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Abstract This paper is the first comprehensive synthesis of what is currently known about the different natural and anthropogenic fluxes of rhenium (Re) on Earth's surface. We highlight the significant role of anthropogenic mobilization of Re, which is an important consideration in utilizing Re in the context of a biogeochemical tracer or proxy. The largest natural flux of Re derives from chemical weathering and riverine transport to the ocean (dissolved = 62 × 106 g yr−1and particulate = 5 × 106 g yr−1). This review reports a new global average [Re] of 16 ± 2 pmol L−1, or 10 ± 1 pmol L−1for the inferred pre‐anthropogenic concentration without human impact, for rivers draining to the ocean. Human activity via mining (including secondary mobilization), coal combustion, and petroleum combustion mobilize approximately 560 × 106 g yr−1Re, which is more than any natural flux of Re. There are several poorly constrained fluxes of Re that merit further research, including: submarine groundwater discharge, precipitation (terrestrial and oceanic), magma degassing, and hydrothermal activity. The mechanisms and the main host phases responsible for releasing (sources) or sequestrating (sinks) these fluxes remain poorly understood. This study also highlights the use of dissolved [Re] concentrations as a tracer of oxidation of petrogenic organic carbon, and stable Re isotopes as proxies for changes in global redox conditions.
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Coal fly ash is a major carbon flux in the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) basin
Fly ash—the residuum of coal burning—contains a considerable amount of fossilized particulate organic carbon (FOC ash ) that remains after high-temperature combustion. Fly ash leaks into natural environments and participates in the contemporary carbon cycle, but its reactivity and flux remained poorly understood. We characterized FOC ash in the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) basin, China, and quantified the riverine FOC ash fluxes. Using Raman spectral analysis, ramped pyrolysis oxidation, and chemical oxidation, we found that FOC ash is highly recalcitrant and unreactive, whereas shale-derived FOC (FOC rock ) was much more labile and easily oxidized. By combining mass balance calculations and other estimates of fly ash input to rivers, we estimated that the flux of FOC ash carried by the Chang Jiang was 0.21 to 0.42 Mt C⋅y −1 in 2007 to 2008—an amount equivalent to 37 to 72% of the total riverine FOC export. We attributed such high flux to the combination of increasing coal combustion that enhances FOC ash production and the massive construction of dams in the basin that reduces the flux of FOC rock eroded from upstream mountainous areas. Using global ash data, a first-order estimate suggests that FOC ash makes up to 16% of the present-day global riverine FOC flux to the oceans. This reflects a substantial impact of anthropogenic activities on the fluxes and burial of fossil organic carbon that has been made less reactive than the rocks from which it was derived.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1755125
- PAR ID:
- 10317411
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Volume:
- 118
- Issue:
- 21
- ISSN:
- 0027-8424
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1921544118
