Material Fluxes on the Surface of the Earth

Understanding the ebb and flow of materials on the earth's surface is vital to comprehending environmental change. We need to differentiate between those that represent a progression of natural events from those that might be human induced. The latter can be managed by changing policies; the former probably cannot. This volume presents what researchers know and do not know about the base (or natural) level of surficial fluxes and their dynamics. Leading experts in the field offer a historical perspective on geofluxes and discuss the cycles of materials on the earth's surface, from weathering processes to the movement of material through the river system and oceans to their deposition. The committee sets research directions in five areas: shallow-water studies, mapping, rates of change, sample dating, andmost criticalunderstanding whether human influence can exceed the natural variability in geoflux processes. This volume will be important reading for geophysical scientists, researchers, faculty, and students, as well as environmental policymakers. Table of Contents Front Matter Overview Pleistocene--Holocene Fluxes Are Not the Earth's Norm Surficial Weathering Fluxes and Their Geochemical Controls Global Chemical Weathering on Glacial Time Scales Origin and Variable Composition of Present Day Riverborne Materials Geomorphic/Tectonic Control of Sediment Discharge to the Ocean: The Importance of Small Mountainous Rivers Glacial to Modern Changes in Global River Fluxes Sediment Fluxes Along High-Latitude Glaciated Continental Margins: Northeast Canada and Eastern Greenland Late Quaternary Flux of Eolian Dust to the Pelagic Ocean Particle Fluxes in the Ocean and Implications for Sources and Preservation of Ocean Sediments Seafloor Diagenetic Fluxes Index