Knowra Silicate weathering Silicate weathering Silicate weathering is the chemical breakdown of silicate minerals by water and carbon dioxide, producing dissolved ions and carbon-bearing products that can ultimately enter sediments.
Carbonic acid : A weak acid formed when carbon dioxide dissolves in water. It supplies hydrogen ions that help dissolve silicate minerals.
Silicate minerals : Minerals built from silicon–oxygen tetrahedra combined with other elements. They are the broad mineral family whose weathering defines this process.
Chemical weathering rate : The speed at which chemical reactions alter minerals and transfer dissolved material from rocks. Rate measurements quantify how quickly silicate weathering consumes carbon dioxide.
Long-term carbon cycle : The exchange of carbon among Earth's atmosphere, oceans, rocks, and mantle over geological timescales. Silicate weathering removes atmospheric carbon within this slow planetary cycle.
Carbonate weathering : The chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks, such as limestone and dolomite, by water and acids. It releases dissolved carbon but does not provide the same long-term net CO₂ drawdown as silicate weathering.
Hydrolysis : A chemical reaction in which a substance reacts with water, often splitting bonds or altering mineral structures. Water-driven reactions transform silicate minerals into dissolved ions and clays.
Feldspar : A group of abundant rock-forming aluminosilicate minerals containing potassium, sodium, or calcium. Feldspars are common substrates that weather into clay minerals and dissolved ions.
Weathering indices : Geochemical measures used to estimate the degree of chemical alteration in rocks and sediments. They help infer past and present weathering intensity from mineral and element compositions.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide : Carbon dioxide present in Earth's atmosphere, where it acts as a greenhouse gas. Its long-term concentration can fall as weathering-derived carbon is buried in sediments.
Organic carbon burial : The preservation of organic matter in sediments, removing carbon from exchange with the atmosphere and ocean. It is a separate long-term carbon sink often compared with carbonate burial from weathering.
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