soil erosion prevention

erosion is defined as the removal of soil, sediment, regolith, and rock fragments from the landscape. Most landscapes show obvious evidence of erosion. erosion is responsible for the creation of hills and valleys. It removes sediments from areas that were once glaciated, shapes the shorelines of lakes and coastlines, and transports material downslope from elevated sites. In order for erosion to occur, three processes must take place: detachment, entrainment and transport. erosion also requires a medium to move material. Wind, water, and ice are the environmental media primarily responsible for erosion. Finally, the process of erosion stops when the transported particles fall out of the transporting medium and settle on a surface. This process is called deposition. Figure 1 illustrates an area of Death Valley, California where the effects of erosion and deposition can be easily seen. Energy of erosion * Traction is the movement of particles by rolling, sliding, and shuffling along the eroded surface. This occurs in all erosional mediums. * Plucking: ice freezes onto the surface, particularly in cracks and crevices, and pulls fragments out from the surface of the rock. The energy for erosion comes from several sources. Mountain building creates a disequilibrium within the Earth's landscape because of the creation of relief. Gravity acts to vertically move materials of higher relief to lower elevations to produce an equilibrium. Gravity also acts on the mediums of erosion to cause them to flow to base level. * Plucking: ice freezes onto the surface, particularly in cracks and crevices, and pulls fragments out from the surface of the rock.