Sophie Opfergelt Catherine Hirst Shaul Hurwitz R. Blaine McCleskey Petra Zahajska Daniel J. Conley Pierre Delmelle Francois Gaspard 2021 <div class="article-section__content en main"><p>In active volcanic regions, high-temperature chemical reactions in the hydrothermal system consume CO₂<span>&nbsp;</span>sourced from magma or from the deep crust, whereas reactions with silicates at shallow depths mainly consume atmospheric CO₂. Numerous studies have quantified the load of dissolved solids in rivers that drain volcanic regions to determine chemical weathering rates and atmospheric CO₂<span>&nbsp;</span>consumption rates. However, the balance between thermal and non-thermal components to riverine fluxes in these areas remains poorly constrained, hindering accurate estimates of atmospheric CO₂<span>&nbsp;</span>consumption rates. Here we use the Ge/Si ratio and the stable silicon isotopes (δ³⁰Si) as tracers for quantifying non-thermal silicon contributions in rivers draining the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field, USA. The Ge/Si ratio (µmol.mol⁻¹) was determined for seven thermal water samples (183&nbsp;±&nbsp;22), eight rivers (35&nbsp;±&nbsp;23) and six creeks flowing into Yellowstone Lake (5&nbsp;±&nbsp;3) during base flow and during peak water discharge following snowmelt. The δ³⁰Si value (‰) was determined for thermal waters (−0.09&nbsp;±&nbsp;0.04), Yellowstone River at Yellowstone Lake outlet (1.91&nbsp;±&nbsp;0.23) and creek samples (0.82&nbsp;±&nbsp;0.29). The calculated atmospheric CO₂<span>&nbsp;</span>consumption associated with non-thermal waters flowing through Yellowstone's rivers during peak discharge is ∼3.03 ton.km⁻².yr⁻¹, which is ∼2% of the annual mean atmospheric CO₂<span>&nbsp;</span>consumption in other volcanic regions. This study highlights the significance of quantifying seasonal variations in chemical weathering rates for improving estimates of atmospheric CO₂<span>&nbsp;</span>consumption rates in active volcanic regions.</p></div> application/pdf 10.1029/2021GC009904 en American Geophysical Union Quantifying non-thermal silicate weathering using Ge/Si and Si isotopes in rivers draining the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field, USA article