Stable rare earth element tracers to evaluate soil erosion

The stable rare earth element (REE) tracer method was evaluated in this study as a new method for studying soil erosion. Erosion and sedimentation amounts for a slope section can be estimated for each rainfall event using multiple tracers. The REE tracer method can be used for quantitative estimates of the distribution of soil erosion from specific areas and for determining sources of sediment in a small watershed.