Theory 62/Mountain & Alpine/Alpine soils
Soil Depth Balances Weathering and Erosion
The claim
Alpine soil depth is set by the ratio of weathering rate to erosion rate, so steep warm slopes can have thinner soils than gentle cold ones.
01Mechanism
Soil accumulates from weathering and is removed by erosion; the ratio determines the steady-state depth.
02Prediction
Depth should track the ratio.
03Refutation
Depth tracking time since deglaciation would remove erosion.