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Title: Ecohydrologic processes and soil thickness feedbacks control limestone-weathering rates in a karst landscape

Abstract

Here, chemical weathering of bedrock plays an essential role in the formation and evolution of Earth's critical zone. Over geologic time, the negative feedback between temperature and chemical weathering rates contributes to the regulation of Earth climate. The challenge of understanding weathering rates and the resulting evolution of critical zone structures lies in complicated interactions and feedbacks among environmental variables, local ecohydrologic processes, and soil thickness, the relative importance of which remains unresolved. We investigate these interactions using a reactive-transport kinetics model, focusing on a low-relief, wetland-dominated karst landscape (Big Cypress National Preserve, South Florida, USA) as a case study. Across a broad range of environmental variables, model simulations highlight primary controls of climate and soil biological respiration, where soil thickness both supplies and limits transport of biologically derived acidity. Consequently, the weathering rate maximum occurs at intermediate soil thickness. The value of the maximum weathering rate and the precise soil thickness at which it occurs depend on several environmental variables, including precipitation regime, soil inundation, vegetation characteristics, and rate of groundwater drainage. Simulations for environmental conditions specific to Big Cypress suggest that wetland depressions in this landscape began to form around beginning of the Holocene with gradual dissolution ofmore » limestone bedrock and attendant soil development, highlighting large influence of age-varying soil thickness on weathering rates and consequent landscape development. While climatic variables are often considered most important for chemical weathering, our results indicate that soil thickness and biotic activity are equally important. Weathering rates reflect complex interactions among soil thickness, climate, and local hydrologic and biotic processes, which jointly shape the supply and delivery of chemical reactants, and the resulting trajectories of critical zone and karst landscape development.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [1]; ORCiD logo [4];  [2];  [1]
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  1. Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States)
  2. Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)
  3. Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States)
  4. Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States); Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Sequim, WA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1605910
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1439093
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-132178
Journal ID: ISSN 0009-2541
Grant/Contract Number:  
DEB#1354783; AC05-76RL01830
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Chemical Geology
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 527; Journal Issue: 2019; Journal ID: ISSN 0009-2541
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; abiotic; karst; reactive transport; biogeochemistry; carbon dioxide; climate change; decomposition; ecosystem; erosion; geology; holocene; hydrogeology; interface; inorganic; organic matter; patterned landscape; sea level rise; terrestial aquatic interface; wetland; wetland model; wetland soils; Chemical weathering; Critical zone; Feedbacks

Citation Formats

Dong, Xiaoli, Cohen, Matthew, Martin, Jonathan, Mclaughlin, Daniel, Murray, A. Brad, Ward, Nicholas D., Flint, Madison, and Heffernan, James. Ecohydrologic processes and soil thickness feedbacks control limestone-weathering rates in a karst landscape. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2018.05.021.
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Dong, Xiaoli, Cohen, Matthew, Martin, Jonathan, Mclaughlin, Daniel, Murray, A. Brad, Ward, Nicholas D., Flint, Madison, & Heffernan, James. Ecohydrologic processes and soil thickness feedbacks control limestone-weathering rates in a karst landscape. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2018.05.021
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Dong, Xiaoli, Cohen, Matthew, Martin, Jonathan, Mclaughlin, Daniel, Murray, A. Brad, Ward, Nicholas D., Flint, Madison, and Heffernan, James. Fri . "Ecohydrologic processes and soil thickness feedbacks control limestone-weathering rates in a karst landscape". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2018.05.021. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1605910.
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@article{osti_1605910,
title = {Ecohydrologic processes and soil thickness feedbacks control limestone-weathering rates in a karst landscape},
author = {Dong, Xiaoli and Cohen, Matthew and Martin, Jonathan and Mclaughlin, Daniel and Murray, A. Brad and Ward, Nicholas D. and Flint, Madison and Heffernan, James},
abstractNote = {Here, chemical weathering of bedrock plays an essential role in the formation and evolution of Earth's critical zone. Over geologic time, the negative feedback between temperature and chemical weathering rates contributes to the regulation of Earth climate. The challenge of understanding weathering rates and the resulting evolution of critical zone structures lies in complicated interactions and feedbacks among environmental variables, local ecohydrologic processes, and soil thickness, the relative importance of which remains unresolved. We investigate these interactions using a reactive-transport kinetics model, focusing on a low-relief, wetland-dominated karst landscape (Big Cypress National Preserve, South Florida, USA) as a case study. Across a broad range of environmental variables, model simulations highlight primary controls of climate and soil biological respiration, where soil thickness both supplies and limits transport of biologically derived acidity. Consequently, the weathering rate maximum occurs at intermediate soil thickness. The value of the maximum weathering rate and the precise soil thickness at which it occurs depend on several environmental variables, including precipitation regime, soil inundation, vegetation characteristics, and rate of groundwater drainage. Simulations for environmental conditions specific to Big Cypress suggest that wetland depressions in this landscape began to form around beginning of the Holocene with gradual dissolution of limestone bedrock and attendant soil development, highlighting large influence of age-varying soil thickness on weathering rates and consequent landscape development. While climatic variables are often considered most important for chemical weathering, our results indicate that soil thickness and biotic activity are equally important. Weathering rates reflect complex interactions among soil thickness, climate, and local hydrologic and biotic processes, which jointly shape the supply and delivery of chemical reactants, and the resulting trajectories of critical zone and karst landscape development.},
doi = {10.1016/j.chemgeo.2018.05.021},
journal = {Chemical Geology},
number = 2019,
volume = 527,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri May 18 00:00:00 EDT 2018},
month = {Fri May 18 00:00:00 EDT 2018}
}
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Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2018.05.021
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Cited by: 19 works
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Figures / Tables:

Fig. 1 Fig. 1: Schematic of major processes included in the model in two different hydrological states: variably saturated soils (A) and homogeneously saturated soils (B) and (C). (A) When surface water is absent and soil is exposed to atmosphere. We assume in this case that the water table in the depressionmore » is the same as water table in the upland catchment. In this state, if rainfall occurs, state (A) can transition to state (B) or (C), depending on the amount of the rainfall. (B) When soil is still inundated by standing water, but upland catchment is exposed: surface runoff =0. Soil water flux $q_{L}$ could be either downwards (as demonstrated here, when water table in the depression is higher than water table in the upland catchment) or upwards (not demonstrated here, but when water table in the depression is lower than water table in the upland catchment). (C) When the entire landscape is inundated by surface water: hydrological processes altering surface water table (gray dashed line) include precipitation ($P$), surface runoff, evaporation ($E$), root water uptake (in soil column, sink term), and infiltration (top boundary). Soil water flux $q_{L}$ is downwards. $Z$$s$ is soil thickness; $Z_{b}$ is the elevation difference between soil-bedrock interface and regional groundwater table; $ΔL$ is the difference in elevation between subsurface water in the upland catchment and the soil-bedrock interface; and the in the soil column, there are two major sink/source processes: root water uptake (influences soil water dynamics) and soil respiration (influences soil CO2 concentration). Bedrock-soil interface is set as the datum plane.« less
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    • Quintero, Carlos J.; Cohen, Matthew J.
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