Project A3
Chemical weathering as a sink for atmospheric CO2 – Seawater lithium isotope composition (δ7Li) as a weathering proxy
Principal Investigators: Silke Voigt, Horst Marschall, Michael Seitz (Goethe University Frankfurt)
Subproject A3 aims at reconstructing the temperature-dependent intensity of silicate weathering as sink for atmospheric CO2 during late Cretaceous climate cooling (95-66 Ma). The lithium isotopic composition of marine carbonates records secular changes in sea-water δ7Li and thus reflects relative changes in the weathering of continental and oceanic silicates as well as the isotopic fractionation during the formation of clay minerals. We will perform isotopic and geochemical analyses (δ7Li, 87/86Sr, Δ47, Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca) in marine carbonates, and develop conceptual models in cooperation with project partners towards a quantitative assessment of the geodynamic and climatic coupling.
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