Soils, slopes and source rocks: Application of a soil chemistry model to nutrient delivery to rift lakes

We integrate these variables in analyzing topographic swathes from the Rio Grande Rift, comparing the southern part of the rift, where topography is relatively old and reduced, to the northern rift. C and P concentrations in groundwater increase as slope gradient decreases, resulting in substantially larger C and P concentrations in groundwater in the southern rift than the northern rift. Nitrogen concentrations in groundwater depends on whether infiltration varies as a function of slope gradient; in experiments where the fraction of infiltrated precipitation decreased with increasing slope, N concentrations was also substantially higher in the southern rift; but in experiments where that fraction was held constant, N concentrations was lower in the southern rift. These simulations demonstrate that evolving topography during rift development can significantly influence nutrient concentrations in groundwater and, if these nutrients flow into rift lakes and stimulate organic productivity, account for the deposition of rich oil-prone source rocks in late rift stages.