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A Mathematical Model of Soil Erosion and Deposition Processes: II. Application to Data from an Arid‐Zone Catchment
Author(s) -
Rose C. W.,
Williams J. R.,
Sander G. C.,
Barry D. A.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1983.03615995004700050031x
Subject(s) - surface runoff , hydrology (agriculture) , erosion , sediment , watershed , environmental science , deposition (geology) , wepp , arid , soil science , drainage basin , geology , soil conservation , geomorphology , geotechnical engineering , geography , ecology , paleontology , cartography , archaeology , machine learning , computer science , biology , agriculture
Mathematical theory for soil erosion and deposition processes on a plane land element was applied to data on runoff and sediment concentration as a function of time for nine runoff events from a small (1.3 ha) arid watershed in Arizona. Sediment concentration (and therefore sediment flux) vs. time measured at the exit to the watershed could be matched by the theory using particular values of two physically defined parameters. These two parameters are essentially the detachability of soil to rainfall, and the efficiency of sediment entrainment by overland flow. The first parameter had greatest effects on sediment concentration early in any runoff event, and the second parameter dominated later concentrations, thus allowing almost independent assessment of both parameters. The variation in soil detachability with mean depth of overland flow derived from the field data bore similarities to controlled laboratory observations.