Susanne Kathrine Munk Arens

Doctoral candidate

Curriculum Vitae here

Under what conditions is weathering maximized?

What is the role of transient states of weathering?

What is the role of the biosphere?

On geological time scales the main carbon sink is the formation of carbonate rocks resulting from weathering of silicate rocks. JIWES (Jena Integrated Weathering and Erosion Scheme) is a simple soil weathering model implemented on the global scale and suitable for long term integrations with climatic forcing from GCMs and a spatial resolution of up to 1x1 degree. The model simulates weathering of silicate and carbonate rocks and the associated generation of dissolved ions and secondary minerals depending on climate, biospheric productivity, lithology and topographic gradient. The aim is to understand the effects of soil formation and evolution on long term trends in weathering rates on the global scale. There are many possible applications; including studies of biospheric enhancement of weathering, the effect of transient states such as glacial-interglacial cycles, and the role of soil formation in the context of orogenesis and uplift.

Publications:

Arens S. and Kleidon A. 2011: Eco-hydrological versus supply-limited weathering regimes and the potential for biotic enhancement of weathering at the global scale. Applied Geochemistry Vol. 26, Supplement, June 2011, pp. S274-S278
doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2011.03.079

Arens S. and Kleidon A. 2008: Global sensitivity of weathering rates to atmospheric CO₂ under the assumption of saturated river discharge. Mineralogical Magazine, Vol. 72(1), pp. 305-308
doi: 10.1180/minmag.2008.072.1.301

Funding:

HGF Alliance for Planetary Evolution and Life web

Contact:

sarens@bgc-jena.mpg.de