Carbonate weathering dominates magnesium isotopes in large rivers: Clues from the Yangtze River

Carbonate weathering regulates the short-term carbon (C) cycle and global climate due to its fast response to hydrological processes. The carbonate weathering flux needs to be well constrained to better understand the climate change at short time scale. Riverine magnesium (Mg) isotopes are sensitive to primary mineral dissolution and so have great potential to trace carbonate weathering. Global large rivers draining continental crust dominate weathering flux to the oceans, but how riverine Mg isotopes respond to carbonate weathering remains unclear. The Yangtze River drainage basin (YRDB) was selected to test the robustness of riverine Mg isotopes (δ26Mg) in tracing continental carbonate weathering because it spans a wide range in lithology, geomorphology and climate. The riverine δ26Mg values within the YRDB show a decreasing trend from the headwater to the mainstream ranging from −1.36‰ to −0.59‰. The dissolved δ26Mg have strong negative correlations with carbonate weathering rate and intensity within the YRDB, indicating a sensitive response of riverine δ26Mg to the carbonate weathering flux. In a compilation of Mg fluxes and δ26Mg in the world's largest rivers, there is similar dominance of carbonate weathering on riverine Mg fluxes and isotopes. Therefore, we propose that riverine δ26Mg in large rivers are a robust tracer of carbonate weathering intensity. Intensifying carbonate weathering under global warming tends to increase riverine Mg and C fluxes to the oceans and thus the atmospheric CO2 sink at the millennial time scale. •The first systematic riverine Mg and Sr dataset within the Yangtze River drainage basin was provided.•Carbonate weathering dominates Mg isotopes in global large rivers, with limited fractionation.•Riverine Mg isotopes of global large rivers can trace carbonate weathering intensity at the continental scale.