Last updated on December 9, 2013 at 1:21 EST  Raindrop Research
Improves Understanding of Water Erosion  January 19, 2007
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – There is a dark side to even the humble
raindrop.  A single drop is harmless, but when billions of
raindrops from a cloudburst fall on bare soil they strike like
billions of tiny hammers, dislodging tons of soil per acre which
is carried away by surface runoff.  This process, called splash
erosion, is of critical importance to agriculture. It is the
initial stage of water erosion, which causes an estimated $27
billion in on-site economic losses in the United States
annually. In addition, rain splash has played a major role over
geologic time in sculpting the features of the mountains and
cliffs of the world, particularly those in arid and semi-arid
regions.  Despite its importance, there is a lack of
understanding of the fundamental processes involved in this
natural phenomenon that makes it difficult for researchers to
assess the reliability of the experimental data th