M.C. Monaghan, D. Elmore, Purdue University

Nuclear Instruments and Methods 92 (1994) 357-361

In this paper we show how "garden variety" cosmogenic 10Be can be used to determine the actual form of bedrock-to-soil conversion tales on a hill slope. We apply the method to two hill slopes in California and show that measured 10Be concentration profiles are consistent with bedrock-to-soil conversion rates that decrease steadily down slope, from a maximum at the ridge crest to zero at the slope base. This result is independent of both the maximum bedrock-to-soil conversion rate on the hill slope and the 10Be delivery rate, if both are constant with time.