Sheet Erosion

sheet erosion

Detachment of soil particles by raindrop impact and their removal downslope by water flowing overland as a sheet instead of in definite channels or rills. A more or less uniform layer of fine particles is removed from the entire surface of an area, sometimes resulting in an extensive loss of rich topsoil. Sheet erosion commonly occurs on recently plowed fields or on other sites having poorly consolidated soil material with scant vegetative cover.

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sheet erosion [′shēt i‚rō·zhən]

(geology)

Erosion of thin layers of surface materials by continuous sheets of running water. Also known as sheetflood erosion; sheetwash; surface wash; unconcentrated wash.

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Sheet Erosion 

(also surface wash or rainwash erosion), the removal of particles from the upper soil layer or the removal of the products of rock erosion by rain or melting snows that run down a slope in a solid sheet or in small streams. As a result, soils are eroded predominantly in the upper and middle parts of the slope and the eroded material is deposited at the foot of the slope. Sheet erosion is closely dependent on the steepness and length of the slope, the intensity of the precipitation, the rate at which the snow melts, the type of vegetative cover, and the use the territory is put to.