Quantifying sources of fine sediment supplied to post-fire debris flows using fallout radionuclide tracers》.pdf

Geomorphology 139–140 (2012) 403–415 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Geomorphology jour nal homepage: /locate/geomorph Quantifying sources of fine sediment supplied to post-fire debris flows using fallout radionuclide tracers Hugh G. Smith a,b,⁎, Gary J. Sheridan b, Petter Nyman b, David P. Child c, Patrick N.J. Lane b, Michael A.C. Hotchkis c, Geraldine E. Jacobsen c a School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8AA, UK b Department of Forest and Ecosystem Science, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia c Institute for Environmental Research, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights, New South Wales, 2234, Australia a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: Fine sediment supply has been identified as an important factor contributing to the initiation of runoff- Received 7 April 2011 generated debris flows after fire. However, despite the significance of fines for post-fire debris flow genera- Received in revised form 24 September 2011 tion, no investigations have sought to quantify sources of this material in debris flow affected catchments. Accepted 6 November 2011 137 210 239,240 In this study, we employ fallout radionuclides ( Cs, Pbex and Pu) as tracers to measure proportion- Available online 11 November 2011 al co