Alkalinity generation from carbonate weathering in a silicate-dominated headwater catchment at Iskorasfjellet, northern Norway

Abstract 2. Given that only alkalinity generation from silicate weathering is thought to be a long-term sink for CO2, a misattributed weathering source could lead to incorrect conclusions about long- and short-term CO2 fixation. In this study, we aimed to identify the weathering sources responsible for alkalinity generation and CO2 fixation across watershed scales in a degrading permafrost landscape in northern Norway, 68.7–70.5∘  N, and on a temporal scale, in a subarctic headwater catchment on the mountainside of Iskorasfjellet, characterized by sporadic permafrost and underlain mainly by silicates as the alkalinity-bearing lithology. By analyzing total alkalinity (AT) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations, as well as the stable isotope signature of the latter (δ 13 2 sink but also as a potential CO2 source. Finally, we found that AT increased with decreasing permafrost probability, and attributed this relation to an increased water storage capacity associated with increasing contact of weathering agent and rock surfaces and enhanced microbial activity. As both soil respiration and permafrost thaw are expected to increase with climate change, increasing the availability of weathering agents in the form of CO2 and water storage capacity, respectively, we suggest that future weathering rates and alkalinity generation will increase concomitantly in the study area.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Alkalinity generation from carbonate weathering in a silicate-dominated headwater catchment at Iskorasfjellet, northern Norway ; volume:20 ; number:16 ; year:2023 ; pages:3459-3479 ; extent:21 ; Biogeosciences ; 20, Heft 16 (2023), 3459-3479 (gesamt 21)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Lehmann, Nele ; Lantuit, Hugues ; Böttcher, Michael Ernst ; Hartmann, Jens ; Eulenburg, Antje ; Thomas, Helmuth

Further information

• DOI: 10.5194/bg-20-3459-2023
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2023082404285364903787
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 14.08.2025, 10:46 AM CEST