Anthropogenically enhanced chemical weathering and carbon evasion in the Yangtze Basin.

ABSTRACT: Chemical weathering is a fundamental geochemical process regulating the atmosphere-land-ocean fluxes and earth's climate. It is under natural conditions driven primarily by weak carbonic acid that originates from atmosphere CO2 or soil respiration. Chemical weathering is therefore assumed as positively coupled with its CO2 consumption in contemporary geochemistry. Strong acids (i.e. sulfuric- and nitric acid) from anthropogenic sources have been found to influence the weathering rate and CO2 consumption, but their integrated effects remain absent in the world largest river basins. By interpreting the water chemistry and overall proton budget in the Yangtze Basin, we found that anthropogenic acidification had enhanced the chemical weathering by 40% during the past three decades, leading to

SUBMITTER: Guo J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4493640 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature