Evidence for freeze–thaw events and their implications for rock weathering in northern Canada: II. The temperature at which water freezes in rock

Many undertakings have used either a single value or a narrow window of temperatures as a threshold for the freezing of water within rock. These temperatures vary from 0 to ?5 C, with most windows being in the range ?1 to ?4 C. Based on thermal data, these thresholds are commonly used to ‘count’ the number of freeze–thaw events as a basis for determining freeze–thaw weathering. Data collected from northern Canada indicate that the temperature at which freezing occurs can vary substantially, even for the same site. Using exotherm and zero curtain observations from bricks, at angles of 90 and 45, aligned to the four cardinal aspects, the various temperatures at which water froze are shown. Bricks on the north and east commonly did exhibit freezing, based on exotherms, within the window ?1 to ?5 C, while data for the south and west aspects showed substantial variation, with freezes sometimes between ?6·4 and ?8·9 C. The data were evaluated for evidence of zero curtain effects (indicative of water freezing), but no unequivocal events could be found, and it is suggested that, at the scale of observation used here, they are unlikely. It would therefore appear that the use of thermal thresholds may not be meaningful for evaluation of freeze–thaw events. The available data also indicate many instances when temperatures went substantially sub‐zero (e.g. ?20 C) and yet no indication of water freezing occurred – most likely because there was no water available to freeze. This indicates that any form of freeze–thaw event counting, in the absence of some indicator of the presence of water and that it actually froze, is flawed, as thermal conditions alone are not adequate to indicate the occurrence or not of actual freeze–thaw weathering events. These data suggest that evaluations of freeze–thaw occurrence based simply on thermal thresholds may be substantially in error. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mineral Weathering in a Semiarid Mountain River: Its assessment through PHREEQC inverse modeling

By means of PHREEQC inverse modeling, we have simulated the weathering reactions in Los Reartes River, a mountainous (2400–670 m a.s.l.) drainage basin from the Sierras Pampeanas of Córdoba, Argentina, analyzing the effect of lithology, relief, and climate. The steep upper half of the basin (slopes > 20) is occupied by exposed granite; the remaining area is mostly metamorphic, with cropping out gneisses and progressively decreasing slopes (< 6). Climate is semihumid to semiarid; rainfall mainly occurs in summer and decreases with decreasing height. PHREEQC inverse models developed using water chemical data showed that (a) oligoclase was the major supplier of solutes, while the main precipitated phase was kaolinite in the granite domain; (b) muscovite is the chief supplier of solutes and illite is the main precipitated phase in the gneissic realm; (c) the steeper portions of the metamorphic reach are less crucial in supplying solutes than the lower ones, thus highlighting the importance of the water residence time in the kinetics of dissolution; (d) in the driest time of the year (winter, 20 mm/month) we registered the highest production of dissolved and precipitated phases; fluxes (mmol/month), however, are higher at the end of the rainy season; (e) CO₂ consumption is important all along the Los Reartes drainage basin and, in terms of mmol/kg H₂O, the lowermost portion of the basin is the most significant supplier; (f) CO₂ accounts for over 50 of all the species involved in the weathering reactions occurring at the Los Reartes drainage basin.     

Controls on soil pore water solutes: An approach for distinguishing between biogenic and lithogenic processes

Spatial and temporal variations in pore water compositions are characterized for a deep regolith profile developed on a marine terrace chronosequence near Santa Cruz California. Variations are resolved in terms of the dominance of either a lithogenic process, i.e. chemical weathering, or a biogenic process, i.e. plant nutrient cycling. The concept of elemental fractionation is introduced describing the extent that specific elements are mobilized and cycled as a result of these processes.     

Stratigraphy and geochemistry of a sequence of Quaternary palaeosols in the Lower Teleki Valley,Mount Kenya,East Africa — Implications for interregional correlations

The relative weathering of a sequence of five palaesols formed in different parent materials, including bedrock of phonolitic composition, is described and assessed. The three lower palaeosols (units 3–5) are considered to be of interglacial origin. The saprolite (unit 5), in phonolite, formed prior to deposition of the lower Brunhes-age till, is considered to be as old as the Brunhes Matuyama boundary (0.73 myr). The other two palaeosols in this group (units 3 and 4), derived from loess and till, respectively, formed over middle to late Brunhes time under palaeoclimates that were wetter (and presumably warmer), and of sufficient leaching power to move clay, as well as organically complexed extractable Fe and Al. The palaeosols in unit 3 are more complex than the lower ones. Their upper and lower horizons have about the same chemical composition as the lowest two palaeosols, while the middle horizons are similar to the upper two palaeosols (units 1 and 2). Radiocarbon dates for unit 3 are considered to be too young to account for the strong weathering in the upper and lower horizons. This interpretation is supported by high D/L ratios of aspartic acid. Overlying sediments, emplaced by episodic colluvial (unit 2) and slope wash (unit 1) processes, are less weathered; the lower colluvial unit in this group was emplaced during the late stade of the last glaciation. The surface sediments were emplaced more recently during the same interval and weathered mainly during the post-glacial period. Tentative correlations with core 82PCS18 from the Canary Basin show that upper unit 3 is probably equivalent to Isotope Stage 5e, lower unit 3 to Isotope Stage 7, unit 4 to Isotope Stage 8, and unit 5 to Isotope Stage 9. Units 1 and 2 are firmly correlated with Isotope Stage 2.     

准噶尔盆地特殊地表的静校正应用

准噶尔盆地腹部三个泉凸起东地段，地表为沙漠、深沟、陡坎和戈壁。地形高差大，表层纵、横向速度、厚度变化大，表层结构十分复杂．不同的表层速度差异变化，都将会造成十分严重的中、长波长静校正问题，影响地震资料的信噪比和剖面成像．通过对野外低速带实际资料的分析及应用，在地震微测井资料的约束下，依据表层地质特征的变化规律，采用分片综合建模静校正方法，建立了较为准确的表层结构模型，获得了良好的效果，比较好地解决了地震剖面中的中、长波长静校正问题．     

地质雷达在三峡工程施工阶段应用研究

长江三峡工程施工阶段面临众多复杂的工程地质问题和施工技术难题。寻找一种快捷、高分辨无损探测手段查明施工中出现的隐蔽的地质缺陷或质量问题,无疑对施工进度和施工质量起到保证作用,采用地质雷达手段,探明了开挖过程中花岗岩体不均匀风化分布范围：圈定出较大断层及风化夹层的延伸范围和产状;并进行了专用高速公路质量检查等,文章结合三个实例介绍应用情况。经现场验证,探测结果与实际情况吻合,应用效果显著。     

Element geochemistry of weathering profile of dolomitite and its implications for the average chemical composition of the upper-continental crust--Case studies from the Xinpu profile,northern Guizhou Province,China

Geochemical behavior of chemical elements is studied in a dolomitite weathering profile in upland of karst terrain in northern Guizhou.Two stages can be recognized during the process of in situ weathering of dolomitite:the stage of sedentary accumulation of leaching residue of dolomitite and the stage of chemical weathering evolution of sedentary soil.Ni,Cr,Mo,W and Ti are the least mobile elements with reference to Al.The geochemical behavior of REE is similar to that observed in weathering of other types of rocks.Fractionation of REE is noticed during weathering,and the two layers of REE enrichments are thought to result from downward movement of the weathering front in response to changes in the environment.It is considered that the chemistry of the upper part of the profile,which was more intensively weathered,is representative of the mobile components of the upper curst at the time the dolomitite was formed,while the less weathered lower profile is chemically representative of the immobile constitution.Like glacial till and loess,the "insoluble" materials in carbonate rocks originating from chemical sedimentation may also provide valuable information about the average chemical composition of the upper continental crust.     

A soil acidification study using the PROFILE model on two contrasting regions in Switzerland

The steady-state soil chemistry model PROFILE was used to calculate the chemical status of forest soils under present deposition loads for two areas with dissimilar ecosystem properties. Two regions in Switzerland, with contrasting bedrock geology were selected to be investigated in detail: 88 locations in the Jura Mountains, representative for carbonate bedrock and 91 locations in the Ticino Area dominated by metamorphic crystalline host rocks. Weathering rates calculated for the key regions cover the tremendous range between 0.013 and 25 keq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. In the Ticino Area, the effect of increased abundance of relatively fast weathering silicates (epidote, hornblende and plagioclase) on the weathering rate is apparently masked by the total effects of the physical conditions applied and by the variation in the deposition load. In the Jura Mountains, generally high weathering rates occur with about 50% of the sites yielding rates above 1 keq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. In many of the sites investigated, however, carbonates have already been dissolved completely in the soil horizons of interest resulting in very low weathering rates. The critical load of actual acidity was calculated according to: CL_Acidity=R_Weathering−ANC_Leaching, where alkalinity leaching is estimated by keeping the base cation to aluminum molar ratio at the critical limit of 1 at steady-state. The minimum critical load calculated was 0.2 keq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ and the maximum was 6.2 keq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Comparing the cumulative frequency distributions of critical loads of actual acidity for forest soils in the individual areas it can be seen that the differences between the key regions are less substantial than with the weathering rates. Critical loads of acidity for the Ticino Area range from 1 to 3.9 keq ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Sites yielding the lowest critical loads of acidity are observed in the Jura Mountains. Among these apparent sensitive soils are soils with intermediate or high weathering rates, although it has depleted topsoil layers. Within the context of this model application, it becomes apparent that the sensitivity of these soils with respect to acidification is also governed by the alkalinity leaching term and not only by the susceptibility of its minerals to weathering.     

新生代构造抬升对地表化学风化和全球气候变化的影响

全球新生代构造抬升 ,特别是南亚喜马拉雅青藏高原和南美安底斯山脉和Altiplano高原在新生代的抬升对地表化学风化和全球气候变化产生了重要影响。它对地表化学风化的影响主要表现为引起造山带地区化学风化能力的提高 ;而它对全球气候变化的影响则主要表现在两个方面 ,一是直接的物理影响 ,即通过对大气和海洋循环的影响来对大气变化产生作用 ;一是通过对地表硅酸盐岩石的化学风化造成大气CO2 变化和全球温度的改变 ,从而对气候变化产生间接的生物化学效应。目前看来 ,新生代构造抬升造成的大气CO2 浓度减少是造成全球新生代气候变冷的重要原因。这已得到了近 10年来计算机大气环流模型 (GCMs)数值模拟和野外实验研究的支持 ,但在关于地表化学风化的主要控制因素 ,以及海洋Sr同位素是否可作为反映地表化学风化速率变化的替代性标志和气候变化反馈机制等方面 ,还需要作进一步研究。     

萨拉乌苏河流域末次间冰期 古土壤化学风化与古气候

内蒙萨拉乌苏河流域米浪沟湾剖面末次间冰期发育5 层古土壤。对这5 层古土壤的形 态特征、粒度、扫描电镜及化学风化等分析结果表明: (1) 这些古土壤具有与华北现代褐土相 似的形态特征; (2) 粘化率中部高和石英颗粒表面硅质溶蚀-沉淀现象表明古土壤层中发生过 风化成壤作用; (3) 用K₂O/Na₂O、Al₂O₃/Na₂O、MnO/Al₂O₃、CIA 及A-CN-K 图解与华北现代 褐土作对比分析, 发现它们的化学风化特征极为相似; (4) 用气温及降水量与CIA 值的回归 关系方程, 得出5 层古土壤发育时期的水热状况确与华北现代的暖温带半湿润季风性气候大 致相同或更显暖湿。形态特征、粒度、石英颗粒表面特征和化学风化特征等多个方面具备了 与现代华北褐土类似的化学风化成壤特征, 证明这些古土壤是在与华北相似的暖温带半湿润 季风性气候条件下形成的。