Articles | Volume 13, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-119-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-119-2025
Research article
 | 
03 Feb 2025
Research article |  | 03 Feb 2025

A numerical model for duricrust formation by water table fluctuations

Caroline Fenske, Jean Braun, François Guillocheau, and Cécile Robin

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Cited articles

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Short summary
We have developed a new numerical model to represent the formation of duricrusts, which are hard mineral layers found in soils and at the surface of the Earth. We assume that the formation mechanism implies variations in the height of the water table and that the hardening rate is proportional to precipitation. The model allows us to quantify the potential feedbacks they generate on the surface topography and the thickness of the regolith/soil layer.

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