ESS200A
Prof. Jin-Yi Yu
Earth’s Thermostat – Chemical Weathering
qChemical weathering acts as Earth’s thermostat and regulate its
long-term climate.
qThis thermostat mechanism lies in two facts:
(1)
the average global rate of chemical
weathering depends on the state
of Earth’s climate,
(2) weathering also has
the capacity
to alter that state by regulating
the rate which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere.
(from Earth’s Climate: Past
and Future)