Tracing and Pacing Soil Across Slopes

Research Article| October 01, 2014 Tracing and Pacing Soil Across Slopes Jean L. Dixon; Jean L. Dixon 1Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State UniversityBozeman, MT 59717, USAE-mail: jean.dixon@montana.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Clifford S. Riebe Clifford S. Riebe 2Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USAE-mail: criebe@uwyo.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Elements (2014) 10 (5): 363–368. https://doi.org/10.2113/gselements.10.5.363 Article history first online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Jean L. Dixon, Clifford S. Riebe; Tracing and Pacing Soil Across Slopes. Elements 2014;; 10 (5): 363–368. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/gselements.10.5.363 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyElements Search Advanced Search Abstract The conversion of rock to soil prepares Earth's surface for erosion by wind, water, gravity, and life. Together these agents wear down hills and mountains even as the land rises up under the stress of tectonic forces in the crust. Meanwhile, weathering liberates nutrients from minerals and disaggregates rock into regolith, generating hospitable substrates for life. Over the last two decades, geochemists, geomorphologists, and soil scientists have increasingly used cosmogenic nuclides to quantify how fast soils are made, modified, and finally swept away in hilly and mountainous landscapes around the world. These studies are revolutionizing our understanding of soils and their role in feedbacks that shape Earth's surface, influence overlying ecosystems, and modulate climate over millions of years. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.