Prediction of some weathering trends of plutonic and volcanic rocks based on thermodynamic and kinetic considerations |
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| Authors: | HW Nesbitt GM Young |
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| Institution: | Dept. of Geology, Univ. of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7 |
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| Abstract: | The exposed crust consists mainly of plagioclase (35%), quartz (20%), K-feldspar (11%), volcanic glass (12%), biotite (8%), and muscovite (5%). Quartz is a resistate, thus feldspars and glass represent approximately 75 percent of the labile minerals. The weathering characteristics of these constituents are summarized in the context of thermodynamic, mass balance and kinetic considerations.Experimentally determined release rate constants were used to predict the proportions of Ca, Na and K released by feldspars of plutonic rocks (granites to gabbros) to weathering solutions. The chemical weathering trends of the weathered residues, calculated from the kinetic data, conform closely to the initial trends observed in some recent weathering profiles, demonstrating the accuracy of the predictions. Since the weathering of feldspars is controlled by processes that should not change through geological time, the relative release rates of Ca, Na, and K from the feldspars of granitic rocks can be calculated for future and past episodes of continental weathering.Experimentally determined release rate constants are not available for a wide range of volcanic glass compositions, but the limited data indicate that compositional trends are predictable in weathering profiles developed on volcanic rocks. The kinetic data available for rhyolitic glasses accurately predict the initial weathering trends observed in a recent rhyolite weathering profile. |
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