Sr isotope composition in inland seas of the Mediterranean-Black Sea belt

Doklady Earth Sciences -     

Sr and Sr/Sr in the Yamuna River System in the Himalaya: sources, fluxes, and controls on sr isotope composition

Sr and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr have been measured in the Yamuna river headwaters and many of its tributaries (YRS) in the Himalaya. These results, with those available for major ions in YRS rivers and in various lithologies of their basin, have been used to determine their contributions to riverine Sr and its isotopic budget. Sr in the YRS ranges from 120 to 13,400 nM, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr from 0.7142 to 0.7932. Streams in the upper reaches, draining predominantly silicates, have low Sr and high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr whereas those draining the lower reaches exhibit the opposite resulting from differences in drainage lithology. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr shows significant co-variation with SiO₂/TDS and (Na^* + K)/TZ⁺ (indices of silicate weathering) in YRS waters, suggesting the dominant role of silicate weathering in contributing to high radiogenic Sr. This is also consistent with the observation that streams draining largely silicate terrains have the highest ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, analogous to that reported for the Ganga headwaters. Evaluation of the significance of other sources such as calc-silicates and trace calcites in regulating Sr budget of these rivers and their high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr needs detailed work on their Sr and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr. Preliminary calculations, however, indicate that they can be a significant source to some of the rivers.It is estimated that on an average, ∼25% of Sr in the YRS is derived from silicate weathering. In the lower reaches, the streams receive ∼15% of their Sr from carbonate weathering whereas in the upper reaches, calc-silicates can contribute significantly (∼50%) to the Sr budget of rivers. These calculations reveal the need for additional sources for rivers in the lower reaches to balance their Sr budget. Evaporites and phosphorites are potential candidates as judged from their occurrence in the drainage basin. In general, Precambrian carbonates, evaporites, and phosphorites “dilute” the high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr supplied by silicates, thus making Sr isotope distribution in YRS an overall two end member mixing. Major constraints in quantifying contributions of Sr and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr from different sources to YRS rivers are the wide range in Sr and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr of major lithologies, limited data on Sr and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr in minor phases and on the behavior of Sr, Na, and Ca during weathering and transport.The Ganga and the Yamuna together transport ∼0.1% of the global Sr flux at the foothills of the Himalaya which is in the same proportion as their contribution to global water discharge. Dissolved Sr flux from the Yamuna and its mobilization rate in the YRS basin is higher than those in the Ganga basin in the Himalaya, a result consistent with higher physical and chemical erosion rates in the YRS.     

Multiple T-S states for estuaries, shelves, and marginal seas

Simple theoretical box-models and laboratory experiments demonstrate that an estuary subjected to freshwater flux and heating or cooling can possess more than one stable, stationary state if a well-defined set of forcing conditions are present. Two types of estuaries can develop such multiple temperature-salinity states. The same may be true of continental shelves and marginal seas. One type receives freshwater runoff from land but is cooled in the winter. The second has net freshwater loss from evaporation but also receives strong solar heating. Criteria are found which define the conditions needed for multiple states. It is shown that under most conditions, the density difference vetween estuary and ocean would be dominated by salinity if the inlet is sufficiently small (such as inland seas). In contrast, if the inlet is sufficiently wide and atmospheric cooling and heating is sufficiently great, the density difference would be dominated by temperature. Multiple states lie between these extremes. One of the multiple states is dominated by the salinity difference between estuary and ocean, the other by temperature difference. Each state is stable.     

The structure and stratigraphy of deepwater Sarawak,Malaysia: Implications for tectonic evolution

The structural-stratigraphic history of the North Luconia Province, Sarawak deepwater area, is related to the tectonic history of the South China Sea. The Sarawak Basin initiated as a foreland basin as a result of the collision of the Luconia continental block with Sarawak (Sarawak Orogeny). The foreland basin was later overridden by and buried under the prograding Oligocene-Recent shelf-slope system. The basin had evolved through a deep foreland basin (‘flysch’) phase during late Eocene–Oligocene times, followed by post-Oligocene (‘molasse’) phase of shallow marine shelf progradation to present day.Seismic interpretation reveals a regional Early Miocene Unconformity (EMU) separating pre-Oligocene to Miocene rifted basement from overlying undeformed Upper Miocene–Pliocene bathyal sediments. Seismic, well data and subsidence analysis indicate that the EMU was caused by relative uplift and predominantly submarine erosion between ∼19 and 17 Ma ago. The subsidence history suggests a rift-like subsidence pattern, probably with a foreland basin overprint during the last 10 Ma. Modelling results indicate that the EMU represents a major hiatus in the sedimentation history, with an estimated 500–2600 m of missing section, equivalent to a time gap of 8–10 Ma. The EMU is known to extend over the entire NW Borneo margin and is probably related to the Sabah Orogeny which marks the cessation of sea-floor spreading in the South China Sea and collision of Dangerous Grounds block with Sabah.Gravity modelling indicates a thinned continental crust underneath the Sarawak shelf and slope and supports the seismic and well data interpretation. There is a probable presence of an overthrust wedge beneath the Sarawak shelf, which could be interpreted as a sliver of the Rajang Group accretionary prism. Alternatively, magmatic underplating beneath the Sarawak shelf could equally explain the free-air gravity anomaly. The Sarawak basin was part of a remnant ocean basin that was closed by oblique collision along the NW Borneo margin. The closure started in the Late Eocene in Sarawak and moved progressively northeastwards into Sabah until the Middle Miocene. The present-day NW Sabah margin may be a useful analogue for the Oligocene–Miocene Sarawak foreland basin.     

87Sr/86Sr isotope composition of bottled British mineral waters for environmental and forensic purposes

Mineral waters in Britain show a wide range of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotope compositions ranging between ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.7059 from Carboniferous volcanic rock sources in Dunbartonshire, Scotland to ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.7207 in the Dalradian aquifer of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr composition of the waters shows a general correlation with the aquifer rocks, resulting in the waters from older rocks having a more radiogenic signature than those from younger rocks. This wide range of values means that the Sr isotope composition of mineral water has applications in a number of types of studies. In the modern commercial context, it provides a way of fingerprinting the various mineral waters and hence provides a method for recognising and reducing fraud. From an environmental perspective, it provides the first spatial distribution of bio-available ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr in Britain that can be used in modern, historical and archaeological studies.     

The role of volcanism in the development of the Japan,Okhotsk, and Philippine marginal seas

Newly obtained petrological and geochemical data on Late Mesozoic-Cenozoic volcanic complexes in the Japan, Okhotsk, and Philippine marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean made it possible to specify the types and characteristics of various stages of volcanism in the seas, trace the evolutionary history of the volcanic processes, and identify the geodynamic environments in which the deep-sea basins were formed, as well as to distinguish inherent features in the evolution of marginal seas in the continent-ocean transition zone in the Central Asian sector of the Pacific Ocean. These features imply that the processes that formed this zone in the region were similar. Significant differences revealed between the zones in the region were predetermined, first of all, by the different types of the Earth’s crust that was involved in the major tectonic-magmatic processes and participated in the generation of the magmatic melts.     

Elemental and Sr isotope variations in basic lavas from Iceland and the surrounding ocean floor

Major and trace element data are used to establish the nature and extent of spatial and temporal chemical variations in basalts erupted in the Iceland region of the North Atlantic Ocean. The ocean floor samples are those recovered by legs 38 and 49 of the Deep Sea Drilling Project. Within each of the active zones on Iceland there are small scale variations in the light rare earth elements and ratios such as K/Y: several central complexes and their associated fissure swarms erupt basalts with values of K/Y distinct from those erupted at adjacent centres; also basalts showing a wide range of immobile trace element ratios occur together within single vertical sections and ocean floor drill holes. Although such variations can be explained in terms of the magmatic processes operating on Iceland they make extrapolations from single basalt samples to mantle sources underlying the outcrop of the sample highly tenuous. ⁸⁷Sr/86Sr ratios measured for 25 of the samples indicate a total range from 0.7028 in a tholeiite from the Reykjanes Ridge to 0.7034 in an alkali basalt from Iceland and are consistent with other published ratios from the region. A positive correlation between ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and Ce/Yb ratios indicates the existence of systematic isotopic and elemental variations in the mantle source region. An approximately fivefold variation in Ce/Yb ratio observed in basalts with the same ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio implies that different degrees and types of partial melting have been involved in magma genesis from a single mantle composition. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios above 0.7028, Th/U ratios close to 4 and La/Ta ratios close to 10 distinguish most basalts erupted in this part of the North Atlantic Ocean from normal mid-ocean ridge basalt (N-type MORE) — although N-type MORB has been erupted at extinct spreading axes just to the north and northeast of Iceland as well as the presently active Iceland-Jan Mayen Ridge.Comparisons with the hygromagmatophile element and radiogenic isotope ratios of MORB and the estimated primordial mantle indicate that the mantle sources producing Iceland basalts have undergone previous depletion followed by more recent enrichment events. A veined mantle source region is proposed in preference to the mantle plume model to explain the chemical variations.     

Eustasy and sea water Sr composition: application to high-resolution Sr-isotope stratigraphy of Miocene shallow-water carbonates

Oceanic ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr‐isotope ratios are strongly influenced by rates of silicate weathering and therefore linked not only to glaciation but also to sea‐level change. The present study combines analysis of sequence stratigraphy and basin architecture with Sr‐isotope stratigraphy in Miocene shallow‐water sediments in southern Portugal and Crete (Greece). The common method is to use smoothed global sea water Sr‐isotope reference curves but here a different approach is chosen. Instead, measured Sr‐isotope curves are correlated with unsmoothed reference curves by identification of similar fluctuations in the order of several 100 kyr. Transgressive intervals are characterized by increasing Sr‐isotope ratios interpreted as corresponding to intensified silicate weathering as a consequence of deglaciation, while lowstand deposits have low Sr‐isotope ratios. Comparison of Sr‐isotope curves and sedimentary sequences in the studied basins with independent global δ¹⁸O data and data on global sea‐level might suggest a general relationship, supporting a connection to global climate change. Because of these relationships, the method presented herein has a high potential for use in high‐resolution age dating and is also applicable in shallow‐water sediments.     

Morphology, stratigraphy and oxygen isotope composition of fossil glacier ice at Ledyanaya Gora, Northwest Siberia, Russia

Studies of the stratigraphy, sedimentology, structure and isotope composition of a buried massive ice body and its encompassing sediments at Ledyanaya Gora in northwestern Siberia demonstrate that the ice is relict glacier ice, probably emplaced during the Early Weichselian. Characteristics of this ice body should serve as a guide for the identification of other relict buried glacier ice bodies in permafrost regions.     

Alluvium: Implications for stratigraphy and correlation of quaternary sediments

Based on a generalized knowledge of conditions and mechanisms for accumulation of the cycle terrace alluvium on plain and mountain rivers, alluvium is suggested as an instrument for stratigraphic studies, interregional correlation, and correction of present schemes. Diachronous alluvial formations are uniformly constructed. They include two subunits, a lower “warm” and an upper “cool” one. In addition the formations are subdivided in dynamic phases that display a dominating regime and stages of erosion-and-accumulation cycle. Alluvial formations are characterized by a peculiar mechanical and mineralogical composition, gradation, bedding, thickness, landscape and climatic conditions of accumulation, paleontological content, character of occurrence, and position in a cycle incision. All these characters of an alluvial formation and its subformations correspond to a complete climatic rhythm and oscillation stages. Alluvial formations are associated in a certain way with glacial and marine sediments making up a single formation complex.     

Juvenile versus recycled crust in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt: Implications from ocean plate stratigraphy,blueschist belts and intra-oceanic arcs

New or “juvenile” crust forms and grows mainly through mafic to andesitic magmatism at Pacific-type or accretionary type convergent margins as well as via tectonic accretion of oceanic and island-arc terranes and translation of continental terranes. During the last decades the juvenile or recycled nature of crust has been commonly evaluated using whole-rock isotope and Hf-in-zircon isotope methods. However, evidence for the accretionary or Pacific-type nature of an orogenic belt comes from geological data, for example, from the presence of accretionary complexes (AC), intra-oceanic arcs (IOA), oceanic plate stratigraphy units (OPS), and MORB-OIB derived blueschist belts (BSB). The Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) represents the world's largest province of Phanerozoic juvenile crustal growth during ca. 800 m.y. between the East European, Siberian, North China and Tarim cratons. From geological point of view, the CAOB is a typical Pacific-type belt as it hosts numerous occurrences of accretionary complexes, intra-oceanic arcs, OPS units, and MORB-OIB derived blueschist belts. In spite of its accretionary nature, supported by positive whole rock Nd isotope characteristics in CAOB granitoids, the Hf-in-zircon isotope data reveal a big portion of recycled crust. Such a controversy can be explained by presence of accreted microcontinents, isotopically mixed igneous reservoirs and by the tectonic erosion of juvenile crust. The most probable localities of tectonic erosion in the CAOB are the middle and southern Tienshan and southern Transbaikalia because these regions comprise a predominantly recycled crust (based on isotope data), but the geological data show the presence of intra-oceanic arcs, blueschist belts and accreted OPS with oceanic island basalts (OIB) and tectonically juxtaposed coeval arc granitoids and accretionary units. This warrants combination of detailed geological studies with isotopic results, as on their own they may not reflect such processes as tectonic erosion of juvenile crust and/or arc subduction.     

Trace-element composition of Fe-rich residual liquids formed by fractional crystallization: Implications for the Hadean magma ocean

New isotopic studies of ¹⁴²Nd, the daughter product of the short-lived and now extinct isotope ¹⁴⁶Sm, have revealed that the accessible part of the silicate Earth (e.g., upper mantle and crust) is more radiogenic in ¹⁴²Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd than that of chondritic meteorites. The positive ¹⁴²Nd anomaly of the Earth’s mantle implies that the Sm/Nd ratio of the mantle was fractionated early in Earth’s history and that the complementary low ¹⁴²Nd reservoir has remained isolated from the mantle since its formation. This has led to the suggestion that an early enriched reservoir, formed within Earth’s first hundred million years (the Hadean), resides permanently in the deep interior of the Earth. One hypothesis for a permanently isolated reservoir is that there may be an Fe-rich, and hence intrinsically dense, chemical boundary layer at the core-mantle boundary. The protoliths of this chemical boundary layer could have originated at upper mantle pressures during extreme fractional crystallization of a global magma ocean during the Hadean but testing this hypothesis is difficult because samples of this early enriched reservoir do not exist. This hypothesis, however, is potentially refutable. Here, we investigate a post-Archean magnetite-sulfide magma formed by extreme magmatic differentiation to test whether residual Fe-rich liquids of any kind have the necessary trace-element signatures to satisfy certain global geochemical imbalances. The magnetite-sulfide magma is found to have high Pb contents (and low U/Pb ratios), high Re/Os ratios, and anti-correlated Sm/Nd and Lu/Hf fractionations. Permanent segregation of such a magma would (1) provide a means of early Pb sequestration, resulting in the high U/Pb ratio of the bulk silicate Earth, (2) be a source of radiogenic ¹⁸⁷Os in the source regions of plumes, and (3) provide an explanation for decoupled Hf and Nd isotopic evolution in the early Archean, which is not easily produced by silicate fractionation. However, the magnetite-sulfide magma is not highly enriched in K, and thus, at face value, this magma analog would not serve as a repository for all of the heat producing elements. Nevertheless, other Fe-O-S liquids reported elsewhere are enriched in apatite, which carries high concentrations of K, U and Th. Given some promising geochemical fractionations of the Fe-rich liquids investigated here, the notion of a Hadean Fe-rich residual liquid deserves continued consideration from additional experimental or analog studies.     

东亚西太平洋岩石圈三维结构及其地幔动力学

欧亚大陆及其边缘海地区是由约30多块尺度不同、形成时代和性质各异的板块或地块拼合而成。这些岩石圈板块或地块经过长时间的漂移,多次聚合与分离,碰撞与增生,在新生代最后形成现代的拼合欧亚大陆。欧亚大陆及其边缘海的板块或地块可以分为以下六类:(1)前寒武纪巨型克拉通地块及地盾;(2)前寒武纪小型克拉通地块及板块;(3)显生宙造山带及汇聚地块;(4)陆陆碰撞型地块及造山带;(5)新生代边缘海海盆;(6)大陆裂谷盆地及增生地块。高分辨率地震面波层析成像,显示同一类型的板块或地块的岩石圈和软流圈的速度结构十分相似,呈现出其独有的速度分布特征。不同类型板块或地块的速度结构有重大差异。直到400km深度,各个板块和地块的横向差异才逐渐减小。一般而言,前寒武纪克拉通板块及地块的岩石圈巨厚具有高速性质、软流圈很薄或不存在;边缘海、造山带等区域岩石圈较薄和速度较低,软流圈发育。根据欧亚大陆及边缘海地区天然地震层析成像,人工地震剖面数据及其他有关资料,建立了欧亚大陆及其边缘海岩石圈模型。     

Sr and Nd isotope composition of deformed peridotite xenoliths from Udachnaya kimberlite pipe

New results of Rb–Sr and Sm–Nd isotope analyses have been obtained on samples of deformed peridotite xenoliths collected from the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe (Yakutia). The data obtained imply two main stages of metasomatic alteration of the lithospheric mantle base matter in the central part of the Siberian Craton. Elevated ratios of Sr isotopes may be considered as evidence of an ancient stage of metasomatic enrichment by a carbonatite melt. The acquired Nd isotope composition together with the geochemistry of the deformed peridotite xenoliths suggests that the second stage of metasomatic alteration took place shortly before formation of the kimberlite melt. The metasomatic agent of this stage had a silicate character and arrived from an asthenosphere source, common for the normal OIB type (PREMA) and the Group-I kimberlite.

     

The composition of the precambrian ocean waters

The composition of the Precambrian oceans was different from the present composition; this is a direct consequence of a CO₂-atmosphere depleted in oxygen. At the beginning the mineralization was lower. The oceans waters were chloro-dicarbonated with a lower tenor of chlorine, richer in phosphates and they were depleted in sulphates; sulphur was in the reduced state of sulphides. The abundance of phosphates supported the expansion of life. The cations Na⁺ and Mg²⁺ coexisted with Ca²⁺, Fe²⁺ and Ba²⁺ whose levels were higher than they are today. The main trends of the evolution are schematized in the figure.     

The stratigraphy and composition of the Latterbarrow and Redmain sandstones,Lake District,England

The Latterbarrow Formation, 400 m thick, has been mapped and subdivided informally into three members. These consist of quartz wacke sandstone and, in the upper member only, intercalated mudstones. The formation unconformably overlies the fossiliferous Skiddaw Group of late Tremadoc to middle Arenig age and is overlain disconformably by volcanic rocks that have been attributed to the Borrowdale Volcanic Group. Chemically, the sandstones are characterized by very low concentrations of CaO, Na₂O, and K₂O and unusually high total iron. MnO and MgO, such that iron, as Fe₂O₃, exceeds Al₂O₃. Mudstone in the upper member is illite rich, has a high K₂O content and is compositionally similar to K-bentonites derived from volcanic ash. Sedimentary structures and petrography suggest that the sediments were deposited in a sandy estuary and were derived from a similar source area to that of the Skiddaw Group. Throughout the succession there is evidence of distal volcanism, probably representing the earliest eruptions of the Borrowdale volcanic episode. The Redmain Formation, 100 m thick, is unconformably overlain by Carboniferous rocks but its relationship to the underlying Skiddaw Group is unknown. Though this lithic arenite shows some petrographic and geochemical similarities with the Latterbarrow sandstone, differences are such that it is possible they are not equivalent in age. The Redmain sandstone may be derived from the erosion of Skiddaw Group rocks.     

中国边缘海海洋沉积生态环境反演中的生物标志物

中国边缘海是海—陆—气圈进行物质和能量交换最活跃的海域之一,重建中国边缘海海洋生态环境演变对深入探析人类活动和气候变化的耦合作用意义重大,海洋沉积物生物标志物为定性/定量揭示海洋生态环境演变提供有效手段,可为预测人类活动影响下的海洋生态环境演变趋势提供科学支撑。本文总结归纳目前海洋沉积物中常用的古菌、细菌和真核来源生物标志物在海陆来源、化学结构、分布规律与功能等方面的特征,分析了不同生物标志物类型在重建海洋温度、酸碱度、氧化还原环境和浮游植物演变过程中的应用状况,剖析了多参数生物标志物在重建中国边缘海生态环境演变中存在的问题。总体而言,利用生物标志物重建中国边缘海生态环境演变的研究大多还停留在定性描述水平;由于对生物标志物母源生物及其适应机制认识不足会导致对生物标志物指标的解译存在偏差,进而影响海洋环境重建结果的准确性;此外,多种重要海洋环境演变参数并未建立起有效的生物标志物指标。未来的海洋生态环境重建研究应从结合新技术新方法厘清生物来源,整合大数据分析方法构建有更精确对应关系的校正公式以实现定量反演和准确预测,同时结合功能微生物群落筛选出更具独特性的新型生物标志物等方面开展研究。     

中国边缘海海洋沉积生态环境反演中的生物标志物

中国边缘海是海—陆—气圈进行物质和能量交换最活跃的海域之一,重建中国边缘海海洋生态环境演变对深入探析人类活动和气候变化的耦合作用意义重大,海洋沉积物生物标志物为定性/定量揭示海洋生态环境演变提供有效手段,可为预测人类活动影响下的海洋生态环境演变趋势提供科学支撑。本文总结归纳目前海洋沉积物中常用的古菌、细菌和真核来源生物标志物在海陆来源、化学结构、分布规律与功能等方面的特征,分析了不同生物标志物类型在重建海洋温度、酸碱度、氧化还原环境和浮游植物演变过程中的应用状况,剖析了多参数生物标志物在重建中国边缘海生态环境演变中存在的问题。总体而言,利用生物标志物重建中国边缘海生态环境演变的研究大多还停留在定性描述水平;由于对生物标志物母源生物及其适应机制认识不足会导致对生物标志物指标的解译存在偏差,进而影响海洋环境重建结果的准确性;此外,多种重要海洋环境演变参数并未建立起有效的生物标志物指标。未来的海洋生态环境重建研究应从结合新技术新方法厘清生物来源,整合大数据分析方法构建有更精确对应关系的校正公式以实现定量反演和准确预测,同时结合功能微生物群落筛选出更具独特性的新型生物标志物等方面开展研究。     

Reconciling the elemental and Sr isotope composition of Himalayan weathering fluxes: insights from the carbonate geochemistry of stream waters

Determining the relative proportions of silicate vs. carbonate weathering in the Himalaya is important for understanding atmospheric CO₂ consumption rates and the temporal evolution of seawater Sr. However, recent studies have shown that major element mass-balance equations attribute less CO₂ consumption to silicate weathering than methods utilizing Ca/Sr and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr mixing equations. To investigate this problem, we compiled literature data providing elemental and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr analyses for stream waters and bedrock from tributary watersheds throughout the Himalaya Mountains. In addition, carbonate system parameters (P_CO2, mineral saturation states) were evaluated for a selected suite of stream waters. The apparent discrepancy between the dominant weathering source of dissolved major elements vs. Sr can be reconciled in terms of carbonate mineral equilibria. Himalayan streams are predominantly Ca²⁺-Mg²⁺-HCO₃⁻ waters derived from calcite and dolomite dissolution, and mass-balance calculations demonstrate that carbonate weathering contributes ∼87% and ∼76% of the dissolved Ca²⁺ and Sr²⁺, respectively. However, calculated Ca/Sr ratios for the carbonate weathering flux are much lower than values observed in carbonate bedrock, suggesting that these divalent cations do not behave conservatively during stream mixing over large temperature and P_CO2 gradients in the Himalaya.The state of calcite and dolomite saturation was evaluated across these gradients, and the data show that upon descending through the Himalaya, ∼50% of the streams evaluated become highly supersaturated with respect to calcite as waters warm and degas CO₂. Stream water Ca/Mg and Ca/Sr ratios decrease as the degree of supersaturation with respect to calcite increases, and Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, and HCO₃⁻ mass balances support interpretations of preferential Ca²⁺ removal by calcite precipitation. On the basis of patterns of saturation state and P_CO2 changes, calcite precipitation was estimated to remove up to ∼70% of the Ca²⁺ originally derived from carbonate weathering. Accounting for the nonconservative behavior of Ca²⁺ during riverine transport brings the Ca/Sr and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr composition of the carbonate weathering flux into agreement with the composition of carbonate bedrock, thereby permitting consistency between elemental and Sr isotope approaches to partitioning stream water solute sources. These results resolve the dissolved Sr²⁺ budget and suggest that the conventional application of two-component Ca/Sr and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr mixing equations has overestimated silicate-derived Sr²⁺ and HCO₃⁻ fluxes from the Himalaya. In addition, these findings demonstrate that integrating stream water carbonate mineral equilibria, divalent cation compositional trends, and Sr isotope inventories provides a powerful approach for examining weathering fluxes.