『Abstract
Magnesium (Mg) stable isotopes are increasingly used as a weathering
proxy in soils and rivers, but the impact of the mineralogy of
secondary phases on isotope fractionation remains obscure. A better
understanding of the behaviour of Mg isotopes during weathering
processes is a mandatory step toward deployment of this new tracer
for understanding chemical fluxes exported from the critical zone.
Here we investigate isotopic variation in δ26Mg in
bulk soils and clay fractions relative to their parent andesite
in three soil weathering sequences from Guadeloupe formed under
contrasting climatic conditions. soils formed in drier conditions
(low precipitation) contain smectite, whereas soils formed under
wet conditions (high rainfall) are characterized by halloysite
and Fe-oxides or kaolinite.
All clay fractions have Mg isotopic compositions (δ26Mg
-0.41‰ to -0.10‰) similar to or heavier than their parent andesite
(δ26Mg -0.47‰) supporting the preferential incorporation
of heavy Mg isotopes in secondary Mg-bearing clay minerals with
the first direct measurements on clay fractions. Soils with lighter
Mg isotope compositions have greater quantities of exchangeable
Mg. The data support a contribution from sea spray to the exchangeable
Mg pool correlated to the soil weathering degree. This study highlights
for the first time that the soil δ26Mg not only depend
on δ26Mg of the parent rock, and on any fractionation
that might occur, but also on the Mg retention on the exchange
complex, which could in turn be controlled by external inputs
such as sea spray.
Keywords: andesite weathering; volcanic soils; magnesium isotopes;
clay minerals; exchangeable magnesium; Guadeloupe』
1. Introduction
2. Environmental setting
3. Methods
3.1. Sampling
3.2. Soil characterisation
3.3. Magnesium isotope analysis
3.3.1. Sample preparation and chromatography
3.3.2. Mass spectrometry
3.3.3. Precision and accuracy
4. Results
4.1. Soil weathering degree
4.2. Magnesium distribution in soil
4.3. Magnesium isotopic compositions of soils and clay fractions
5. Discussion
5.1. Weathering impact on magnesium isotope variations in
soils
5.2. Potential contribution from aeolian dust
5.3. Potential contribution from banana culture
5.4. Potential contribution from sea spray to exchangeable Mg
5.5. Implications
6. Concluding remarks
Acknowledgements
Appendix A. Supporting information
References