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Abstract

What controls the chemical weathering of soils in actively eroding landscapes? In this study, we explore the tectonic signature on soil weathering in the San Gabriel Mountains (SGM) of California, where propagating waves of incision triggered by increasing rock uplift have resulted in distinctly different hillslope morphologies and erosion rates across the range. We quantify downslope patterns of soil weathering across this landscape using sites that bracket low-gradient hillslopes of the stable upland plateau and hillslopes near the margins of the incising landscape. We use elemental mass balances in rock and soil to index the weathered extent of soils, and couple these extents with previously measured 10Be-derived soil production rates to calculate rates of soil weathering and erosion. Across all sites, Tau-Si—the fractional loss or gain of Si from parent material—averages -0.32±0.04, and the weathered extent of soils generally increases with increasing distance from the hillcrest. However, weathering intensities decrease as hillslope gradients steepen beyond 30°. Chemical weathering extents on slopes < 30° averaged 0.35±0.04, 50% more than steeper slopes (0.23±0.05). Similarly, the relationships between soil weathering and erosion rates show distinct patterns on high and low gradient slopes. Erosion and weathering rates are positively correlated on low gradient hillslopes, and negatively correlated on high gradient hillslopes, likely due to the role of erosion rates in controlling mineral supply and residence time. These patterns are consistent with previously published predictive models for denudation-weathering relationships based on mineral weathering kinetics. Variable weathering extents in soils indicate that soil weathering in the SGM is largely kinetically limited. This work provides a field-based quantification of the complex relationship between soil erosion and chemical weathering, and together our data suggest that tectonic forcing strongly influences soil weathering rates and extents through its control on erosion rates, transport processes and soil thickness.