6533b7d5fe1ef96bd126463d

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Assessing soil erosion in a small Sicilian basin by caesium-137 measurements and a simplified mass balance model

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Abstract The caesium-137 technique affords both an alternative to conventional measurement methods and an effective quantitative estimate of soil redistribution at the basin scale. Among the available calibration relationships which link the degree of increase or depletion of the 137Cs activity relative to the baseline 137Cs input and sediment yield, the mass balance approach has received increased application for its physical basis. First, the applicability of the refined simplified point-based mass balance (RSPMB) model of Zhang et al. (1999) at the scale of the morphological unit is proposed herein. The 137Cs spatial distribution measured in a small Sicilian basin and the spatial distribution of the sediment yield calculated by a sediment delivery distributed approach are used to estimate values of the two key parameters of the RSPMB model, φ1 and φ2, the fraction of 137Cs fallout incorporated into soil and a particle size correction factor, respectively. Finally, the best procedure for experimental te...