Reactive transport models of weathering

Continental rocks chemically weather when surficial waters and gases interact with the minerals and organisms that inhabit Earth’s critical zone. To understand and quantify this process, researchers use reactive transport models to track the kinetics and thermodynamics of weathering reactions and the transport of products and reactants. These models are powerful tools to explore how weathering sculpts the Earth’s surface from the scale of mineral grains to watersheds, and across temporal scales from seconds to millions of years. Reactive transport model simulations are now a vital tool for elucidating the complex links between climate, rock weathering, and biota.