Climatic influences on hillslope soil transport efficiency

Abstract

The soil transport coefficient D represents the relationship between local topographical gradient and soil flux in the landscape evolution model. This work presents new estimates of the soil transport coefficient D at 9 sites and compares them, along with a compilation of 16 previously published estimates of D, against three climate proxies (mean annual precipitation, aridity index, and mean annual temperature) with the goal of characterizing climatic influences on soil transport efficiency. The new measurements were performed at sites that extend the range into both drier and wetter climates than those published. Together the data suggest that D increases with mean annual precipitation and aridity in dry climates, and levels off or decreases gradually in wetter climates.