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Research title Quantifying the magnitude and timing of Holocene soil erosion events on parent materials of known age using in-situ cosmogenic C-14 and Be-10 depth-pro. Summary of research The sustainable use of soils represents one of the key challenges that society faces. We are testing whether cosmogenic in-situ C-14 and Be-10 depth-profiles can be used to determine amounts and timing of erosion on a soil formed on a Younger Dryas moraine in Scotland. The C-14 measurements are instrumental for the success of this project as Be-10 (given its long half-life relative to Holocene timescales) can only show the erosional loss, whereas C-14, with a substantially shorter half-life, can also discriminate between the various timings of surface erosion.
The project will focus on:
(1) assessing whether the full original thickness of till in end moraines of the well documented Lomond Glacial Readvance is still intact, and
(2) determining the broad timing of any loss of material. Supervisors Professor Paul Bishop
Dr Derek Fabel
Professor Gordon T Cook (SUERC) Recent publications | View all publications >> Fülöp, R.H., Naysmith, P., Cook, G.T., Fabel, D., Xu, S. and Bishop, P. 2010. Update on the performance of the SUERC in situ cosmogenic 14C extraction line. Radiocarbon, vol. 52 (2-3), 1288-1294 [1] Fülöp R-H., Bishop P., Fabel, D., Cook G.T., Schnabel C., Naysmith P., and Xu S. 2009, Determining amounts and timing of soil erosion using in situ cosmogenic C-14 and Be-10, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 73(13-S1), P. A348-A405
[2] Fülöp R-H., Naysmith P., Cook G.T, Fabel, D., Bishop P., Schnabel C., and Xu S. 2009, Quantifying site-specific Holocene soil erosion using depth-profiles of cosmogenic in-situ C-14 and Be-10, 20th International Radiocarbon Conference, Hawaii.
Recent research grants 1. British Geological Survey Scholarship (Ł4900) 2. Geographical and Earth Sciences Student Research Grant 2008-2010, The University of Glasgow - for SAGES affiliated student (Ł1000/yr) 3. Natural Environment Research Council Cosmogenic Isotope Analysis Facility Grant. “A vertical profile of cosmogenic 10Be in a soil material of known age: Basis of a novel approach to determining amounts and timing of Holocene soil erosion?” (Ł12,060 – grant-in-kind, awarded to Bishop P. and Fülöp R.H.) |
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