denudation
Determination of predevelopment denudation rates of an agricultural watershed (Cayagua´s River, Puerto Rico) using in-situ-produced 10Be in river-borne quartz
Wed, 01/25/2012 - 16:23 — leonmiBrown, E. T., R. F. Stallard, M. C. Larsen, D. L. Bourlès, G. M. Raisbeck, and F. Yiou. 1998. Determination of predevelopment denudation rates of an agricultural watershed (cayaguas river, puerto rico) using in-situ-produced 10Be in river-borne quartz. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 160 (3-4): 723-8.
Abstract:
Accurate estimates of watershed denudation absent anthropogenic effects are required to develop strategies for
mitigating accelerated physical erosion resulting from human activities, to model global geochemical cycles, and to
examine interactions among climate, weathering, and uplift. We present a simple approach to estimate predevelopment
denudation rates using in-situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be in fluvial sediments. Denudation processes in an agricultural
watershed (Cayagua´s River Basin, Puerto Rico) and a matched undisturbed watershed (Icacos River Basin) were compared
using 10Be concentrations in quartz for various size fractions of bed material. The coarse fractions in both watersheds
bear the imprint of long subsurface residence times. Fine material from old shallow soils contributes little, however, to the
present-day sediment output of the Cayagua´s. This confirms the recent and presumably anthropogenic origin of the modern
high denudation rate in the Cayagua´s Basin and suggests that pre-agricultural erosional conditions were comparable to
those of the present-day Icacos.
Denudation rates determined from the accumulation of in situ-produced loBe in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico
Wed, 01/25/2012 - 16:18 — leonmiBrown, E. T., R. F. Stallard, M. C. Larsen, G. M. Raisbeck, and F. Yiou. 1995. Denudation rates determined from the accumulation of in situ-produced 10Be in the luquillo experimental forest, puerto rico. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 129 (1-4): 193-202.
Abstract:
We present a simple method for estimation of long-term mean denudation rates using in situ-produced
cosmogenic 10Be in fluvial sediments. Procedures are discussed to account for the effects of soil bioturbation, mass
wasting and attenuation of cosmic rays by biomass and by local topography. Our analyses of 10Be in quartz from
bedrock outcrops, soils, mass-wasting sites and riverine sediment from the Icacos River basin in the Luquillo
Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico, are used to characterize denudation for major landform elements in that basin.
The 10Be concentration of a discharge-weighted average of size classes of river sediment corresponds to a long-term
average denudation of = 43 m Ma^-1, consistent with mass balance results.
Twelve testable hypotheses on the Geobiology of weathering
Wed, 08/03/2011 - 09:13 — leonmiBrantley S.L., Megonigal J.P., Scatena F.N. et al 2010. Twelve testable hypotheses on the Geobiology of weathering. Geobiology. DOI: 10.1111/j.1472-4669.2010.00264.x
Abstract:
Critical Zone (CZ) research investigates the chemical, physical, and biological processes that modulate the Earth’s surface. Here, we advance 12 hypotheses that must be tested to improve our understanding of the CZ: (1) Solar-to-chemical conversion of energy by plants regulates flows of carbon, water, and nutrients through plant-microbe soil networks, thereby controlling the location and extent of biological weathering. (2) Biological stoichiometry drives changes in mineral stoichiometry and distribution through weathering. (3) On landscapes experiencing little erosion, biology drives weathering during initial succession, whereas weathering drives biology over the long term.(4) In eroding landscapes, weathering-front advance at depth is coupled to surface denudation via biotic processes.(5) Biology shapes the topography of the Critical Zone.(6) The impact of climate forcing on denudation rates in natural systems can be predicted from models incorporating biogeochemical reaction rates and geomorphological transport laws.(7) Rising global temperatures will increase carbon losses from the Critical Zone.(8) Rising atmospheric PCO2 will increase rates and extents of mineral weathering in soils.(9) Riverine solute fluxes will respond to changes in climate primarily due to changes in water fluxes and secondarily through changes in biologically mediated weathering.(10) Land use change will impact Critical Zone processes and exports more than climate change. (11) In many severely altered settings, restoration of hydrological processes is possible in decades or less, whereas restoration of biodiversity and biogeochemical processes requires longer timescales.(12) Biogeochemical properties impart thresholds or tipping points beyond which rapid and irreversible losses of ecosystem health, function, and services can occur.
Denudation rates determined from the accumulation of in situ-produced 10Be in the luquillo experimental forest, Puerto Rico
Mon, 07/25/2011 - 12:41 — ckassBrown, E.T., Stallard, R.F., Larsen, M.C., Raisbeck, G.M., Yiou,
F., 1995b. Denudation rates determined from the accumulation of in
situ-produced Be in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto
Rico. Earthand Planetary Science Letters 129, 193}202.
Abstract:
We present a simple method for estimation of long-term mean denudation rates using in situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be in fluvial sediments. Procedures are discussed to account for the effects of soil bioturbation, mass wasting and attenuation of cosmic rays by biomass and by local topography. Our analyses of 10Be in quartz from bedrock outcrops, soils, mass-wasting sites and riverine sediment from the Icacos River basin in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico, are used to characterize denudation for major landform elements in that basin. The 10Be concentration of a discharge-weighted average of size classes of river sediment corresponds to a long-term average denudation of ≈ 43 m Ma−1, consistent with mass balance results.
Determination of predevelopment denudation rates of an agricultural watershed (Cayaguás River, Puerto Rico) using in-situ-produced 10Be in river-borne quartz
Mon, 07/25/2011 - 11:35 — ckassBrown, E.T., Stallard, R.F., Larsen, M.C., Bourles, D.L., Raisbeck,
G.M., Yiou, F., 1998b. Determination fo predevelopment denudation
rates of an agricultural watershed (Cayaguas River, Puerto
Rico) using in-situ-produced Be in river-borne quartz. Earthand
Planetary Science Letters 160 (3-4), 723}728.
Abstract:
Accurate estimates of watershed denudation absent anthropogenic effects are required to develop strategies for mitigating accelerated physical erosion resulting from human activities, to model global geochemical cycles, and to examine interactions among climate, weathering, and uplift. We present a simple approach to estimate predevelopment denudation rates using in-situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be in fluvial sediments. Denudation processes in an agricultural watershed (Cayaguás River Basin, Puerto Rico) and a matched undisturbed watershed (Icacos River Basin) were compared using 10Be concentrations in quartz for various size fractions of bed material. The coarse fractions in both watersheds bear the imprint of long subsurface residence times. Fine material from old shallow soils contributes little, however, to the present-day sediment output of the Cayaguás. This confirms the recent and presumably anthropogenic origin of the modern high denudation rate in the Cayaguás Basin and suggests that pre-agricultural erosional conditions were comparable to those of the present-day Icacos.
Infiltration on mountain slopes: a comparison of three environments
Thu, 07/21/2011 - 19:37 — ckassHarden,Carol P.; Scruggs, P. Delmas 2003. Infiltration on mountain slopes: a comparison of three environments.. Geomorphology 55 ;5 -24.
Abstract:
Water is well established as a major driver of the geomorphic change that eventually reduces mountains to lower relief landscapes. Nonetheless, within the altitudinal limits of continuous vegetation in humid climates, water is also an essential factor in slope stability. In this paper, we present results from field experiments to determine infiltration rates at forested sites in the Andes Mountains (Ecuador), the southern Appalachian Mountains (USA), and the Luquillo Mountains (Puerto Rico). Using a portable rainfall simulatorinfiltrometer (all three areas), and a single ring infiltrometer (Andes), we determined infiltration rates, even on steep slopes. Based on these results, we examine the spatial variability of infiltration, the relationship of rainfall runoff and infiltration to landscape position, the influence of vegetation on infiltration rates on slopes, and the implications of this research for better understanding erosional processes and landscape change. Infiltration rates ranged from 6 to 206 mm/h on lower slopes of the Andes, 16 to 117 mm/h in the southern Appalachians, and 0 to 106 mm/h in the Luquillo Mountains. These rates exceed those of most natural rain events, confirming that surface runoff is rare in montane forests with deep soil/regolith mantles. On well-drained forested slopes and ridges, apparent steadystate infiltration may be controlled by the near-surface downslope movement of infiltrated water rather than by characteristics of the full vertical soil profile. With only two exceptions, the local variability of infiltration rates at the scale of 10j m overpowered other expected spatial relationships between infiltration, vegetation type, slope position, and soil factors. One exception was the significant difference between infiltration rates on alluvial versus upland soils in the Andean study area. The other exception was the significant difference between infiltration rates in topographic coves compared to other slope positions in the tabonuco forest of one watershed in the Luquillo Mountains. Our research provides additional evidence of the ability of forests and forest soils to preserve geomorphic features from denudation by surface erosion, documents the importance of subsurface flow in mountain forests, and supports the need for caution in extrapolating infiltration rates.
