EAGER: Dynamic Response of the Soil Production Function to Erosion Rates

对该项目的非技术性描述，解释了该项目的意义和重要性土壤的形成和从景观中移走是与人类生计和福祉相交的两个最重要的地质过程。土壤是农业生产的必需品，土壤的特性影响着地下水的可利用性和不同景观的生态平衡。侵蚀可能会造成很大的破坏，物质被输送到溪流的速度将对洪水产生影响。这个项目将检查土壤的产生和侵蚀的速度，以便更好地评估对这一非常重要的自然资源分布的控制。项目的技术描述土壤厚度是地球表面的一个根本重要特征，在水文、生态、生物地球化学、侵蚀和运输过程中发挥着重要作用。流行的理论预测，平均土壤厚度随着流域平均侵蚀率的增加而减少，当这种侵蚀率超过气候和岩性控制的最大土壤生产率时，土壤覆盖的景观就会让位于岩石景观。然而，初步观察表明，土壤厚度在其他相似的景观中的变化比这一理论所能解释的要大得多。该项目将结合现场和碎屑的宇宙成因放射性核素分析和数字高程模型，对一系列精心选择的野外地点进行分析，以量化对地质活跃地区土壤厚度的基本影响。

ABSTRACTA non-technical description of the project, which explains the project's significance and importanceThe formation of soil and its removal from the landscape are two of the most important geological processes that intersect with the livelihood and well-being of human populations. Soil is needed for agriculture, and the characteristics of this material affect the availability of groundwater and the ecological balance of different landscapes. Erosion can be very damaging and the rate at which material is transported to streams will have an impact on flooding. This project will examine the rate at which soil is produced and eroded in order to better assess the controls on the distribution of this very important natural resource.A technical description of the projectSoil thickness is a fundamentally important characteristic of the Earth's surface that plays an essential role in hydrology, ecology, biogeochemistry, erosion, and transport processes. The prevailing theory predicts that mean soil thickness decreases with increasing catchment-mean erosion rate and that soil-mantled landscapes give way to rocky ones when this erosion rate exceeds the climate- and lithology-controlled maximum soil production rate. However, initial observations indicate that soil thickness is much more variable across otherwise similar landscapes than can be explained by this theory. This project will use a combination of in situ and detrital cosmogenic radionuclide analyses and digital elevation models across a suite of carefully selected field sites to quantify the fundamental influences on soil thickness in geologically active regions.