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Freshwater Carbon and the Weathering Cycle

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Physical and Chemical Weathering in Geochemical Cycles

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASIC,volume 251))

Abstract

Carbonic acid is the most important chemical weathering agent. The CO2-pressure of an aqueous solution governs the reactions with carbonate minerals and silicates. In addition to the inorganic reactions, life processes extract CO2 from water photosynthetically or add it when organic matter is consumed by respiration. Both labile and stable organic molecules enter the water, the labile compounds being responsible for fueling respiration, whereas the stable species are transported unaltered. Six case studies follow the fate of carbon from small headwaters through lakes and rivers into estuaries. (1) The first study introduces the Plitvice Lakes, which are ponded behind actively growing travertine dams. Lakes are fed by small springs from carbonate terrains. The rates of release of CO2 and of calcite precipitation are given. (2) The second case study introduces a mountainous bog releasing large quantities of organic matter. (3) The Amazon is discussed as an example of interactions between a large tropical river and its floodplains. (4) The fourth example deals with the Nile and how the closure of the Aswan Dam altered its hydrology and carbonate chemistry. (5) The Rhine serves as an example of a heavily polluted river. Here, in the limnic environment of Lake Constance, the PCO2 depressed by eutrophication while in the fluvial environment PCO2 increased due to internal respiration of labile organic matter. (6) Finally the estuary of the Elbe serves to show that high PCO2 of a polluted river is buffered by dissolution of suspended carbonates.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. SCOPE/UNEP International Carbon Center, Geologisch-Paläontologisches Institut, Universität Hamburg, 2000, Hamburg 13, Federal Republic of Germany

    Stephan Kempe

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  1. Stephan Kempe
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    A. Lerman

  2. Institut de Biogéochimie Marine, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Montrouge, France

    M. Meybeck

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© 1988 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Kempe, S. (1988). Freshwater Carbon and the Weathering Cycle. In: Lerman, A., Meybeck, M. (eds) Physical and Chemical Weathering in Geochemical Cycles. NATO ASI Series, vol 251. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3071-1_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3071-1_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7881-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-3071-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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