Absorbed complex of riverine solid substances and its role in geochemical balance of the ocean

Abstract

Data on the composition of the absorbed complex of riverine solid substances and its transformation in marine environments obtained from field observations and experimental investigations are systematized and generalized. Average values of the specific surface of the riverine suspended particulates (~20 m²/g) and the total exchange capacity of solid substances of the continental runoff (~28 mg-equiv/100 g or 280 g-equiv/t of the transported terrigenous material) are determined. It is shown that the composition of the absorbed complex in the riverine suspended particulates, as well as bottom sediments of rivers and inland water bodies differs principally from that of bottom sediments in oceans and seas: Ca dominates in the first case; Na, in the second case. When the riverine terrigenous material enters oceans and seas, the composition of the absorbed complex is subjected to the ion-exchange transformation reflected in the replacement of exchange Ca (~80%) mainly by Na and also by K and Mg of seawater. This process is responsible for the influx of 45.5 Mt/yr of dissolved Ca to ocean and the removal of 37.3, 12.8, and 3.9 Mt/yr of Na, K, and Mg, respectively. The relative transport of Ca, Na, K, and Mg to ocean with the river runoff is +7.5,–12.3,–22.4, and–2.6%, respectively.