Climate change has enhanced the positive contribution of rock weathering to the major ions in riverine transport

Most of the ions in rivers come from the migration of weathering products of continental rocks. However, there is no clear understanding of the dynamic changes in ions derived from the chemical weathering of rocks and their feedback to climate change. This affects our comprehension of the evolution of life and the cycle of matter on Earth. In the present study, we established a dataset with a 0.25° × 0.25° spatial resolution for the major dissolved ions and their total fluxes in the riverine transported (ICWR) at the global scale from 1980 to 2020 using the Lechuga-Crespo model and the random forest algorithm. The results show that from 1980 to 2009, the total amount of the ICWR was 5.4·109 Mg yr−1, of which alkalinity accounted for 45%, Ca2+ accounted for 17%, SO42− accounted for 14%, Na+ accounted for 9%, Cl− accounted for 8%, Mg2+ accounted for 6%, and K+ accounted for 2%. In addition, the ICWR increased at a rate of 6.47·106 Mg yr−1. The most obvious trend was in the area with high ionic activity coefficients between 30° N and 30° S. The growth trend of the ICWR during 2010–2020 was seven times that during 1980–2009, resulting in a 30% increase in the ICWR over the past 40 years. This study highlights the critical role of climate change in the transport and evolution of the ICWR, and explores their impact on vegetation change. It has important reference value for responding to the eco-environmental problems caused by climate change.