya Tunguska) is 9.3 ± 3, 10 ± 5, 10.5 ± 5, 25 ± 20, and 45 ± 30%, respectively. In the summertime, direct contribution of rocks and soil mineral weathering via solid/fluid interaction does not exceed 20%. The main unknown factors of element mobilization from basalt to the river is litter degradation in the upper soil horizon and parameters of element turnover in the vegetation.