Caura River basin: Weathering rates, CO2 consumption, and chemistry of major and trace elements in an Orinoco River tributary coming from the Precambrian Guayana Shield, Venezuela

Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems

Volumn 11, Issue 11, 2010, Pages

  Mora, Abrahan ^a   Alfonso, Juan A ^b   Baquero, Juan Carlos ^c   Balza, Laura ^a   Pisapia, Daniel ^a  

^a FUNDACIÓN LA SALLE DE CIENCIAS NATURALES   (Venezuela)

^b INSTITUTO VENEZOLANO DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTÍFICAS   (Venezuela)

^c Dpto de Automatic Ingenieria Electronica e Informatics Industrial DISAM   (Spain)

Author keywords

Caura River; geochemistry; major elements; plant decay; trace elements; weathering

Indexed keywords

CARBON DIOXIDE; DISSOLUTION; FELDSPAR; GEOCHEMISTRY; LITHOLOGY; ORGANIC CARBON; RIVERS; SILICA; SUSPENDED SEDIMENTS; TRACE ELEMENTS; VOLCANIC ROCKS; WATERSHEDS; ZINC;

CHEMICAL WEATHERING; CONCENTRATION VALUES; DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON; INVERSE CORRELATION; MAJOR AND TRACE ELEMENTS; MAJOR ELEMENTS; PLANT DECAY; TOTAL SUSPENDED SEDIMENTS;

WEATHERING;

CARBON DIOXIDE; CHEMICAL COMPOSITION; DISSOLVED MATTER; DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON; RIVER WATER; TRACE ELEMENT; WATER CHEMISTRY; WEATHERING RATE;

BOLIVAR [VENEZUELA]; CAURA RIVER; GUYANA SHIELD; ORINOCO RIVER; VENEZUELA;

EID: 78249240092     PISSN: 15252027     EISSN: 15252027     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1029/2010GC003209     Document Type: Article

References (61)

1. Aucour, A. M., F. X. Tao, P. Moreira-Turcq, P. Seyler, S. Sheppard, and M. F. Benedetti (2003), The Amazon River: Behavior of metals (Fe, Al, Mn) and dissolved organic matter in the initial mixing at the Rio Negro/Salimões confluence, Chem. Geol., 197, 271-285, doi:10.1016/S0009-2541 (02) 00398-4.
2. Benedetti, M. F., O. Menard, Y. Noack, A. Carvalho, and D. Nahon (1994), Water rocks interaction in tropical catchments: Field rates of weathering and biomass impact, Chem. Geol., 118, 203-220, doi:10.1016/0009-2541 (94) 90177-5.
3. Berner, R. A. (1992), Weathering, plants, and the long-term carbon cycle, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 56, 3225-3231, doi:10.1016/0016-7037 (92) 90300-8.
4. Brick, C. M., and J. N. Moore (1996), Diel variation of trace metals in the upper Clark Fork River, Montana, Environ. Sci. Technol., 30, 1953-1960, doi:10.1021/es9506465. (Pubitemid 26158580)
5. Burba, P., V. Shkinev, and B. Y. Spivakov (1995), On-line fractionation and characterization of aquatic humic substances by means of sequential-stage ultrafiltration, J. Anal. Chem., 351, 74-82, doi:10.1007/BF00324294.
6. Chaudhuri, S., N. Clauer, and K. Semhi (2007), Plant decay as a major control of river dissolved potassium: A first estimate, Chem. Geol., 243, 178-190, doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2007.05. 023.
7. 2 consumption in the Himalaya, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 66, 3397-3416, doi:10.1016/S0016-7037 (02) 00937-7.
8. Das, A., S. Krishnaswami, M. M. Sarin, and K. Pande (2005), Chemical weathering in the Krishna Basin and Western Ghats of the Deccan Traps, India: Rates of basalt weathering and their controls, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 69, 2067-2084, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2004.10.014. (Pubitemid 40549402)
9. 6Sr ratio of seawater, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 188, 459-474, doi:10.1016/S0012-821X (01) 00317-X.
10. Dezzeo, N., R. Herrera, G. Escalante, and E. Briceño (1998), Mass and nutrient loss of fresh plant biomass in a small black-water tributary of Caura river, Venezuelan Guayana, Biogeochemistry, 43, 197-210, doi:10.1023/A:1006035412535. (Pubitemid 28485814)
11. Drever, J. I. (1994), The effect of land plants on weathering rates of silicate minerals, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 58, 2325-2332, doi:10.1016/0016- 7037 (94) 90013-2.
12. Dupré, B., J. Gaillardet, D. Rousseau, and C. J. Allègre (1996), Major and trace elements of river-borne material: The Congo Basin, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 60, 1301-1321, doi:10.1016/0016-7037 (96) 00043-9.
13. Dupré, B., J. Viers, J. Dandurand, M. Polve, P. Bénézeth, P. Vervier, and J. Braun (1999), Major and trace elements associated with colloids in organic-rich river waters: Ultrafiltration of natural and spiked solutions, Chem. Geol, 160, 63-80, doi:10.1016/S0009-2541 (99) 00060-1.
14. Dupré, B., C. Dessert, P. Oliva, Y. Goddéris, J. Viers, L. François, R. Millot, and J. Gaillardet (2003), Rivers, chemical weathering and Earth's climate, C. R. Geosci., 335, 1141-1160, doi:10.1016/j.crte.2003.09.015. (Pubitemid 38051797)
15. Edmond, J. M., M. R. Palmer, C. I. Measures, B. Grant, and R. F. Stallard (1995), The fluvial geochemistry and denudation rate of the Guayana Shield in Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 59, 3301-3325, doi:10.1016/0016-7037 (95) 00128-M.
16. Edmond, J. M., M. R. Palmer, C. I. Measures, E. T. Brown, and Y. Huh (1996), Fluvial geochemistry of the eastern slope of the northeastern Andes and its foredeep in the drainage of the Orinoco in Colombia and Venezuela, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 60, 2949-2974, doi:10.1016/0016-7037 (96) 00142-1.
17. Ford Cochran, M., and R. A. Berner (1996), Promotion of chemical weathering by higher plants: Field observations on Hawaiian basalts, Chem. Geol., 132, 71-77, doi:10.1016/S0009-2541 (96) 00042-3.
18. Gaillardet, J., B. Dupré, and J. C. Allègre (1995), A global geochemical mass budget applied to the Congo basin rivers: Erosion rates and continental crust composition, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 59, 3469-3485, doi:10.1016/0016-7037 (95) 00230-W.
19. Gaillardet, J., B. Dupré, C. J. Allègre, and P. Négrel (1997), Chemical and physical denudation in the Amazon River Basin, Chem. Geol., 142, 141-173, doi:10.1016/S0009-2541 (97) 00074-0.
20. 2 consumption rates deduced from the chemistry of large rivers, Chem. Geol., 159, 3-30, doi:10.1016/S0009-2541 (99) 00031-5.
21. Gaillardet, J., J. Viers, and B. Dupré (2003), Trace elements in river waters, in Treatise on Geochemistry, vol. 5, Surface and Ground Water, Weathering, Erosion and Soils, edited by J. J. Drever, pp. 225-272, doi:10.1016/B0-08-043751-6/05165-3, Elsevier, Oxford, U. K.
22. González de Juana, C., J. M. Iturralde, and X. Picard (1980), Geología de Venezuela y de sus cuencas petrolíferas, vol. 1, Ed. Foninves, Caracas.
23. Hamilton, S. K., and W. M. Lewis (1987), Causes of seasonality in the chemistry of a lake on the Orinoco River floodplain, Venezuela, Limnol. Oceanogr., 32, 1277-1290, doi:10.4319/lo.1987.32.6.1277.
24. Küchler, I. V., N. Miekeley, and B. R. Forsberg (1994), Molecular mass distribution of dissolved organic carbon and associated metals in waters from Rio Negro and Rio Solimões, Sci. Total Environ., 156, 207-216, doi:10.1016/0048-9697 (94) 90188-0.
25. Lewellen, S. (1990), Modeling of aqueous equilibria and sediment/water interactions, Orinoco River, Venezuela, in The Orinoco River as an Ecosystem, edited by F. Weibezahn et al., pp. 121-150, Impresos Rubel, Caracas.
26. Lewis, W. M. (1988), Primary production in the Orinoco River, Ecology, 69(3), 679-692, doi:10.2307/1941016.
27. Lewis, W. M., and J. F. Saunders (1990), Chemistry and element transport by the Orinoco main stem and lower tributaries, in The Orinoco River as an Ecosystem, edited by F. Weibezahn et al., pp. 211-239, Impresos Rubel, Caracas.
28. Lewis, W. M., J. F. Saunders, S. N. Levine, and F. Weibezahn (1986), Organic carbon in the Caura River, Venezuela, Limnol. Oceanogr., 31, 653-656, doi:10.4319/lo.1986.31.3.0653.
29. Lewis, W. M., S. K. Hamilton, S. L. Jones, and D. D. Runnels (1987), Major element chemistry, weathering and element yields for the Caura River drainage, Venezuela, Biogeochemistry, 4, 159-181, doi:10.1007/BF02180153.
30. Machado-Allison, A., B. Chernoff, and M. Bevilacqua (2003), Introduction to the Caura River Basin, Bolívar State, Venezuela, in A Biological Assessment of the Aquatic Ecosystems of the Caura River Basin, Bolívar State, Venezuela, RAP Bull. of Biol. Assess., vol. 28, edited by B. Chernoff et al., pp. 28-33, Conserv. Int., Washington, D. C.
31. Meybeck, M. (1987), Global chemical weathering of superficial rocks estimated from river dissolved loads, Am. J. Sci., 287, 401-428.
32. Millot, R., J. Gaillardet, B. Dupré, and C. J. Allègre (2003), Northern latitude chemical weathering rates: Clues from the Mackenzie River Basin, Canada, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 67, 1305-1329, doi:10.1016/S0016-7037 (02) 01207-3.
33. Mora, A., J. C. Baquero, and J. A. Alfonso (2010a), Behavior of dissolved Mn along the Orinoco River and its tributaries, paper presented at 5th International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology, Am. Acad. Sci., Houston, Tex.
34. Mora, A., J. C. Baquero, J. A. Alfonso, D. Pisapia, and L. Balza (2010b), The Apure River: Geochemistry of major and selected trace elements in an Orinoco River tributary coming from the Andes, Venezuela, Hydrol. Processes, doi:10.1002/hyp. 7801, in press.
35. Négrel, P., C. J. Allègre, B. Dupré, and E. Lawin (1993), Erosion sources determined by inversion of major and trace element ratio in river water: The Congo basin case, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 120, 59-76, doi:10.1016/0012-821X (93) 90023-3.
36. Oliva, P., J. Viers, B. Dupré, J. P. Fortuné, F. Martin, J. J. Braun, D. Nahon, and H. Robain (1999), The effect of organic matter on chemical weathering: Study of a small tropical watershed: Nsimi- Zoétélé site, Cameroon, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 63, 4013-4035, doi:10.1016/S0016-7037 (99) 00306-3.
37. Oliva, P., J. Viers, and B. Dupré (2003), Chemical weathering in granitic environments, Chem. Geol., 202, 225-256, doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2002.08. 001.
38. Patel, N., S. Mounier, J. L. Guyot, C. Benamou, and J. Y. Benaim (1999), Fluxes of dissolved and colloidal organic carbon, along the Purus and Amazonas rivers (Brazil), Sci. Total Environ., 229, 53-64, doi:10.1016/S0048-9697 (99) 00069-8.
39. 2 consumption, Chem. Geol., 185, 93-124, doi:10.1016/S0009-2541 (01) 00398-9.
40. Pokrovsky, O. S., and J. Schott (2002), Iron colloids/organic matter associated transport of major and trace elements in small boreal rivers and their estuaries (NW Russia), Chem. Geol., 190, 141-179, doi:10.1016/S0009-2541 (02) 00115-8.
41. Pokrovsky, O. S., J. Schott, and B. Dupré (2006), Trace element fractionation and transport in boreal rivers and soil porewaters of permafrost-dominated basaltic terrain in Central Siberia, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 70, 3239-3260, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2006.04.008. (Pubitemid 43905892)
42. Pontér, C., J. Ingri, and K. Boström (1992), Geochemistry of manganese in the Kalix River, northern Sweden, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 56, 1485-1494, doi:10.1016/0016-7037 (92) 90218-8.
43. Rai, H., and G. Hill (1984), Primary production in the Amazonian aquatic ecosystem, in The Amazon Limnology and Landscape Ecology of a Mighty Tropical River and Its Basin, edited by H. Sioli, pp. 311-335, W. Junk, Dordrecht, Netherlands.
44. Riley, J. P., and R. Chester (1971), Introduction to Marine Chemistry, Academic, London.
45. Rincón, H., and Y. Estanga (1996), Geología, in Ecología de la Cuenca del Río Caura, vol. 6, edited by J. Rosales and O. Huber, pp. 66-69, Sci. Guaianae, Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela.
46. Riseng, K. J., and J. S. Sparks (2003), A limnological analysis of the Caura River basin, Bolívar State, Venezuela, in A Biological Assessment of the Aquatic Ecosystems of the Caura River Basin, Bolívar State, Venezuela, RAP Bull. of Biol. Assess., vol. 28, edited by B. Chernoff et al., pp. 44-48, Conserv. Int., Washington, D. C.
47. Sanhueza, E., M. Santana, L. Donoso, and M. Pacheco (2005), Atmospheric chemistry in La Gran Sabana III: Ionic composition and acid-basic characteristics of rainfall, Interciencia, 30, 618-622.
48. Saunders, J. F., and W. M. Lewis (1989), Transport of major solutes and the relationship between solute concentrations and discharge in the Apure River, Venezuela, Biogeochemistry, 8, 101-113, doi:10.1007/BF00001315.
49. Seyler, P. T., and G. R. Boaventura (2003), Distribution and partition of trace metals in the Amazon basin, Hydrol. Processes, 17, 1345-1361, doi:10.1002/hyp. 1288.
50. Shiller, A. M. (1997), Dissolved trace elements in the Mississippi River: Seasonal, interannual, and decadal variability, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 61, 4321-4330, doi:10.1016/S0016-7037 (97) 00245-7.
51. Sioli, H. (1984), The Amazon and its main affluents: Hydrography, morphology of the river courses, and river types, in The Amazon Limnology and Landscape Ecology of a Mighty Tropical River and Its Basin, edited by H. Sioli, pp. 127-165, W. Junk, Dordrecht, Netherlands.
52. Stallard, R. F., and J. M. Edmond (1981), Geochemistry of the Amazon: 1. Precipitation chemistry and the marine contribution to the dissolved load at the time of peak discharge, J. Geophys. Res., 86, 9844-9858, doi:10.1029/ JC086iC10p09844.
53. Tosiani, T., M. Loubet, J. Viers, M. Valladon, J. Tapia, S. Marrero, C. Yanes, A. Ramirez, and B. Dupré (2004), Major and trace elements in river-borne materials from the Cuyuni basin (southern Venezuela): Evidence for organocolloidal control on the dissolved load and element redistribution between the suspended and dissolved load, Chem. Geol., 211, 305-334, doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2004.07.001. (Pubitemid 39393710)
54. Viers, J., B. Dupré, M. Polvé, J. Schott, J. Dandurand, and J. Braun (1997), Chemical weathering in the drainage basin of a tropical watershed (Nsimi-Zoetele site, Cameroon): Comparison between organic-poor and organic-rich waters, Chem. Geol., 140, 181-206, doi:10.1016/S0009-2541 (97) 00048-X.
55. Viers, J., B. Dupré, J. Braun, S. Deberdt, B. Angeletti, J. N. Ngoupayou, and A. Michard (2000), Major and trace element abundances, and strontium isotopes in the Nyong basin rivers (Cameroon): Constraints on chemical weathering processes and elements transport mechanisms in humid tropical environments, Chem. Geol., 169, 211-241, doi:10.1016/S0009-2541 (00) 00298-9.
56. Viers, J., G. Barroux, M. Pinelli, P. Seyler, P. Oliva, B. Dupré, and G. R. Boaventura (2005), The influence of the Amazonian floodplain ecosystems on the trace element dynamics of the Amazon River mainstem (Brazil), Sci. Total Environ., 339, 219-232, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv. 2004.07.034.
57. Viers, J., P. Oliva, A. Nonell, A. Gélabert, J. E. Sonke, R. Freydier, R. Gainville, and B. Dupré (2007), Evidence of Zn isotopic fractionation in a soil-plant system of a pristine tropical watershed (Nsimi, Cameroon), Chem. Geol., 239, 124-137, doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2007.01.005. (Pubitemid 46351796)
58. Viers, J., B. Dupré, and J. Gaillardet (2009), Chemical composition of suspended sediments in world rivers: New insights from a new database, Sci. Total Environ., 407, 853-868, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv. 2008.09.053.
59. 2 consumption deduced from the seven Chinese rivers originating in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Chem. Geol., 249, 307-320, doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo. 2008.01.025.
60. Yanes, C. (1997), Estudio geoquímico regional de los ríos del Escudo de Guayana, doctoral thesis, Inst. de Cienc. de la Tierra, Univ. Cent. de Venezuela, Caracas.
61. Yanes, C., and A. Ramirez (1990), Chemical weathering in the Venezuelan Guiana shield, Chem. Geol., 84, 153-154, doi:10.1016/0009-2541 (90) 90195-D.