Use of in-situ produced cosmogenic Be-10 to study the lateritic soil evolution

In situ-produced cosmonuclides result from nuclear reactions between cosmic -rays derived particles and the elements constituting the Earth's surface m aterial. Cosmogenic Be-10 (T1/2=1,5Ma) and Al-26 (T1/2=0.73 Ma) produced wi thin the quartz mineral fraction of surficial rocks have been used to quant itatively study the emplacement and development of laterites. Depth distrib utions of in situ-produced Be-10 along quartz veins and soil profiles permi t: (1) to clarify mechanisms involved in soil formation and landform evolut ions, (2) to quantify burial or denudation rates. Lateral variations of the in situ-produced Be-10 concentration along stone-lines allow to determine whether the stone-line constituting material has an allochthonous or an aut ochthonous origin, and, in the latter case, ro estimate the lateral displac ement rates.