Tracing Soil Movement with Fluorescent Glass Particles

Fluorescent glass particles with a density similar to that of natural soil particles were developed and tested under simulated rainfall for their effectiveness in tracing soil particle movement. From 10 to 38% of the various size ranges of particles used were successfully traced on the test plots. During a simulated rainstorm of 6.35 cm of rainfall in one hour, 11.8, 2.9, 0.7, and 0.6% of the largest to smallest size range of particles used, respectively, moved a distance of 10.37 m to the bottom of the plots. Lateral movements of up to 182.9 cm and upslope movements of up to 61.0 cm, as a result of raindrop splash action, were also detected. From the field test, glass particles appear to be potentially useful in work where knowledge of the movement of soil sized particles is desired.