Abstract
Rhenium (Re) is a trace element whose redox chemistry makes it an ideal candidate to trace a range of geochemical processes. Here, we report the first rhenium isotopic measurements (δ187Re) from river-borne materials to assess the influence of chemical weathering on Re isotopes at continental scale. The δ187Re was measured in water, suspended sediments and bedloads from the Mackenzie River and its main Arctic tributaries in Northwestern Canada. We find that the δ187Re (relative to NIST SRM 989) of river waters ranges from −0.05‰ to +0.07‰, which is generally higher than the corresponding river sediment (−0.25‰ to +0.01‰). We show that the range of δ187Re in river sediments (∼0.30‰) is controlled by a combination of source bedrock isotopic variability (provenance) and modern oxidative weathering processes. After correcting for bedrock variability, the δ187Re of solids appear to be positively correlated with the amount of Re depletion related to oxidative weathering. This correlation, and the offset in δ187Re between river water and sediment, can be explained by preferential oxidation of reactive phases with high δ187Re (i.e. rock organic carbon, sulfide minerals), but could also result from fractionation during oxidation or the influence of secondary weathering processes. Overall, we find that both basin-average bedrock δ187Re (∼−0.05‰) and dissolved δ187Re (∼−0.01‰) in the Mackenzie River are lower than the δ187Re of Atlantic seawater (+0.12‰). These observations provide impetus for future work to constrain the Re isotope mass balance of seawater, and assess the potential for secular shifts in its δ187Re values over time, which could provide an additional isotopic proxy to trace current and past redox processes at Earth's Surface.
Highlights
Oxidative weathering (OW) of sulfide minerals and petrogenic organic carbon (OCpetro) influences the long-term carbon and oxygen cycles that have governed the evolution of Earth’s environment over geologic time (Derry, 2014; Torres et al, 2014)
For the Mackenzie mainstream, Peel and Arctic Red tributaries, the δ187Re value was measured in two different years (2017 and 2018)
The first measurements of the Re isotopic composition of rivers reveal a large range in the δ187Re of river sediments (δ187Resed) and show that composition of dissolved Re (δ187Rediss) is almost always higher than the corresponding δ187Resed of each river (Fig. 2)
Summary
Oxidative weathering (OW) of sulfide minerals and petrogenic organic carbon (OCpetro) influences the long-term carbon and oxygen cycles that have governed the evolution of Earth’s environment over geologic time (Derry, 2014; Torres et al, 2014). Despite the recognition that OW of OCpetro is a source of CO2 to the atmosphere, there is still only limited constraint on how these fluxes vary in the present-day (Hilton and West, 2020) and how they have changed in the past (Derry, 2014; Lyons et al, 2019; Petsch, 2014). Soluble trace elements that are bound to organic matter (or sulfides) in rocks are released during OW. Re has been used as a proxy to quantify OW fluxes in present day river catchments (Dalai et al, 2002; Hilton et al, 2014; Horan et al, 2019). The ratio of rhenium isotopes in river waters, 187Re (62.6%) and
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
