Nature – Zondervan et al. (2023): Rock organic carbon oxidation CO2 release offsets silicate weathering sink

Jesse R. Zondervan, Robert G. Hilton, Mathieu Dellinger, Fiona J. Clubb, Tobias Roylands, Mateja Ogrič IN: Nature (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06581-9

Mountain uplift and erosion have regulated the balance of carbon between Earth’s interior and atmosphere, where prior focus has been placed on the role of silicate mineral weathering in CO₂ drawdown and its contribution to the stability of Earth’s climate in a habitable state. However, weathering can also release CO₂ as rock organic carbon (OC_petro) is oxidized at the near surface; this important geological CO₂ flux has remained poorly constrained. The authors use the trace element rhenium in combination with a spatial extrapolation model to quantify this flux across global river catchments.

LINK