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River Chemistry, Geology, Geomorphology, and Soils in the Amazon and Orinoco Basins

  • Chapter
The Chemistry of Weathering

Part of the book series: Nato ASI Series ((ASIC,volume 149))

Abstract

In the Amazon and Orinoco basins, the chemistry of rivers can be related to the geology of their catchments when geomorphic factors are taken into consideration. To a first order, erosion processes are seen to occupy a continuum between weathering-limited (steep slopes, thin soils) and transport-limited (slight slopes, thick soils). Denudation rates for the former are lithology dependent, and significant removal of cation-rich, unstable, solid phases is expected. For the latter, erosion rates should depend on the regional lowering of the landscape; lithologic susceptibility to weathering should be a minor factor. The compositonal trends of river dissolved and solid load can be approximated for different weathering regimes using soil chemistry data. Preliminary results suggest that evolutionary models of saprolites produce results which are consistent with river chemistry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological and Geophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, 08544, USA

    Robert F. Stallard

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  1. Robert F. Stallard
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology and Geophysics, The University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA

    James Irving Drever

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© 1985 D. Reidel Publishing Company

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Stallard, R.F. (1985). River Chemistry, Geology, Geomorphology, and Soils in the Amazon and Orinoco Basins. In: Drever, J.I. (eds) The Chemistry of Weathering. Nato ASI Series, vol 149. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5333-8_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5333-8_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-8855-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-5333-8

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