Exploring reverse silicate weathering across geological time: A review
Files
(Published version)
Date
2025
Authors
Baldermann, A.
Banerjee, S.
Löhr, S.C.
Rudmin, M.
Warr, L.N.
Chakraborty, A.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Journal article
Citation
Clay Minerals: journal of the European Clay Groups, 2025; 60(1):1-27
Statement of Responsibility
Andre Baldermann, Santanu Banerjee, Stefan C. Löhr, Maxim Rudmin, Laurence N. Warr, Arpita Chakraborty
Conference Name
Abstract
Marine clay mineral authigenesis, referred to as reverse (silicate) weathering, is one of the first-order controls on seawater pH through the generation of acidity and thus plays a significant role in controlling carbon cycling between marine sediments, oceans and the atmosphere over geological timescales. Reverse weathering is mainly regulated by the rates of silicate and carbonate weathering on the continents, the reactivity of detritus supplied to the oceans and the rates of seafloor weathering. These processes provide essential dissolved components (e.g. K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Si(OH)₄, Al³⁺, Fe²⁺/³⁺) to the marine porewater inventory that cause authigenic clay minerals, such as odinite, glauconite, celadonite and greenalite, to form close to the sediment–seawater interface. Such clay mineral reactions impact the sedimentary cycling versus sequestration of chemical elements, importantly Si, Fe, Mg and K, and consequently contribute to the fluctuations in climate and seawater composition recorded in marine archives over geological time. This review explores the links between reverse silicate weathering and the climate system across geological timescales and provides estimates of the elemental uptake fluxes associated with modern-day clay mineral authigenesis. Novel isotope proxies (e.g. δ⁴¹K and δ³⁰Si) and promising new dating techniques (e.g. in situ Rb/Sr geochronology) provide improved constraints on the timing, kinetics and environmental significance of clay mineral reactions on the ocean floor. We also consider recent geoengineering developments linked to reverse weathering reactions, such as ongoing attempts to reduce atmospheric CO₂ concentrations via marine alkalinity enhancement and the application of marine clay mineral-based slow-release fertilizers to soils to optimize nutrient availability.
School/Discipline
Dissertation Note
Provenance
Description
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 January 2025
Access Status
Rights
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Mineralogical Society of the United Kingdom and Ireland. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.