Hydrologic and Landscape Controls on Rock Weathering Along a Glacial Gradient in South Central Alaska, USA

Abstract

AbstractRock weathering impacts atmospheric CO2 levels with silicate rock dissolution removing CO2, and carbonate dissolution, pyrite oxidation, and organic rock carbon oxidation producing CO2. Glacierization impacts the hydrology and geomorphology of catchments and glacier retreat due to warming can increase runoff and initiate landscape succession. To investigate the impact of these changes on catchment scale weathering CO2 balances, we report monthly samples of solute chemistry and continuous discharge records for a sequence of glacierized watersheds draining into Kachemak Bay, Alaska. We partition solute and acid sources and estimate inorganic weathering CO2 balances using an inverse geochemical mixing model. Furthermore, we investigated how solutes vary with discharge conditions utilizing a concentration‐runoff framework. We develop an analogous fraction‐runoff framework which allows us to investigate changes in weathering contributions at different flows. Fraction‐runoff relationships suggest kinetic limitations on all reactions in glacierized catchments, and only silicate weathering in less glacierized catchments. Using forest cover as a proxy for landscape age and stability, multiple linear regression shows that faster reactions (pyrite oxidation) contribute less to the solute load with increasing forest cover, whereas silicate weathering (slow reaction kinetics) contributes more. Overall, in glacierized catchments, we find elevated weathering fluxes at high runoff despite significant dilution effects. This makes flux estimates that account for dilution more important in glacierized catchments. Our findings quantify how glaciers modify the inorganic weathering CO2 balance of catchments through hydrologic and geomorphic forcings, and support the previous hypothesis that deglaciation will be accompanied by a shift in inorganic weathering CO2 balances.