Deep weathering in the semi-arid Coastal Cordillera, Chile

Abstract The weathering front is the boundary beneath Earth’s surface where pristine rock is converted into weathered rock. It is the base of the “critical zone”, in which the lithosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere interact. Typically, this front is located no more than 20 m deep in granitoid rock i...

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Autores principales:	Laura V. Krone, Ferdinand J. Hampl, Christopher Schwerdhelm, Casey Bryce, Lars Ganzert, Axel Kitte, Kirstin Übernickel, Armin Dielforder, Santiago Aldaz, Rómulo Oses-Pedraza, Jeffrey Paulo H. Perez, Pablo Sanchez-Alfaro, Dirk Wagner, Ute Weckmann, Friedhelm von Blanckenburg
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/127a87e9c54f4c688f95e83536c76b35
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:127a87e9c54f4c688f95e83536c76b352021-12-02T17:45:17ZDeep weathering in the semi-arid Coastal Cordillera, Chile10.1038/s41598-021-90267-72045-2322https://doaj.org/article/127a87e9c54f4c688f95e83536c76b352021-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90267-7https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract The weathering front is the boundary beneath Earth’s surface where pristine rock is converted into weathered rock. It is the base of the “critical zone”, in which the lithosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere interact. Typically, this front is located no more than 20 m deep in granitoid rock in humid climate zones. Its depth and the degree of rock weathering are commonly linked to oxygen transport and fluid flow. By drilling into fractured igneous rock in the semi-arid climate zone of the Coastal Cordillera in Chile we found multiple weathering fronts of which the deepest is 76 m beneath the surface. Rock is weathered to varying degrees, contains core stones, and strongly altered zones featuring intensive iron oxidation and high porosity. Geophysical borehole measurements and chemical weathering indicators reveal more intense weathering where fracturing is extensive, and porosity is higher than in bedrock. Only the top 10 m feature a continuous weathering gradient towards the surface. We suggest that tectonic preconditioning by fracturing provided transport pathways for oxygen to greater depths, inducing porosity by oxidation. Porosity was preserved throughout the weathering process, as secondary minerals were barely formed due to the low fluid flow.Laura V. KroneFerdinand J. HamplChristopher SchwerdhelmCasey BryceLars GanzertAxel KitteKirstin ÜbernickelArmin DielforderSantiago AldazRómulo Oses-PedrazaJeffrey Paulo H. PerezPablo Sanchez-AlfaroDirk WagnerUte WeckmannFriedhelm von BlanckenburgNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-15 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Laura V. Krone Ferdinand J. Hampl Christopher Schwerdhelm Casey Bryce Lars Ganzert Axel Kitte Kirstin Übernickel Armin Dielforder Santiago Aldaz Rómulo Oses-Pedraza Jeffrey Paulo H. Perez Pablo Sanchez-Alfaro Dirk Wagner Ute Weckmann Friedhelm von Blanckenburg Deep weathering in the semi-arid Coastal Cordillera, Chile
description	Abstract The weathering front is the boundary beneath Earth’s surface where pristine rock is converted into weathered rock. It is the base of the “critical zone”, in which the lithosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere interact. Typically, this front is located no more than 20 m deep in granitoid rock in humid climate zones. Its depth and the degree of rock weathering are commonly linked to oxygen transport and fluid flow. By drilling into fractured igneous rock in the semi-arid climate zone of the Coastal Cordillera in Chile we found multiple weathering fronts of which the deepest is 76 m beneath the surface. Rock is weathered to varying degrees, contains core stones, and strongly altered zones featuring intensive iron oxidation and high porosity. Geophysical borehole measurements and chemical weathering indicators reveal more intense weathering where fracturing is extensive, and porosity is higher than in bedrock. Only the top 10 m feature a continuous weathering gradient towards the surface. We suggest that tectonic preconditioning by fracturing provided transport pathways for oxygen to greater depths, inducing porosity by oxidation. Porosity was preserved throughout the weathering process, as secondary minerals were barely formed due to the low fluid flow.
format	article
author	Laura V. Krone Ferdinand J. Hampl Christopher Schwerdhelm Casey Bryce Lars Ganzert Axel Kitte Kirstin Übernickel Armin Dielforder Santiago Aldaz Rómulo Oses-Pedraza Jeffrey Paulo H. Perez Pablo Sanchez-Alfaro Dirk Wagner Ute Weckmann Friedhelm von Blanckenburg
author_facet	Laura V. Krone Ferdinand J. Hampl Christopher Schwerdhelm Casey Bryce Lars Ganzert Axel Kitte Kirstin Übernickel Armin Dielforder Santiago Aldaz Rómulo Oses-Pedraza Jeffrey Paulo H. Perez Pablo Sanchez-Alfaro Dirk Wagner Ute Weckmann Friedhelm von Blanckenburg
author_sort	Laura V. Krone
title	Deep weathering in the semi-arid Coastal Cordillera, Chile
title_short	Deep weathering in the semi-arid Coastal Cordillera, Chile
title_full	Deep weathering in the semi-arid Coastal Cordillera, Chile
title_fullStr	Deep weathering in the semi-arid Coastal Cordillera, Chile
title_full_unstemmed	Deep weathering in the semi-arid Coastal Cordillera, Chile
title_sort	deep weathering in the semi-arid coastal cordillera, chile
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/127a87e9c54f4c688f95e83536c76b35
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Deep weathering in the semi-arid Coastal Cordillera, Chile

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