Use of anthropogenic radioisotopes to estimate rates of soil redistribution by wind I: Historic use of 137Cs

Pelt, R. Scott Van

doi:10.1016/j.aeolia.2012.11.004

Cited by 22 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 158 publications

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“…The caesium-137 ( 137 Cs) technique overcomes most of the difficulties with long-term erosion monitoring programmes because it provides retrospective information on medium-term (ca. 40 years) net soil redistribution (Zapata, 2003) due to all processes including wind erosion and dust emission (Van Pelt, 2013). Although some limitations exist (Walling and Quine, 1991;Chappell, 1999;Parsons and Foster, 2011), the 137 Cs technique has been applied successfully in many countries at the field scale (Zapata, 2003) and used to investigate at the field scale whether accelerated erosion processes act as a source or a sink of atmospheric CO 2 (Quine and Van Oost, 2007).…”

Section: Cs-derived Net (1950s-1990) Soil Redistributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Australian net (1950s–1990) soil organic carbon erosion: implications for CO<sub>2</sub> emission and land–atmosphere modelling

Chappell¹,

Webb²,

Rossel³

et al. 2014

Preprint

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Abstract. The debate about soil erosion substantially offsetting fossil fuel emissions and acting as an important source or sink of CO2 remains unresolved. There is little historical land use and management context to this debate which is central to Australia's recent past of European settlement, agricultural expansion and agriculturally-induced soil erosion. We use "catchment" scale (∼25 km2) estimates of 137Cs-derived net (1950s–1990) soil redistribution of all processes (wind, water and tillage) to calculate the net soil organic carbon (SOC) redistribution across Australia. We approximate the selective removal of SOC at net eroding locations and SOC enrichment of transported sediment and net depositional locations. We map net (1950s–1990) SOC redistribtion across Australia and estimate erosion by all processes ∼4 Tg SOC yr−1 which represents a~loss of ∼2% of the total carbon stock (0–10 cm) of Australia. Assuming this net SOC loss is mineralised, the flux (∼15 Tg CO2-e yr−1) represents an omitted 12% of CO2-e emissions from all carbon pools in Australia. Although a small source of uncertainty in the Australian carbon budget, the mass flux interacts with energy and water fluxes and its omission from land surface models likely creates more uncertainty than has been previously recognised.

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Section: Cs-derived Net (1950s-1990) Soil Redistributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Australian net (1950s–1990) soil organic carbon erosion: implications for CO<sub>2</sub> emission and land–atmosphere modelling

Chappell¹,

Webb²,

Rossel³

et al. 2014

Preprint

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“…These isotopes subsequently deposited on the Earth's surface where some of them strongly adsorbed on to soil particles. The movement of these particles across the landscape has become a powerful method for investigating soil redistribution by wind, water and tillage [12]. The most commonly used anthropogenic isotope to assess soil redistribution rates is caesium-137 ( 137 Cs).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using²³⁹Pu as a tracer for fine sediment sources in the Daly River, Northern Australia

Lal

Fifield

Tims

et al. 2015

EPJ Web of Conferences

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Abstract. The Daly River drains a large (52500 km 2 ) and mainly undisturbed catchment in the Australian wet-dry tropics. Clearing and cropping since 2002 have raised concerns about possible increased sediment input into the river and motivated this study of its fine sediment sources. Using 239 Pu as a tracer it is shown that the fine sediments originate mainly from erosion by gullying and channel change. Although the results also indicate that the surface soil contribution to the river channel sediments from sheet erosion has increased to 5-22% for the Daly River and 7-28% for the Douglas River (a tributary of the Daly River) in 2009 vs. 3-6% for the Daly River and 4-9% for the Douglas River in 2005. This excess top soil likely originates from the cleared land adjacent to the Daly River since 2005. However, channel widening largely as a result of hydrologic change is still the dominant sediment source in this catchment.

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“…Aeolian transport of radionuclides from the soil can be modeled and predicted to allow estimation of inhalation doses off previously contaminated, but recently disturbed, soils (Michelotti et al., 2013). Radionuclides in dust are used to estimate the age of atmospheric aerosols (Han & Zender, 2010), and loss or gain of fallout anthropogenic radionuclides has been used to estimate decadal rates of soil redistribution by wind (Van Pelt, 2013; Van Pelt & Ketterer, 2013; Van Pelt et al., 2007). The eventual fate of all surface sediments on Earth is into the oceans, either as wet or dry dust deposition or by water erosion and transport in rivers.…”

Section: Effects On Environmental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health and Safety Effects of Airborne Soil Dust in the Americas and Beyond

Tong

Gill

Sprigg

et al. 2023

Reviews of Geophysics

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Risks associated with dust hazards are often underappreciated, a gap between the knowledge pool and public awareness that can be costly for impacted communities. This study reviews the emission sources and chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of airborne soil particles (dust) and their effects on human and environmental health and safety in the Pan‐American region. American dust originates from both local sources (western United States, northern Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina) and long‐range transport from Africa and Asia. Dust properties, as well as the trends and interactions with criteria air pollutants, are summarized. Human exposure to dust is associated with adverse health effects, including asthma, allergies, fungal infections, and premature death. In the Americas, a well‐documented and striking effect of soil dust is its association with Coccidioidomycosis, commonly known as Valley fever, an infection caused by inhalation of soil‐dwelling fungi unique to this region. Besides human health, dust affects environmental health through nutrients that increase phytoplankton biomass, contaminants that diminish water supply and affect food (crops/fruits/vegetables and ready‐to‐eat meat), spread crop and marine pathogens, cause Valley fever among domestic and wild animals, transport heavy metals, radionuclides and microplastics, and reduce solar and wind power generation. Dust is also a safety hazard to road transportation and aviation, in the southwestern US where blowing dust is one of the deadliest weather hazards. To mitigate the harmful effects, coordinated regional and international efforts are needed to enhance dust observations and prediction capabilities, soil conservation measures, and Valley fever and other disease surveillance.

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Use of anthropogenic radioisotopes to estimate rates of soil redistribution by wind I: Historic use of 137Cs

Cited by 22 publications

References 158 publications

Australian net (1950s–1990) soil organic carbon erosion: implications for CO<sub>2</sub> emission and land–atmosphere modelling

Australian net (1950s–1990) soil organic carbon erosion: implications for CO<sub>2</sub> emission and land–atmosphere modelling

Using²³⁹Pu as a tracer for fine sediment sources in the Daly River, Northern Australia

Health and Safety Effects of Airborne Soil Dust in the Americas and Beyond

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Use of anthropogenic radioisotopes to estimate rates of soil redistribution by wind I: Historic use of 137Cs

Cited by 22 publications

References 158 publications

Australian net (1950s–1990) soil organic carbon erosion: implications for CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; emission and land–atmosphere modelling

Australian net (1950s–1990) soil organic carbon erosion: implications for CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; emission and land–atmosphere modelling

Using239Pu as a tracer for fine sediment sources in the Daly River, Northern Australia

Health and Safety Effects of Airborne Soil Dust in the Americas and Beyond

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Product

Resources

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Australian net (1950s–1990) soil organic carbon erosion: implications for CO<sub>2</sub> emission and land–atmosphere modelling

Australian net (1950s–1990) soil organic carbon erosion: implications for CO<sub>2</sub> emission and land–atmosphere modelling

Using²³⁹Pu as a tracer for fine sediment sources in the Daly River, Northern Australia