L. Brown J. Harden J. Klein R. Middleton M.J. Pavich 1986 <p><span>The distribution and residence time of cosmogenic&nbsp;</span>¹⁰<span>Be in clay-rich soil horizons is fundamental to understanding and modelling the migration of&nbsp;</span>¹⁰<span>Be on terrestrial sediments and in groundwater solutions. We have analyzed seven profiles of clay-rich soils developed from terrace sediments of the Merced River, California. The terraces and soils of increasing age are used to compare the&nbsp;</span>¹⁰<span>Be inventory with a simple model of accumulation, decay and erosion. The data show that the distribution of&nbsp;</span>¹⁰<span>Be varies with soil horizon clay content, that the residence time of&nbsp;</span>¹⁰<span>Be in these horizons exceeds 10</span>⁵<span>&nbsp;years, and that to a rough approximation the inventory of&nbsp;</span>¹⁰<span>Be in a thoroughly sampled soil profile fits the equation:&nbsp;</span><i>N</i><span>&nbsp;= (</span><i>q</i><span>&nbsp;−&nbsp;</span><i>Em</i><span>)(1 −&nbsp;</span><i>e</i>^{−<i>λι</i>}<span>)/</span><i>λ</i><span>&nbsp;where&nbsp;</span><i>q</i><span>&nbsp;is delivery rate,&nbsp;</span><i>E</i><span>&nbsp;is erosion rate,&nbsp;</span><i>m</i><span>&nbsp;is the concentration of&nbsp;</span>¹⁰<span>Be in the eroding surface layer, λ is the decay constant, and&nbsp;</span><i>t</i><span>&nbsp;is the age of the depositional unit from which the soil has developed. The general applicability of this model is uncertain and warrants further testing in well-calibrated terrace sequences.</span></p> application/pdf 10.1016/0016-7037(86)90134-1 en Elsevier 10Be distribution in soils from Merced River terraces, California article