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Use of caesium‐137 measurements to investigate erosion and sediment sources within a small drainage basin in the loess plateau of China
Author(s) -
Xinbao Zhang,
Shaolong Li,
Chenghua Wang,
Wanpei Tan,
Qingchang Zhao,
Yiyun Zhang,
Meiqiong Van,
Yalun Liu,
Jingjiang Jiang,
Jule Xiao,
Jie Zhou
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
hydrological processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.222
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1099-1085
pISSN - 0885-6087
DOI - 10.1002/hyp.3360030403
Subject(s) - sediment , erosion , hydrology (agriculture) , loess plateau , loess , plateau (mathematics) , drainage basin , geology , caesium , rill , environmental science , structural basin , flood myth , physical geography , geomorphology , soil science , geography , archaeology , geotechnical engineering , mathematical analysis , chemistry , mathematics , cartography , organic chemistry
The contributions of sediment from different geomorpholigical units within a small basin in the Loess Plateau have been determined using caesium‐137 as a tracer. The mean caesium‐137 content of sediment originating from the hill area, where sheet and rill erosion are predominant, was 3–37 Bq kg‐1, whereas no caesium‐137 was detected in the sediment originating from the gully area where gullying and gravitational erosion are predominant. The mean caesium‐137 content of sediment from two flood deposits was 0–23 Bq kg‐1 and 0–89 Bq kg‐1. The relative contribution from the hill area in the two floods was 7 per cent and 26 per cent, whilst that from the gully area was 93 per cent and 74 per cent.