Geochemical denudation rates and solute transport mechanisms in a maritime temperate glacier basin
Dissolved cation loss from the basin of Berendon Glacier, northwestern British Columbia is calculated at 947 mequiv m−2 year−1 with calcium accounting for nearly all of this loss. This geochemical denudation rate is substantially greater than the world average of 390 mE m−2 year−1 but agrees well with similar studies from the Cascade Range in the northwestern United States. Abundant precipitation is likely responsible for the significant geochemical denudation despite reduced chemical activity at low annual temperatures. When absorption is considered in the removal process, the major cation denudation rate increases by about 10% and doubles the loss of certain cations such as sodium. This finding complements previously published sedimentological evidence (SEM of quartz grains) of high rates of chemical activity in the basin.Debris–water contact time appears to exert a significant control on the cation and silica concentrations exhibited by the various water types moving through the basin. Firn, glacier ic...