DOI: 10.5880/gfz.3.3.2024.001
title: Denudation and weathering rates of carbonate landscapes from meteoric 10Be/9Be ratios

description: We provide sample information and geochemical data for obtaining erosion, weathering, and denudation rates from a framework based cosmogenic meteoric 10Be versus stable 9Be (10Be/9Be) ratios. We modified this published silicate framework (von Blanckenburg et al., 2012) to carbonate landscapes, and performed thorough ground-truthing and testing of assumptions, as this is the first application of the framework for carbonate lithologies. The most important methodological findings are as follows: 
 
1) We amended a sequential extraction step specific for solubilizing total carbonate-bound Be using acetic acid. As this extraction cannot distinguish between secondary and primary carbonate, we employed carbon stable isotopes to obtain the fraction of Be associated with secondary carbonate. We find that &gt;90% of total carbonate-bound Be is bound to secondary carbonate, meaning that distinguishing between secondary and primary carbonate and employing carbon stable isotopes may not be necessary. 
 
2) Using radiogenic strontium isotope ratios we found that about a third of the 9Be contained in secondary carbonate is derived from the dissolution of silicate phases, likely clastic impurities such as clays. These silicate phases also adsorb meteoric 10Be during weathering. The method is thus applicable to pure limestone as well as mixed carbonate-siliciclastic lithologies. 
 
3) Total 9Be concentrations in bedrock are heterogeneous in the Jura, and are potentially controlled by the amount of silicate impurities contained in limestone. Yet the average 9Beparent in summed carbonate- and silicate-bound fractions (0.07 ug/g) is about 9 times lower than values from existing rock databases. In limestones studies, 9Beparent must be thus determined case-by-case on local bedrock. 
 
4) The analysis of partition coefficients Kd for 10Be and 9Be, respectively, and very similar 10Be/9Be ratios show that dissolved Be has equilibrated between reactive (amorphous and crystalline Fe-oxides) and secondary carbonate phases. Secondary carbonate phases are thus part of the reactive Be pool in limestone settings. 
 
5) As in previous studies in silicate lithologies 10Be and 9Be concentrations show pronounced differences between soil and sediment samples that we attribute to grain size dependence and sorting. The 10Be/9Be ratios however cover a remarkably narrow range for all samples, resulting a in narrow range in denudation rates. 
 
6) The fraction of 9Be released by weathering and partitioned into the secondary reactive or dissolved phase serves as a Be-specific proxy for the degree of weathering. 
 
7) The atmospheric depositional flux of 10Be estimated for the Jura mountains from concentrations of dissolved and particulate 10Be and river gauging is about 80% of estimates from independent global GCM-based distribution maps. The GCM estimates thus provide sufficient accuracy. 
 
 
 
From application of these new principles, weathering and erosion in the French Jura Mountains can be described as follows: The proportion of weathering in total denudation W/D is &gt;0.9, due to the high purity of the limestone that almost completely dissolved except for a small silicate mineral fraction that, however, carries 50% of the bedrock’s 9Be. Resulting 10Be/9Be-derived denudation rates are on average 300 t/km2/yr for soils and 580 t/km2/yr for river sediments. The soil-derived values agree well with previous estimates from gauging data despite their entirely different (decadal vs. millennial) integration time scales. That sediment-derived denudation rates exceed those from soil we attribute to a 30-60% contribution from subsurface bedrock weathering. On a global scale, our data provides the first cosmogenic-based denudation rates for the precipitation (MAP) range of 1200 to 1700 mm/yr under a temperate climate and dense vegetation cover. Previous millennial-scale denudation rates from in situ-36Cl in calcite from less vegetated sites do not exceed 250 t/km2/yr in this precipitation range. With 500-600 t/km2/yr our denudation rates peak at MAP of 1200-1300 mm/yr, and then show a trend of decreasing D with increasing MAP.