Abstract
Seasonal freeze-thaw processes have led to severe soil erosion globally. Slopes are particularly susceptible to changes in runoff, it can be useful to study soil erosion mechanisms. We conducted meltwater flow laboratory experiments to quantify the temporal and spatial distribution of hydraulic parameters on sandy slopes in relation to runoff and sediment yield under constant flow, different soil conditions (unfrozen slope: US; frozen slope: FS), and variable sand thickness. The results showed that sand can prolong initial runoff time, and US and FS have significantly different initial runoff times. There was a significant linear relationship between the cumulative runoff and the cumulative sediment yield. Additionally, hydrodynamic parameters of US and FS varied with time and spatially, as the distance between US and FS is linearly related to the top of the slope. We found that the main runoff flow pattern was composed of laminar flow and supercritical flow. There was a significant linear relationship between flow velocity and hydraulic parameters. The flow velocity is the best hydraulic parameter to simulate the trend of slope erosion process. This study can provide a scientific basis for a model of slope erosion during thawing for the Loess Plateau.
Highlights
The hydrodynamic properties of slopes have a decisive effect on runoff and sediment yield.Their study can help in understanding the process and mechanism of slope soil erosion and understanding the parameters of slope water dynamics, which are helpful in the construction of predictive models of slope soil erosion [1,2,3].The Loess Plateau is a sand-covered landform that experiences substantial wind and water erosion [4,5,6]
It is calculated that the initial runoff time of U1, U2, and U3 is significantly longer than that of U0, and the initial runoff time of the slope surface under different sand thicknesses has been extended by 3.5 (U1), 4.73 (U2), and 6.36 (U3) times
The results showed that the initial runoff time increases with the increase of sand thickness
Summary
The hydrodynamic properties of slopes have a decisive effect on runoff and sediment yield. The Loess Plateau is a sand-covered landform that experiences substantial wind and water erosion [4,5,6]. Zhang et al [11] found in field rainfall experiments that the runoff and sediment yield processes on the sand-covered slopes are significantly different from those on loess slopes. The sand-covered slopes store rainfall, minimizing runoff, and the sediment content in any runoff that does occur is very large. Many scholars have studied the relationship between runoff and sediment yield, erosion processes, and the influence of sand layer size composition on runoff and sediment yield process through laboratory simulated rainfall experiments [6,7,8]. Tang et al [13,14] quantitatively studied the spatiotemporal distribution
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