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Importance of porosity and transfer of matter in the rock weathering processes: two examples in central Spain

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Abstract

Some physical properties (bulk and free porosity, pore size distribution), and the chemical composition and mass balance of two deeply weathered profiles one developed on Hercynian granodiorite and the other on pre-Cambrian slates were studied. Hydric and mercury porosimetry, nitrogen adsorption techniques, chemical analyses and XRD techniques were used. On granodiorite, weathering has created increased porosity with a pore diameter <5 μm, whereas on slates the weathering has produced of ca. 1 μm in diameter. These pore sizes have played an important role in the weathering processes. Assuming that weathering preserves volumes, except in the uppermost part of the profiles, it brought about a loss of matter of more than 12% (~300 kg/m3) on granodiorite and ca. 30% (~800 kg/m3) on slates. These changes are related to shifts in the mineralogical evolution, with the appearance of new 2:1 and 1:1 phyllosilicates and Fe oxy-hydroxides as the main authigenic minerals. The release of matter, at least since the upper Neogene until the present, has led to the lowering of relief in a more or less homogeneous way, giving rise to gentle hillsides and flat surfaces below which the current river networks are incised. Porosity studies have the potential to explain several specific landforms as well as affecting landscape development in general.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledged the interesting suggestions of Prof. C. R. TWIDALE. We also thank the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia of Spain and the Junta de Castilla y León for financial support under Projects CGL2007-62168/BTE (funds FEDER) and Project SA024A07, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dpto. de Geología, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain

    E. Molina Ballesteros & J. García Talegón

  2. Insto. de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Salamanca (IRNASA-CSIC), Salamanca, Spain

    A. C. Iñigo Iñigo, M. González Sánchez & H. Herrero Fernández

  3. Unidad Asociada de Investigación Universidad de Salamanca-CSIC, Salamanca, Spain

    E. Molina Ballesteros, J. García Talegón, A. C. Iñigo Iñigo, M. González Sánchez & H. Herrero Fernández

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  1. E. Molina Ballesteros
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  4. M. González Sánchez
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Correspondence to E. Molina Ballesteros.

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Molina Ballesteros, E., García Talegón, J., Iñigo Iñigo, A.C. et al. Importance of porosity and transfer of matter in the rock weathering processes: two examples in central Spain. Environ Earth Sci 64, 1741–1754 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-1015-y

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