Soil erosion is the displacement of upper layer of soil, one form of soil degradation.

The erosion of soil is a naturally occurring process on all land. The agents of soil erosion are water and
wind, each contributing a significant amount of soil loss each year. Soil erosion may be a slow process
that continues relatively unnoticed, or it may occur at an alarming rate causing a serious loss of topsoil.
The loss of soil from farmland may be reflected in reduced crop production potential, lower surface
water quality and damaged drainage networks.
While erosion is a natural process, human activities have increased by 10–40 times the rate at which
erosion is occurring globally. Excessive (or accelerated) erosion causes both "on-site" and "off-site"
problems. On-site impacts include decreases in agricultural productivity and (on natural
landscapes) ecological collapse, both because of loss of the nutrient-rich upper soil layers. In some
cases, the eventual end result is desertification. Off-site effects include sedimentation of
waterways and eutrophication of water bodies, as well as sediment-related damage to roads and
houses. Water and wind erosion are the two primary causes of land degradation; combined, they are
responsible for about 84% of the global extent of degraded land, making excessive erosion one of the
most significant environmental problems worldwide.[1][2]
Intensive agriculture, deforestation, roads, anthropogenic climate change and urban sprawl are amongst
the most significant human activities in regard to their effect on stimulating erosion. [3] However, there
are many prevention and remediation practices that can curtail or limit erosion of vulnerable soils.
Rainfall, and the surface runoff which may result from rainfall, produces four main types of soil
erosion: splash erosion, sheet erosion, rill erosion, and gully erosion. Splash erosion is generally seen as
the first and least severe stage in the soil erosion process, which is followed by sheet erosion, then rill
erosion and finally gully erosion (the most severe of the four).[4][5]
In splash erosion, the impact of a falling raindrop creates a small crater in the soil, [6] ejecting soil
particles.[7] The distance these soil particles travel can be as much as 0.6 m (two feet) vertically and 1.5
m (five feet) horizontally on level ground.
If the soil is saturated, or if the rainfall rate is greater than the rate at which water can infiltrate into the
soil, surface runoff occurs. If the runoff has sufficient flow energy, it will transport loosened soil particles
(sediment) down the slope.[8] Sheet erosion is the transport of loosened soil particles by overland flow.[8]
A spoil tip covered in rills and gullies due to erosion processes caused by rainfall: Rummu, Estonia
Rill erosion refers to the development of small, ephemeral concentrated flow paths which function as
both sediment source and sediment delivery systems for erosion on hillslopes. Generally, where water
erosion rates on disturbed upland areas are greatest, rills are active. Flow depths in rills are typically of
the order of a few centimeters (about an inch) or less and along-channel slopes may be quite steep. This
means that rills exhibit hydraulic physics very different from water flowing through the deeper, wider
channels of streams and rivers.[9]
Gully erosion occurs when runoff water accumulates and rapidly flows in narrow channels during or
immediately after heavy rains or melting snow, removing soil to a considerable depth.
Valley or stream erosion occurs with continued water flow along a linear feature. The erosion is
both downward, deepening the valley, and headward, extending the valley into the hillside,
creating head cuts and steep banks. In the earliest stage of stream erosion, the erosive activity is
dominantly vertical, the valleys have a typical V cross-section and the stream gradient is relatively
steep. When some base level is reached, the erosive activity switches to lateral erosion, which widens
the valley floor and creates a narrow floodplain. The stream gradient becomes nearly flat, and lateral
deposition of sediments becomes important as the stream meanders across the valley floor. In all stages
of stream erosion, by far the most erosion occurs during times of flood, when more and faster-moving
water is available to carry a larger sediment load. In such processes, it is not the water alone that
erodes: suspended abrasive particles, pebbles and boulders can also act erosively as they traverse a
surface, in a process known as traction.[13]
Bank erosion is the wearing away of the banks of a stream or river. This is distinguished from changes
on the bed of the watercourse, which is referred to as scour. Erosion and changes in the form of river
banks may be measured by inserting metal rods into the bank and marking the position of the bank
surface along the rods at different times.[14]
Thermal erosion is the result of melting and weakening permafrost due to moving water.[15] It can occur
both along rivers and at the coast. Rapid river channel migration observed in the Lena River of Siberia is
due to thermal erosion, as these portions of the banks are composed of permafrost-cemented non-
cohesive materials.[16] Much of this erosion occurs as the weakened banks fail in large slumps. Thermal
erosion also affects the Arctic coast, where wave action and near-shore temperatures combine to
undercut permafrost bluffs along the shoreline and cause them to fail. Annual erosion rates along a 100-
kilometre (62-mile) segment of the Beaufort Sea shoreline averaged 5.6 metres (18 feet) per year from
1955 to 2002.

ind erosion is a major geomorphological force, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. It is also a major
source of land degradation, evaporation, desertification, harmful airborne dust, and crop damage—
especially after being increased far above natural rates by human activities such
as deforestation, urbanization, and agriculture.[19][20]
Wind erosion is of two primary varieties: deflation, where the wind picks up and carries away loose
particles; and abrasion, where surfaces are worn down as they are struck by airborne particles carried by
wind. Deflation is divided into three categories: (1) surface creep, where larger, heavier particles slide or
roll along the ground; (2) saltation, where particles are lifted a short height into the air, and bounce and
saltate across the surface of the soil; and (3) suspension, where very small and light particles are lifted
into the air by the wind, and are often carried for long distances. Saltation is responsible for the majority
(50–70%) of wind erosion, followed by suspension (30–40%), and then surface creep (5–25%). [21]
[22] Silty soils tend to be the most affected by wind erosion; silt particles are relatively easily detached
and carried away.[23]
Wind erosion is much more severe in arid areas and during times of drought. For example, in the Great
Plains, it is estimated that soil loss due to wind erosion can be as much as 6100 times greater in drought
years than in wet years.
Mass movement is the downward and outward movement of rock and sediments on a sloped surface,
mainly due to the force of gravity.[25][26]
Mass movement is an important part of the erosional process, and is often the first stage in the
breakdown and transport of weathered materials in mountainous areas. [27] It moves material from
higher elevations to lower elevations where other eroding agents such as streams and glaciers can then
pick up the material and move it to even lower elevations. Mass-movement processes are always
occurring continuously on all slopes; some mass-movement processes act very slowly; others occur very
suddenly, often with disastrous results. Any perceptible down-slope movement of rock or sediment is
often referred to in general terms as a landslide. However, landslides can be classified in a much more
detailed way that reflects the mechanisms responsible for the movement and the velocity at which the
movement occurs. One of the visible topographical manifestations of a very slow form of such activity is
a scree slope.[citation needed]
Slumping happens on steep hillsides, occurring along distinct fracture zones, often within materials
like clay that, once released, may move quite rapidly downhill. They will often show a spoon-
shaped isostatic depression, in which the material has begun to slide downhill. In some cases, the slump
is caused by water beneath the slope weakening it. In many cases it is simply the result of poor
engineering along highways where it is a regular occurrence.[citation needed]
Surface creep is the slow movement of soil and rock debris by gravity which is usually not perceptible
except through extended observation. However, the term can also describe the rolling of dislodged soil
particles 0.5 to 1.0 mm (0.02 to 0.04 in) in diameter by wind along the soil surface.
 CEBU INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY – UNIVERSITY
FINAL GRADE
MUNIB, MOHAMMAD TANWEER ABDULLA 1ST SEM, 2017 - 2018
2011-80421 BSCE 3 Total Units Enrolled: 22.0
Total Units Passed: 22.0
NO. SUBJECT DESCRIPTIVE TITLE GRADES UNITS
1 CE321 Higher Surveying 3.6 3.0
2 CE327 Building Design 1 4.1 2.0
3 MATH212 Integral Calculus 3.7 4.0
4 PHYS201 College Physics 1 (Lab) 3.1 1.0
5 PHYS212 College Physics 2 (Lec) 3.3 3.0
6 PHILO011 Logic and Critical Thinking / Logic 3.0 3.0
7 PYSCH011 General Psychology 3.9 3.0
8 SOCSCI013 Philippine History 3.3 3.0

Note: GNA – GRADES NOT AVAILABLE 11/02/2017 Prepared By: Rio, Rachel B.