Defining the Role of Mountains in the Global Carbon Budget
Scientists working in the mountains of New Zealand report very high rates of soil weathering, contradicting previous studies suggesting mountainous soil weathering has a speed limit. Since the weathering process can pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, this find has important implications for scientists’ understanding of mountains as carbon sinks. To shed some light on the matter, Isaac Larsen and colleagues took soil samples from the western Southern Alps of New Zealand, some of the fastest-uplifting mountains in the world. The researchers compared their soil weathering rates against a compilation of worldwide data and found theirs to be the highest anywhere to date. The work of Larsen et al. helps quantify the importance of tectonic activity and erosion as drivers of global weathering fluxes, and thus ultimately as controls on atmospheric carbon dioxide. It also has important ramifications for the currently contentious debate about whether mountains “matter” for global weathering, carbon dioxide cycling, and climate.
Scientists working in the mountains of New Zealand report very high rates of soil weathering, contradicting previous studies suggesting mountainous soil weathering has a speed limit. Since the weathering process can pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, this find has important implications for scientists’ understanding of mountains as carbon sinks. To shed some light on the matter, Isaac Larsen and colleagues took soil samples from the western Southern Alps of New Zealand, some of the fastest-uplifting mountains in the world. The researchers compared their soil weathering rates against a compilation of worldwide data and found theirs to be the highest anywhere to date. The work of Larsen et al. helps quantify the importance of tectonic activity and erosion as drivers of global weathering fluxes, and thus ultimately as controls on atmospheric carbon dioxide. It also has important ramifications for the currently contentious debate about whether mountains “matter” for global weathering, carbon dioxide cycling, and climate.
