User:Chamberlaindan09/sandbox

Article in progress for college writing course; please don't edit or move until 21 April 2015

In the "Wind Erosion" Page

Accelerators
Although wind erosion is prominent in certain climates, there are factors that can promote or impede erosion rates. These include agricultural techniques, land use change , surface disturbance and freeze/thaw conditions. There are many areas of the world where more than one of these factors are in progress, which further accelerates wind erosion.

Farming
When arid land is converted into cropland, the farming techniques that are used can promote wind erosion. One of the most damaging is the common practice of tilling. The loosening of the top soil allows it to be more easily lifted and transported by wind. The mixing and disturbance of the soil causes cultivated areas to have a lower content of silt and clay sized particles in the topsoil. Soils that are comprised of mainly silt and less sand have the highest removal of silt and soils that were comprised with a medium amount of sand had the highest removal of clay. There is a decrease in accumulation of clay in bigger aggregates via agricultural, which translates to a high risk of removal of other particles by wind in loamy soils. This issue creates a vicious cycle because the areas where land is most fertile are loamy soils. This means that agriculture itself has a bigger degrading effect on loamy areas, which are generally the most fertile areas for agriculture itself.

Land Use Change
Land use change will also mix around the topsoil which will in turn promote wind erosion in the area. Land use change is exactly what it sounds like; this is when a stable plot of land is converted for a different use. This can include changing rangeland, prairies or deserts into cropland. These instances of land use change will disrupt the previously stable land, thus promoting wind erosion. Another important land use change is urban development. Urban development will usually includes excavation and removal of plants which will make an area very susceptible to wind erosion. .

Surface Disturbance
Related to land use change, surface disturbance is a big promoter of wind erosion. One of the major surface disturbance is driving on arid soils. When vehicles drive over arid land, top soil can loosen up and break apart. Construction is another huge surface disturbance. Surface disturbance manifests itself in a lot of different types of human development. These effects are more prominent in areas that are sensitive like arid or semiarid environments. There are also some natural phenomenon that can cause surface disturbance such as earthquakes. This is a literal surface disturbance which will mix around the topsoil thus making it easy to be wind blown.

Freeze/Thaw
Areas that have cold nights and warm days in late winter/early spring can suppress wind erosion because of the freeze/thaw effect. In moist soils, freeze/thaw occurs in regions that have warm (above freezing temperature) days and cold (below freezing temperature) nights. Even though freeze/thaw is a weathering technique for rock units, liquid water acts as glue between solid grains via electrostatic attraction, and during the night (if it freezes) it will act as cement to create a stronger resistance for disturbance.

Soil Moisture
Soil moisture is essential to help the soil “stick” together to resist wind erosion. Super dry soils erode more easily because they are lighter in weight and the lack water means little to no electrostatic forces between grains.

As in most cases, there is a critical amount that is “just right” to suppress wind erosion. The critical weight percentage of water to stop wind erosion in frozen soils is 2.34% and 2.61% in thawed soils. Water is important to preserve soil integrity because it acts like an adhesive between soil grains. Wind erosion is predicted to become more severe in the future due to a decrease in soil moisture as population increases and the demand for water increases. Also, fewer freezing days are predicted as a result of global warming which will also promote more wind erosion.

In the Southwestern United States, many of these accelerator make wind erosion an issue. The frequent occurrence of drought, urban development, intense farming and general human land disturbance has made wind erosion a huge issue. Steps to lessen wind erosion should be taken to preserve the integrity of this land area since it is an important area for agriculture in the United States.