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Dobbingstone Burn, Scotland—This photo illustrates two different types of erosion affecting the same place. Valley erosion is occurring due to the flow of the stream, and the boulders and stones (and much of the soil) that are lying on the edges are glacial till that was left behind as ice age glaciers flowed over the terrain.
Thermal erosion is the result of melting and weakening permafrost due to moving water. [24] It can occur both along rivers and at the coast. Rapid river channel migration observed in the Lena River of Siberia is due to thermal erosion, as these portions of the banks are composed of permafrost-cemented non-cohesive materials. [25]
Satellite images that show the extreme erosion in the Betsiboka Estuary in Madagascar due to deforestation, which results in rapid denudation and one of the fastest changing coastlines. [ 43 ] Cliffs of a coastline in Portugal that have denuded due to erosion and weathering primarily from water and salt.
River erosion can be driven by tectonic uplift, climate, or potentially both mechanisms. It is difficult in many areas, however, to decisively pinpoint whether tectonism or climate change can individually drive tectonic uplift, enhanced erosion, and therefore terrace formation. In many cases, simplifying the geologic issue to tectonic-driven vs ...
Wind erosion of soil at the foot of Chimborazo, Ecuador Rock carved by drifting sand below Fortification Rock in Arizona (Photo by Timothy H. O'Sullivan, USGS, 1871). Aeolian processes, also spelled eolian, [1] pertain to wind activity in the study of geology and weather and specifically to the wind's ability to shape the surface of the Earth (or other planets).
The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) is a widely used mathematical model that describes soil erosion processes. [1]Erosion models play critical roles in soil and water resource conservation and nonpoint source pollution assessments, including: sediment load assessment and inventory, conservation planning and design for sediment control, and for the advancement of scientific understanding.
The benefits of improving soil structure for the growth of plants, particularly in an agricultural setting, include: reduced erosion due to greater soil aggregate strength and decreased overland flow; improved root penetration and access to soil moisture and nutrients; improved emergence of seedlings due to reduced crusting of the surface; and ...
The interaction between erosion and tectonics has been a topic of debate since the early 1990s. While the tectonic effects on surface processes such as erosion have long been recognized (for example, river formation as a result of tectonic uplift ), the opposite (erosional effects on tectonic activity) has only recently been addressed. [ 1 ]