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    Li isotopes in the middle Yellow River: seasonal variability, sources and fractionation

    Gou, L. and Jin, Z. and Pogge von Strandmann, Philip A.E. and Li, G. and Qu, Y. and Xiao, J. and Deng, L. and Galy, A. (2019) Li isotopes in the middle Yellow River: seasonal variability, sources and fractionation. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 248 , pp. 88-108. ISSN 0016-7037.

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    Abstract

    To evaluate the roles of climate and hydrology in continental-scale silicate weathering, we applied Li isotopes to the Yellow River and systematically investigated seasonal Li flux, Li isotopic compositions and potential sources. We collected samples from the middle reaches of the Yellow River weekly over the full hydrological year of 2013. We find that the dissolved Li is mainly derived from silicates and evaporites in the arid to semi-arid Yellow River basin. Silicate weathering of loess during the monsoonal season dominates the Li flux in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, with a positive relationship between dissolved Li flux and physical erosion rate. Evaporite contribution for riverine Li was relatively constant in the middle reaches of the Yellow River but slightly increased after the storm event, with an average proportion of ∼25%, which might represent the proportion of evaporite contribution to global oceans. Seasonal variations in the riverine Li isotopic compositions are dominantly controlled by temperature with a fractionation gradient as −0.182‰ per °C over the full year with deviations likely driven by re-dissolution of suspended particulate matter, extreme hydrological events, and groundwater contribution. Temperature dependent δ7Li value variation of river water inputted into oceans indicates that Cenozoic climate cooling itself may be able to explain ∼2‰ of the 9‰ rise of Cenozoic seawater δ7Li value (Misra and Froelich, 2012). The seasonal variation in riverine Li isotopes highlights that erosion and weathering of loess may provide valuable clues on secular chemical weathering and seawater δ7Li variation spanning a range of time scales.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): Li isotopes, Temperature dependency, Seasonal variation, Loess weathering, The Yellow River, The Chinese Loess Plateau
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences
    Depositing User: Philip Pogge Von Strandmann
    Date Deposited: 28 Jan 2019 13:39
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 17:48
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/26027

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