Climate

A major driver of water erosion is the weather. Rainfall intensity directly affects splash erosion (the detachment of soil particles).  It is also often a key factor in generating overland flow, especially in cases of so-called infiltration-excess overland flow. This happens when rainfall intensity exceeds the soil’s capacity to absorb all water.  

Total rainfall is also a key factor in generating surface runoff, especially in cases of so-called saturation overland flow generation, where soil pores are already totally filled with water and no further absorption can occur. The overland flow will then detach and transport soil particles.  

Temperature is an important factor in cold-climate regions, where the freezing-thawing cycles influence soil erodibility. Combined with precipitation, snowmelt events often lead to large volumes of overland flow, detaching and transporting significant amounts of soil particles.