Rare earth elements (REEs) are crucial strategic resources, and weathering-crust rare earth deposits are one of the primary sources. To systematically understand the geochemical behaviour (e.g. enrichment and leaching) of REEs in soils (or weathering crusts) formed from diverse parent rocks under varying climatic conditions, 171 soil profiles (weathering crusts) developed from three main types of parent rocks (granite, basalt and carbonate rock) worldwide were studied. Granite shows the highest concentration of REEs at 264 [interquartile range (IQR): 278] ppm with 171 (IQR: 151) ppm and 11.9 (IQR: 36.4) ppm in basalt and carbonate rock, respectively (median test: p < 0.05). The median REE values within the soil profiles were significantly different (median test: p < 0.05), with the concentration of 318 (IQR: 441) ppm, 267 (IQR: 217) ppm and 207 (IQR: 417) ppm in soils derived from granite, carbonate rock and basalt, respectively. Principal component analysis and linear mixed-effects models revealed that soils developed from granite and basalt inherit the mineral characteristics of their parent rocks, with REE concentrations primarily influenced by the REE content of the parent rock and climate. In contrast, the REE concentrations in soils developed from carbonate rocks are predominantly controlled by climate. Linear mixed-effects models and correlation analysis indicate that the enrichment of REEs (QREE) shows a trend of initially increasing and then decreasing with rising temperature and precipitation, due to variations in the host clay minerals. The greatest enrichment occurs in the subtropical region (mean annual temperature = 15–23°C; mean annual precipitation = 1000–2000 mm); weathering-crust type REE deposits are primarily found in the subtropics.
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Research Article|
October 24, 2024
Enhanced enrichment of rare earth elements during pedogenesis under subtropical climate
Jian Wu;
Jian Wu
1
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University
, Chengdu 610065, China
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Zheng Gong;
Zheng Gong
2
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Guangzhou 510640, China
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Qian Jin;
Qian Jin
3
Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Urumqi 650100, China
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Maochao Zhang;
Maochao Zhang
4
Qingyuan Polytechnic
, Qingyuan 511510, China
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Chengmin Huang
Chengmin Huang
*
1
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University
, Chengdu 610065, China
*
Correspondence: [email protected]
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1
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University
, Chengdu 610065, China
Zheng Gong
2
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Guangzhou 510640, China
Qian Jin
3
Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences
, Urumqi 650100, China
Maochao Zhang
4
Qingyuan Polytechnic
, Qingyuan 511510, China
Chengmin Huang
*
1
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University
, Chengdu 610065, China
*
Correspondence: [email protected]
Publisher: Geological Society of London
Received:
29 May 2024
Revision Received:
17 Aug 2024
Accepted:
20 Aug 2024
First Online:
10 Sep 2024
Online ISSN: 2041-4943
Print ISSN: 1467-7873
Funding
- Funder(s):National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Award Id(s): 41771248
- Award Id(s):
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by The Geological Society of London for GSL and AAG. All rights, including for text and data mining (TDM), artificial intelligence (AI) training, and similar technologies, are reserved. For permissions: https://www.lyellcollection.org/publishing-hub/permissions-policy. Publishing disclaimer: https://www.lyellcollection.org/publishing-hub/publishing-ethics
© 2024 The Author(s)
Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis (2024) 24 (4): geochem2024-024.
Article history
Received:
29 May 2024
Revision Received:
17 Aug 2024
Accepted:
20 Aug 2024
First Online:
10 Sep 2024
Citation
Jian Wu, Zheng Gong, Qian Jin, Maochao Zhang, Chengmin Huang; Enhanced enrichment of rare earth elements during pedogenesis under subtropical climate. Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis 2024;; 24 (4): geochem2024–024. doi: https://doi.org/10.1144/geochem2024-024
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Index Terms/Descriptors
- adsorption
- basalts
- carbonate rocks
- chemically precipitated rocks
- clay minerals
- enrichment
- granites
- igneous rocks
- ions
- metals
- pedogenesis
- plutonic rocks
- protoliths
- rare earths
- sedimentary rocks
- sheet silicates
- silicates
- soil profiles
- soils
- subtropical environment
- volcanic rocks
- weathering
- weathering crust
- climosequences
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