Continental weathering following a Cryogenian glaciation : evidence from calcium and magnesium isotopes
Abstract
A marked ocean acidification event and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations following the extreme environmental conditions of the younger Cryogenian glaciation have been inferred from boron isotope measurements. Calcium and magnesium isotope analyses offer additional insights into the processes occurring during this time. Data from Neoproterozoic sections in Namibia indicate that following the end of glaciation the continental weathering flux transitioned from being of mixed carbonate and silicate character to a silicate-dominated one. Combined with the effects of primary dolomite formation in the cap dolostones, this caused the ocean to depart from a state of acidification and return to higher pH after climatic amelioration. Differences in the magnitude of stratigraphic isotopic changes across the continental margin of the southern Congo craton shelf point to local influences modifying and amplifying the global signal, which need to be considered in order to avoid overestimation of the worldwide chemical weathering flux.
Citation
Kasemann , S A , Pogge von Strandmann , P A E , Prave , A R , Fallick , A E , Elliott , T & Hoffmann , K-H 2014 , ' Continental weathering following a Cryogenian glaciation : evidence from calcium and magnesium isotopes ' , Earth and Planetary Science Letters , vol. 396 , pp. 66-77 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2014.03.048
Publication
Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0012-821XType
Journal article
Rights
© 2015, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Description
This work was funded by a Natural Environment Research Council New Investigator Award (NE/C507529/1) to SAK. PPvS is funded by NERC Research Fellowship NE/1020571/1.Collections
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