Cosmogenic soil production rate calculator

Rodés, Á. and Evans, D. L. (2020) Cosmogenic soil production rate calculator. MethodsX, 7, 100753. (doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2019.11.026) (PMID:32021816) (PMCID:PMC6994705)

Abstract

To understand the rates at which soils form from bedrock, it is important to know the rates at which the bedrock surface lowers (the apparent erosion rate, which is assumed to be constant). Previous models that calculate apparent erosion rates using measured concentrations of cosmogenic radionuclides rely on the assumption that the bulk density of the soil which forms as a product of bedrock erosion either equals that of the bedrock itself or is constant with depth down the soil profile. This assumption fails to recognise that soils have significantly lower densities that might not be constant with depth. The model presented here allows for the calculation of isotopically-derived soil production rates, considering the bulk density profile of the soil overlying the bedrock surface. This calculator, which can be run both in MATLAB® and GNU Octave©, represents a novel and significant contribution to the derivation of soil production rates.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Rodes, Dr Angel
• Authors: Rodés, Á., and Evans, D. L.
• Subjects: Q Science > QE Geology; S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General)
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
• Research Group: Cosmogenic Isotope Analysis Facility
• Journal Name: MethodsX
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 2215-0161
• ISSN (Online): 2215-0161
• Published Online: 28 November 2019
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2019 The Authors
• First Published: First published in MethodsX 7:100753
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence