Use of caesium-137 measurements to investigate erosion and sediment sources within a small drainage basin in the loess plateau of China

✍ Scribed by Zhang Xinbao; Li Shaolong; Wang Chenghua; Tan Wanpei; Zhao Qingchang; Zhang Yiyun; Van Meiqiong; Liu Yalun; Jiang Jingjiang; Xiao Jule; Zhou Jie

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 474 KB
• Volume: 3
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0885-6087
• DOI: 10.1002/hyp.3360030403

✦ Synopsis

The contributions of sediment from different geomorpholigical units within a small basin in the Loess Plateau have been determined using caesium-137 as a tracer. The mean caesium-137 content of sediment originating from the hill area, where sheet and rill erosion are predominant, was 3.37Bq kg-I, whereas no caesium-137 was detected in the sediment originating from the gully area where gullying and gravitational erosion are predominant. The mean caesium-137 content of sediment from two flood deposits was 0-23Bq kg-' and 0.89Bq kg-'. The relative contribution from the hill area in the two floods was 7 per cent and 26 per cent, whilst that from the gully area was 93 per cent and 74 per cent.