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Riverborne Materials and the Continent-Ocean Interface

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Physical and Chemical Weathering in Geochemical Cycles

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASIC,volume 251))

Abstract

Rivers form the dominant route for the transport to the ocean of material derived from the weathering of the continents. Although inputs through the atmosphere and by glacial transport can be important in some oceanic regions, these routes, together with direct coastal inputs through erosion and ground water movement, account globally for only about 10% of the total transport (Garrels and Mackenzie, 1971). Consequently the major part of the continentally derived products of weathering passes through estuaries. The pronounced changes in physicochemical characteristics that occur during the mixing of river water and seawater and, commonly, the close coupling between estuarine processes in the water column and in sediments, lead to a variety of reactions of geochemical significance. These factors give the estuarine zone an importance for the major sedimentary cycle which is disproportionate to its geographical extent.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oceanography, The University Southampton, SO9 5NH, UK

    J. D. Burton

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  1. J. D. Burton
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    A. Lerman

  2. Institut de Biogéochimie Marine, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Montrouge, France

    M. Meybeck

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Burton, J.D. (1988). Riverborne Materials and the Continent-Ocean Interface. In: Lerman, A., Meybeck, M. (eds) Physical and Chemical Weathering in Geochemical Cycles. NATO ASI Series, vol 251. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3071-1_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3071-1_14

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