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Sandball genesis from raindrops.

Bertil Trottet1,2, Daisuke Noto1, Douglas J Jerolmack1,3

  • 1Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|December 22, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Raindrops create "sandballs" that magnify soil erosion by rolling downhill. This post-impact process, unlike splash erosion, involves dense suspensions forming stable shapes and jamming.

Keywords:
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Area of Science:

  • Earth and Environmental Sciences
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Granular Mechanics

Background:

  • Soil erosion by raindrops is a critical component of the water cycle.
  • Raindrop erosion is complex due to its three-phase nature at the fluid-granular mechanics boundary.
  • Previous research focused on particle entrainment during raindrop impact (splash erosion).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the post-impact phase of raindrop erosion.
  • To uncover efficient mechanisms of soil entrainment beyond initial impact.
  • To characterize the formation and morphology of raindrop-induced soil aggregates.

Main Methods:

  • Laboratory experiments with controlled raindrop impacts on dry, sloping granular beds.
  • Field observations of natural rainfall events.
  • Analysis of sandball formation, growth, and morphology under varying drop conditions.

Main Results:

  • Raindrops spontaneously form dense, rolling "sandballs" on granular surfaces.
  • These sandballs efficiently entrain sediment, significantly magnifying soil erosion.
  • Two stable sandball morphologies were identified: peanut-like (hydrodynamic instabilities) and toroidal (mechanical locking).

Conclusions:

  • The post-impact rolling of sandballs is a surprisingly efficient and dominant soil erosion mechanism.
  • Sandball formation and morphology are influenced by hydrodynamic instabilities and sediment loading.
  • Findings have implications for understanding erosion, sediment transport, and related phenomena in diverse fields like bioengineering and snow physics.