하나하나의 우적(雨滴)과 여러개의 우적(雨滴)에 의한 토양의 분리(分離) (detachment)와 휘산(揮散) 침식(侵蝕) (splash erosion)을 연구하고자 미국 조지아주의 대표적인 농경지 토양 다섯 종류를 대상으로 우적탑(雨滴塔) (raindrop tower)과 인공강우기(人工降雨機) (rainfall simulator)를 이용하여 분리(分離) 실험을 수행하였다. 공시토양에 대하여 하나하나의 우적(雨滴)과 여러개의 우적(雨滴)에 의하여 일어나는 분리(分離)는 대부분 모래 크기의 입자로 비선택적이며, 토양의 이화학적 특성의 영향을 거의 받지 않는 경향을 보였다. 본 실험에 이용된 다섯 종류의 토양은 대부분 분산이 잘 되며 비교적 불안정하여 물방울에 의한 분리(分離)가 매우 쉽게 일어났으므로, 이들 토양 interrill 지역에서의 침식(侵蝕)은 분리(分離) 보다는 유출율 (runoff rate)에 의하여 결정됨을 알 수 있었다.
Single-drop splash/detachment studies and multiple-drop splash/detachment experiments were carried out to measure detachment by single and multiple drops. A raindrop tower 7.0 m in height was used to study soil splash by single drop raindrop impact over time on repacked soil samples in containers 76.2 mm in diameter. The waterdrop diameter and kinetic energy were 4.1 mm and $1.22{ imes}10^{-3}$ J $drop^{-1}$, respectively. The samples consisted of five agricultural topsoils sieved to <2 mm, varying from sandy loam to clay loam in texture. The average weight of splashed soil particles after 75 drops did not show any significant difference between the five soils. The average weight of particles splashed by the first 15 drops showed that the sandy Pelham soil splashed to a greater degree than the others, and was therefore more detachable (p=0.05) than the other soils. The average weight of particles splashed by the last 15 drops also showed that the Pelham soil was the most detachable, with Cecil, Appling, Dyke, and Worsham soils being progressively less detachable. The effect of multiple drops on detachment was studied under a nozzle-type rainfall simulator at 74.9 mm $h^{-1}$ intensity for 85 min using the same soils as the single drop experiments. The total soil splash value for 85 min on Appling, Cecil, Dyke, Pelham, and Worsham soils were 6121, 6206, 4183, 5160, and 3247 g $m^{-2}$, respectively. There were no obvious relationships between soil loss measured from the different experiments.
