Historical accounts suggest that Euro-American agricultural practices (post−1850 CE) accelerated soil erosion in the Paleozoic Plateau of the Upper Mississippi River Valley (USA). However, the magnitude of this change compared to longer-term Late Pleistocene rates is poorly constrained. Such context is necessary to assess how erosion rates under natural, high-magnitude climate and eco-geomorphic change compare against Euro-American agricultural erosion rates. We pair cosmogenic 10Be analyses and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages from samples of alluvium to build a paleoerosion-rate chronology for Trout Creek in southeastern Minnesota (USA). Erosion rates and their associated integration periods are 0.069−0.073 mm yr−1 (32−20 ka), 0.049 mm yr−1 (28−14 ka), and 0.053 mm yr−1 (14−0 ka). Based on previous studies, we relate these rates to (1) the transition from forest to permafrost at the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum, (2) the decline of permafrost coupled with limited vegetation, and (3) climate warming and vegetation re-establishment. These pre-settlement erosion rates are 8× to 12× lower than Euro-American agricultural erosion rates previously quantified in the region. Despite a limited sample size, our observed rapid increase in erosion rates mirrors other sharply rising anthropogenic environmental impacts within the past several centuries. Our results demonstrate that agricultural erosion rates far exceed climate-induced erosion-rate magnitude and variability during the shift from the last glaciation into the Holocene.
Research Article|
April 03, 2025
Early Publication
Plow versus Ice Age: Erosion rate variability from glacial−interglacial climate change is an order of magnitude lower than agricultural erosion in the Upper Mississippi River Valley, USA
Shanti B. Penprase;
Shanti B. Penprase
1
Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory, University of Minnesota, 2 3rd Ave SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414, USA2
Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
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Andrew D. Wickert;
Andrew D. Wickert
1
Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory, University of Minnesota, 2 3rd Ave SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414, USA2
Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
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Phillip H. Larson;
Phillip H. Larson
3
Earth Science Programs, Department of Anthropology and Geography, Minnesota State University Mankato, 206 Morris Hall, Mankato, Minnesota 56001, USA4
EARTH Systems Laboratory, Minnesota State University Mankato, 150 Carkowski Commons, Mankato, Minnesota 56001, USA
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Jimmy J. Wood;
Jimmy J. Wood
1
Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory, University of Minnesota, 2 3rd Ave SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414, USA2
Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
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Isaac J. Larsen;
Isaac J. Larsen
5
Department of Earth, Geographical, and Climate Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 627 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA
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Tammy M. Rittenour
Tammy M. Rittenour
6
Department of Geosciences, Utah State University, 4505 Old Main Hill, Logan, Utah 84322, USA
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Shanti B. Penprase
1
Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory, University of Minnesota, 2 3rd Ave SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414, USA2
Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
Andrew D. Wickert
1
Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory, University of Minnesota, 2 3rd Ave SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414, USA2
Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
Phillip H. Larson
3
Earth Science Programs, Department of Anthropology and Geography, Minnesota State University Mankato, 206 Morris Hall, Mankato, Minnesota 56001, USA4
EARTH Systems Laboratory, Minnesota State University Mankato, 150 Carkowski Commons, Mankato, Minnesota 56001, USA
Jimmy J. Wood
1
Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory, University of Minnesota, 2 3rd Ave SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414, USA2
Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
Isaac J. Larsen
5
Department of Earth, Geographical, and Climate Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 627 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA
Tammy M. Rittenour
6
Department of Geosciences, Utah State University, 4505 Old Main Hill, Logan, Utah 84322, USA
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Received:
16 Jul 2024
Revision Received:
24 Feb 2025
Accepted:
11 Mar 2025
First Online:
03 Apr 2025
Online ISSN: 1943-2682
Print ISSN: 0091-7613
© 2025 The Authors
Geology (2025)
Article history
Received:
16 Jul 2024
Revision Received:
24 Feb 2025
Accepted:
11 Mar 2025
First Online:
03 Apr 2025
Citation
Shanti B. Penprase, Andrew D. Wickert, Phillip H. Larson, Jimmy J. Wood, Isaac J. Larsen, Tammy M. Rittenour; Plow versus Ice Age: Erosion rate variability from glacial−interglacial climate change is an order of magnitude lower than agricultural erosion in the Upper Mississippi River Valley, USA. Geology 2025; doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G52585.1
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