Geomorphology, 2 (1989) 393-403 393

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam - - Printed in The Netherlands

An Example of Rapid Gully Initiation and Extension by

Subsurface Erosion: Coastal San Mateo County, California

MITCHELL L. SWANSON 1, G. MATHIAS KONDOLF 2 and PAUL J. BOISON 3

1Consultant in Hydrology, 1022 "S"st., Sacramento, CA 95819 (U.S.A.)

2Department of Landscape Architecture, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (U.S.A.)
3Northeast Utilities Service Company, P.O. Box 270, Hartford, CT 06141 (U.S.A.)

(Received May 2, 1988; accepted after revision September 15, 1988)

Abstract

Swanson, M.L., Kondolf, G.M. and Boison, P.J., 1989. An example of rapid gully initiation and extension by subsur-
face erosion: coastal San Mateo County, California. Geomorphology, 2: 393-403.

Gully networks developed on coastal hillslopes in San Mateo County, California, extended nearly 300% from 1941
to 1978, primarily by subsurface erosion. In one drainage, subsurface erosion expanded the gully network by 80 m,
nearly doubling the gully length from 1982 to 1987. Intense gullying is restricted to areas underlain by members of the
Pliocene Purisima Formation, a unit rich in unstable volcanic lithic fragments, which weather to produce expansive
smectite clays. Gully development proceeds through a sequence of lateral eluviation of clays near the base of the A
horizon (piping), development of an open conduit in which erosion proceeds by turbulent, concentrated flow (tun-
neling), and finally, collapse of the tunnel roof, exposing an open gully. Measurements made in one gully system during
a 25-yr storm showed that the subsurface drainage network carried four times as much flow as the surface drainage
net and had average suspended sediment concentrations an order of magnitude higher.

Introduction literature to describe the evacuation of uncon-

Surface erosion (by overland flow and rill
flow) is widely viewed as the primary mecha-
nism in gully development (e.g., Ireland, et al.,
1939; Brice, 1966). However, in numerous
studies spanning the past six decades, subsur-
face erosion has also been recognized as an im-
portant factor in extension of gully networks
(as reviewed by Jones, 1981). Our study dem-
onstrates that subsurface erosion can be the
dominant gully-forming mechanism in an area
of very rapid gully expansion.
Subsurface erosion proceeds by two pro-
cesses: true soil piping and tunneling. Soil pip-
ing is a term originally used in the engineering
solidated material by seepage force under con-
ditions of positive hydraulic head, typically en-
countered in dam footings or levees (Terzaghi
and Peck, 1948). Once an open conduit is
formed, expansion proceeds by turbulent con-
centrated flow, termed "tunnel gully erosion".
Gibbs ( 1945 ), Buckham and Cockfield (1950),
Parker (1963), and Heede (1971) described the
development of karst-like topography and gul-
lies from collapse of subsurface conduits.
Fletcher et al. (1954) described the necessary
conditions for soil piping and noted its wide-
spread occurrence. Leopold and Miller (1956)
were perhaps the first to recognize subsurface
erosion as a mechanism for headward exten-

0169-555X/89/$03.50 1989 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

394 M.L. SWANSONET AL.

sion of existing gullies, and Jones (1971) rec-

Tpt
ognized the role of soil piping in stream channel
i ............ Tpp
initiation.
Several studies have described the character-
istics of soils prone to piping. Fletcher and Car- SNOOT TNE RULL ~
GULLY ",,,J
'~~"~II ~.
--"
~",.
--;~
/
roll (1948) and Heede (1971) found that pip- . ~ ' - % . . . . . . .;~o "..'>..
OSA,LREOGUC~ ]~" ~ po.~,o Tpp ~ "\-. .
mg soils tend to be high in exchangeable sodium
percentage (ESP) and expansive smectite or
montmorillonite clays, although Masannat it '~ .o

pESCAOESO ~ Tpt ~ Tpt

(1980) and Fletcher et al. (1954) found some LL NORTH ~ ~
GULLY ~ f~l~ ~
piping-prone soils low in clay content and ESP.
Despite the extensive literature on soil pip- (..)
R~SO,o.o
SGOuUL
LTyH
~".\ I, ~ I%~t,,"~ San G. . . . . . . . . t
.- i

ing, very rapid rates of gully expansion by pip-

~i'~t ~N ~ / ""
<~ f l -:-~-t~--.. .7
\ ~,,o ~ ~-.~;;,~ 0 tome
ing have not been reported to date, nor have G_ ~ .. %li =

sediment yields from a pipe network been com-

\, tt
LEGEND
pared with those from overland flow for a single -X- Study Sites
p..~ Creek
drainage. If= Fault
Hwy 1
Our attention was drawn to an area in coastal Geologic Contacts
PURISlMA FORMATION
California where a remarkably dense gully net- [ ~ Tmhana Member
~ l ~ c t o Member
work has developed over the past five decades.
We initiated a field study there with four objec- Fig. 1. Location map showing study sites, major streams,
tives: (1) to characterize the geographic occur- and bedrock geology (after Brabb, 1980).
rence of the gullies, especially with respect to
soils and underlying bedrock; (2) to character-
Gully and piping systems near Half Moon
ize their occurrence in time since 1931, when
Bay were described by Keefer (1971) and
the first aerial photographs of the site were
Sprieter (1979), who emphasized the role of
taken; (3) to monitor short-term changes in se-
available sodium in development of these fea-
lected gully systems by detailed, repeat surveys;
tures. Although gullies are common along the
and (4) to observe the hydrologic response of
coast from Half Moon Bay to Pescadero, our
one gully system during runoff events by mon-
study concentrated on the area of most intense
itoring water table fluctuations over a hillslope
guilying, between San Gregorio Creek and Pes-
and by measuring water and sediment dis-
cadero Creek.
charge from overland flow and piping.

Study area Methods

The study area is located on gently rolling

coastal hills on the western flank of the Santa
Cruz Mountains 75 km south of San Francisco
(Fig. 1). The hills are now predominantly
grazed grasslands, but most were under dryland
cultivation about 40 years ago. The climate is
Mediterranean, with mild wet winters and dry
summers. Mean annual rainfall is 640 mm, with
90% falling from November to April. Soils dry
to the wilting point each summer.
Open gullies and vegetation lineations in the
study area were mapped from sequential aerial
photographs and compared with Brabb's (1980)
geologic map to document the distribution of
gullies in space and time. Gullies were mapped
from aerial photographs taken in 1931, 1941,
1955, 1963, 1977, 1978, and 1982. A Bausch and
Lomb Zoom Transfer Stereoscope was used to
compensate for scale differences and radial dis-
RAPID GULLY INITIATION AND EXTENSION
tortion on all photos. Analysis of the aerial pho-
tographs documented not only gully develop-
ment with time, but former land-use patterns
as well. Monthly and daily rainfall records for
the Pescadero area (1955 to present) were ex-
amined, along with the longer record for San
Francisco ( 1875 to present). These records were
inspected for any long-term changes in precip-
itation that could have influenced gully
development.
Cross section and longitudinal profile survey
networks were established to monitor changes
on five gully systems (with the following names
coined by the authors): Pescadero North and
South Gullies in the Pescadero Creek drainage,
and Railbed, Mean Bull, and Shoot-the-Bull
Gullies in the Pomponio Creek drainage (Fig.
I ). Development of tunnel networks and re-
treat of headcuts were monitored by surveys in
1982, 1983, and 1987.
Detailed hydrologic data were collected in the
Mean Bull Gully system in 1982 and 1983. A
nonrecording rain gage was installed near the
Pomponio Creek confluence, and 23 piezome-
zers were installed upslope of the active head-
cuts. Discharge measurements and suspended
sediment samples were taken at the gully
mouth, at a tunnel outlet in a gully wall, at sites
of concentrated overland flow entering the gully,
and in collapsed tunnels upslope of the gully
headcuts during four runoff events in 1983.
Piezometers were constructed of 1/2-in di-
ameter PVC pipe. Slots were cut near the pie-
zometer base and covered with brass screen. The
piezometers were installed in 20-cm diameter
auger holes with two layers of bentonite sealing
t he layer of pea gravel surrounding the screen
and slots. Soil descriptions and moisture con-
tents were noted during augering, thereby es-
tablishing soil profiles for the area drained by
Mean Bull Gully. Most piezometer screens were
placed at the A/B horizon contact, which was
identified by changes in soil grain size, resis-
tance to penetration by the soil auger, and an
abrupt decrease in moisture content.
Discharge near the gully mouth was mea-
395
sured with a pygmy current meter; elsewhere it
was measured by the direct filling of a bucket.
Following each discharge measurement, a sus-
pended sediment sample was collected (and
later analyzed in the laboratory for total sus-
pended solids ).
D i s t r i b u t i o n of g u l l y i n g in space and
time
Intensity of gullying in the study area is
strongly correlated with bedrock lithology and
associated soils. Gulies are common within the
outcrop area of the Pliocene Purisima Forma-
tion (Brabb, 1980) and the Quaternary collu-
vial and alluvial deposits derived from it. The
Purisima Formation consists of several mem-
bers of shallow marine, volcanic fragment-rich
sandstones and siltstones, and a siliceous mud-
stone member. Soils developed on different
members of the Purisima Formation display
different styles of erosion, depending on the
abundance of unstable volcanic lithic
fragments.
Our study area was located within the out-
crop area of the Tahana member, a siltstone rich
in volcanic lithic fragments. Soils derived from
the Tahana are vertisols, with relatively perme-
able A horizons underlain by impermeable B
horizons at depths of 0.3-1.0 m. The Tierra fine
sandy loam, developed on the Purisima For-
mation (USDA, 1961 ) is a fine, montmorillon-
itic, thermic Mollic Palexeralf (USDA, 1980).
Large desiccation cracks develop annually.
These cracks, along with root casts and burrow
holes, permit rapid downward movement of
surface water to the top of the claypan B
horizon.
The volcanic lithic fragments found in the
Tahana weather to produce expansive smectite
clays, which are rendered dispersive in the
presence of sodium (Sherard and Decker, 1977).
Ocean aerosols provide a ready source of so-
dium at coastal sites (Sprieter, 1979). As a re-
sult, soils developed on the Tahana member are
highly vulnerable to subsurface erosion by a
396 M.L. SWANSONET AL.

high concentration of throughflow in the dis- period 1941-1978 (Fig. 2). These large gullies
persive soils of the A horizon above the im- occasionally serve as trunk streams to increase
permeable claypan of the B horizon (Keefer, hydraulic gradients and drive erosion on gullies
1971 ). The presence of smectite clay soils with and soil pipe/tunnel systems on adjacent slopes.
high exchangeable sodium, annual soil crack- Inspection of daily precipitation records for
ing, sharp contrasts in permeability of soil ho- the nearby Pescadero weather station and the
rizons, and intensive land use, are conditions longer record for San Francisco revealed no
found to be conducive to soil piping by other long-term changes in total precipitation, sea-
authors (Gibbs, 1945; Fletcher and Carroll, sonal distribution, or daily intensity that might
1948; Parker, 1963; Visser, 1969; Heede, 1971 ). explain the recent proliferation of gullies. How-
Erosion of soils overlying the Pomponio ever, the onset of severe gullying in the 1930s
Mudstone Member of the Purisima Formation, was coincident with conversion of much of the
a siliceous mudstone, contrasts to the Tahana study area from low coastal scrubland to agri-
member because its content of volcanic lithic culture for dryland cultivation of flax and grains
fragments is much lower (less than 5% ), and it by 1941. This period of intensive cultivation was
does not produce expansive clays in abundance. short, however, and by 1977, most of the culti-
Soils developed on the Pomponio Mudstone vated land had been converted to grazed
Member are not as vulnerable to subsurface grassland.
erosion, although they appear to be more prone While circumstantial evidence suggests that
to shallow landslide failures. This lithologic the conversion to agriculture triggered gullying
control on gully formation is illustrated by the on slopes underlain by the Tahana Member, we
contrast in gully distribution across the San have yet to find a thoroughly convincing mech-
Gregorio Fault, where the Pomponio Mudstone
Member on the east is faulted against the Ta-
1941 ~ ,, ,978
hana Member on the west. Despite similar hill-
slope gradients and land use histories, gullies .. i,~ ._ f"~'~,
~ . j ~ . . ~o
are ubiquitous on the Tahana member, but rare
on the Pomponio Mudstone member.
The subsurface tunnel networks that we ob-
(D !i r
served drain into large, open gullies through "
oO
'~/o o x"
o
tunnel outlets elevated on gully walls. This sug-
gests that the lowered base levels produced by
large, master gullies may be a prerequisite for
/ -
extensive piping upslope by providing in- ! ; _ . : I "' "
creased hydraulic gradients to drive the subsur-
face erosion. Similar observations were made
by Buckham and Cockfield (1950), Jones
1971), and Heede (1971).
:'i.?No a.
"
Sequential aerial photographs show that the
extent of gullying in the study area changed
dramatically over time. From 1931 to 1982, the
number of open gully channels increased from I
0
I
1.0 krn
142 to 403 within an area of 25 km 2 (Swanson, N

1983). The total length of large open gully

Fig. 2. Comparative distribution of gully channels in the
channels clearly visible on aerial photographs study area in 1941 and 1978 as identified from historical
increased from 10.3 km to 43.6 km during the aerial photographs.
RAPIDGULLYINITIATIONANDEXTENSION 397

anism to explain how this might have occurred.
Accelerated piping and gully erosion have been
reported in other areas after a change or loss of
vegetation (Gibbs, 1945; Parker, 1963; Parker
and Jenne, 1967). To explain increased subsur-
lace erosion in our study area, we have looked
for mechanisms that would: (1) increase infil-
~,ration of water from the surface to the base of
~,heA horizon, where it ponds above the claypan
and flows laterally; (2) lower base level, in-
creasing the hydraulic gradient to drive subsur-
face flow; and (3) increase the availability of
sodium to disperse clays. Possible mechanisms
include the following:
(1) Plowing may have increased the width
and penetration depth of annual desiccation
cracks, thereby enhancing the downward
movement of water. Plowing may also have in-
creased through flow by differentially compact-
ing soils; permeability would be decreased where
tractor tires repeatedly ran while repeatedly
overturned strips would develop enhanced
permeability.
(2) Deep-rooted scrub vegetation such as
coyote brush (Bacharus piluris) was removed
during land clearing; subsequent rotting of roots
would leave open conduits along which water
could flow downward and laterally.
(3) The population of burrowing rodents may
have increased over natural levels because of
conversion from coastal scrub to grassland or
extirpation of predators. If so, the density of
burrows (conduits for water into the lower A
horizon) would be increased.
(4) Poor conservation practices may have
caused an increase in surface erosion, initiating
new gullies or re-activating old gullies; this
would serve to lower local base levels, thereby
increasing the hydraulic gradient driving lat-
eral subsurface flow.

a C

Fig. 3. Sequential aerial photographs (1941-1982) of hillslope near Pomponio Creek. (a) 1941 view, as intensive dryland
thrming began; grazing commenced about 90 years earlier and infrequent dryland farming about 50 years earlier. Note
vegetation lineations {some noted as VL) where soil piping and tunnel development were active. For Figs. 3a, b, and c scale
bar at lower left corner is approximately 30 m long, the Pacific Ocean is at the top of the photo due west and H W Y 1 is
California State Highway 1. (b) 1956 view; note incised gullies and tunnel pits where tunnel roofs have collapsed (some
noted as TP) along former vegetation lineation sites in Fig. 3a. (c) 1982 view; note deepening of gullies from Fig. 3b and the
increase in the number of tunnel pits (TP}.
398 M.L. SWANSON ET AL.

D e v e l o p m e n t a l s e q u e n c e of g u l l y :a
f o r m a t i o n and e x t e n s i o n

Detailed study of sequential aerial photo-

graphs from 1931 to 1982 document a charac-
t eristic sequence of gully development from ini-
tial piping to open gullies. Gullies in all stages
of development have been observed in the field.
From field inspections we have observed sub-
surface processes and features that accompany
the characteristic stages of development as
identified on aerial photographs (Figs. 3a, b, and
c). These stages are: (1) lateral eluviation of
clays (soil piping); (2) development of an open
subsurface conduit in which concentrated flow
erodes the boundaries (tunneling); and (3) ex-
pansion of the tunnel to the point that the roof
collapses, exposing an open gully channel.
The first stage of gully formation, the lateral
eluviation of clays in the lower A horizon by soil
piping, can be identified on aerial photographs
and in the field by lineations of grassy vegeta-
tion on the surface (Fig. 3a). Changed nutrient
a n d / o r moisture characteristics in the A hori-
zon support a different community of grass spe- Fig. 4. (a) Viewupslope to headcut of Mean Bull Gullyand
cies than adjacent, uneluviated areas. Typi- tunnel outlet, February 1983, with tunnel collapse visible
upslope in background. White spots on grass in middle
cally, more drought-tolerant species compose foreground are tops of PVC-pipe piezometers. (b) Same
these lineations. Where exposed in shovel pits view as (a) in August 1987. Between 1983 and 1987, the
or gully walls, the zone of eluviation can be rec- tunnel collapsedover virtually the entire distance from the
ognized by laminae of clean, well sorted sand original tunnel outlet to the upslope pipe collapse.
usually a few centimeters above the B horizon
claypan.
than 20 cm thick, yet can support a person's
In the second stage of development, contin-
weight. Vegetation lineations become more dis-
ued lateral eluviation of clays by soil piping re-
sults in formation of subterranean conduits and tinct at this stage, possibly because plants
tunneling becomes the dominant mechanism of growing on an ever-thinning roof are subjected
growth. Figure 4a shows a tunnel at its outlet to an increasingly harsh desiccation regime.
into Mean Bull Gully in February 1983. This Eventually, the roof collapses, resulting in an
process of erosion by open conduit flow can open gully. Such a collapse is visible in Fig. 4b,
produce rapid expansion of tunnels. For exam- a 1987 view of the same site shown in 1983 in
ple, in the Mean Bull Gully drainage during the Fig. 4a. This third stage does not happen along
winter of 1982-1983, several tunnels expanded the entire length of the tunnel at once, but dis-
their diameters from less than 0.1 m to over 1.0 continuously. Small sinks and holes appearing
m by rapidly cutting a narrow channel in the B are first visible on sequential aerial photo-
horizon claypan. Tunnels one meter in diame- graphs as shown in Fig. 3b. They coalesce into
ter are common; these often have sod roofs less a discontinuous open channel, and, with con-
RAPID GULLY INITIATION AND EXTENSION 399

tinued growth, the channel opens along its en-
tire length (Fig. 3c).
H y d r o l o g i c r e s p o n s e to a 2 5 y e a r s t o r m
During the storm of 26 January 1983, which
had a recurrence interval of 25 years for a 6-h
storm (DWR, 1982), we documented the hy-
drologic response of the Mean Bull Gully drain-
age (0.5 km 2) by observing an array of 23 shal-
low piezometers and by measuring flow and
sampling suspended sediment from tunnels,
overland flow, and near the gully mouth at the
master gully's confluence with Pomponio Creek
(Fig. 5 ). In addition, we monitored headcut and
tunnel development by repeated, detailed sur-
veys in 1982, 1983, and 1987. The Mean Bull
drainage exhibits morphologic features associ-
ated with all stages of gully development in the
study area, from lateral eluviation to the ma-
ture, open gully. On January 26, 1983, rainfall
measured at the site exceeded 60 mm from 1200
to 1800 h. A maximum intensity of 16 mm h-1
occurred between 1600 and 1700 h.
Piezometer response varied greatly over short
distances and was apparently dependent on the
position on the hillslope and proximity to tun-
nels. Figure 6 shows representative changes in

xl7 120
DRAINAGE BASIN AREA

I00 110

100

90 o
cc
w
TUNNEL COLLAPSE ~ X12 8o
70
50
5O

9O 50

85 METERS
~ 3oo

8O

75

NEW COLLAPSE 1983

NEW COLLAPSE 1986

70 i:[*::--~!:OPEN GULLY
"-~.,--'b.- SUBSURFACE TUNNEL 1963

@
Q SEDIMENT SAMPLING STATION
S5
X PIEZOMETER

~ TUNNEL OUTLET
$0

1 1 4
55 0
CONTOURSIN METERS

Fig. 5. Geomorphic features and hydrologic monitoring network of Mean Bull Gully 1982-1987. Upslope of the tunnel outlet,
the entire drainage was subsurface in 1982. In 1983, approximately 40 m of tunnel was exposed by roof collapse. In 1987, an
additional 40 m collapsed, creating a nearly continuous open gully. Tunnel outlet is the same tunnel outlet shown in Fig. 4a.
400 M.L. SWANSONET AL.

lineations. These piezometers showed a fairly

A-.....*.b... GULLY MOUTH uniform and rapid response to rainfall. Some
~'------(~---- TUNNEL OUTLET piezometers displayed free-flowing artesian
3O
ESTIMATED FROM ALL 5
TUNNEL OUTLETS conditions, and water was observed spouting 10
.&... B'----'.,,,I-~ MEASURED TOTAL OVER-
L A N D FLOW [ N T G U L L Y
cm high from a nearby rodent hole. We inter-
b~
.~oo
AT H E A O C U T
pret this area to be in the early stages of lateral
eluviation, where dispersed throughflow is oc-
curring under sybstantial hydrostatic pressure.
The lower group of piezometers is located in
an area underlain by well developed tunnel net-
1200 2400
A
1200
I
2400
t I
1200
works. (Many of these tunnels were later ex-
JANUARY 26 i JANUARY 27 I JANUARY 28 posed by roof collapse in 1985 and 1986.) Pie-
I I , r , i I ] zometer response was highly varied. Some
became artesian, while others did not respond
~ !..o
~ \ ~ :..................
::::: ....... ~11 at all. The former were apparently in untun-
neled areas where positive hydraulic heads de-
~ ,2 "..:: ......
veloped, while the others were near tunnels,
which allowed pore waters to drain rapidly.
: ~5 J~ ......
Most of the runoff measured at the gully
mouth was generated from subsurface flow.
5 -. Overland flow entered the gully only at one of
1200 2400 1200 2400 1200
the two headcuts at the upper end of the master
JANUARY 26 I JANUARY 27 I JANUARY 28 gully; measurements show that this accounted
PIEZOMETERS
for about 2.16X 104 l, or 25% of the total runoff

* . ..... . .... " . ..... . .. . . " " " . . . ". ... . . . . - ' I for the period measured. Comparable volumes
of subsurface runoff were observed flowing from
LOWER WELL F ELD M~DDLE WELL ~ ELD PPER W
I each of the five primary tunnel outlets located
along the master gully walls. The discharge
Fig. 6. Storm precipitation and flow hydrographs (upper
plot) and subsurface water levels (lower plot) measured in measured from one of these outlets approxi-
piezometers for 6-h storm of 26 January 1983. mately equalled the total contributed by over-
land flow. Assuming that about 5% fell directly
water level from the upper, middle, and lower into the gully or entered from unmeasured
piezometer groups. The upper group of piezo- sources, the combined runoff from tunnel out-
meters (including piezometer 17 on Fig. 6) is lets equalled 8.64 1041 or 70% of the total run-
located in an area with an existing tunnel net- off measured at the gully mouth.
work. Vegetation lineations are distinct and The differences in suspended sediment con-
sinkholes have exposed large tunnels (0.75 m centrations were equally striking (Fig. 7).
in diameter). These piezometers did not dis- Water entering the gully from the tunnel net-
play large rises in head during the storm, indi- work had suspended sediment concentrations
cating that elevated hydraulic heads were not averaging 1.78 104 mg 1-1, an order of mag-
maintained over a wide region, probably be- nitude greater than the overland flow (with av-
cause pore water was rapidly drained into erage concentrations of 1.29 103 mg l- 1). This
nearby tunnels. indicates that well over 90% of the total sedi-
The middle group of piezometers is located ment produced in the Mean Bull Gully basin
in an area lacking well-developed tunnel sys- during the period of measurement came from
tems, as evidenced by only scattered vegetation subsurface erosion.
RAPID GULLY INITIATION AND EXTENSION 401

in the rainy season. Moisture content in the A

horizon increased markedly with depth. In some
holes, the base of the A horizon consisted of sat-
F urated sand and disaggregated mud. Below the
Z
O
,~ 10"
abrupt A / B contact, the claypan B horizon was
rr
I.- typically hard and dry.
Examination of soil profiles exposed in head-
Z
O cuts and tunnel walls reveal distinctive sand
Z laminae a few centimeters above the A / B con-
~ 10 3
tact. Muddy seepage was observed discharging
from these layers during the rainy season. We
STATIONTunnel
Overland
Outlet
Flow
interpret these as zones of concentrated flow
where clay has been leached and transported in
i i i i i i ,I
100
, i ~,--,,,i
10'
suspension to outlets either on master gully
DISCHARGE (I s ')
walls or soil pipe/tunnel walls, leaving a sub-
Fig. 7. Sediment concentrations from a tunnel outlet and surface lag deposit of clean sand. These sand
overland flow measured at Mean Bull Gully for the storm
laminae, with their fresh appearance, cannot be
of 26 J a n u a r y 1983.
explained as primary depositional features be-
E v i d e n c e o f lateral s u b s u r f a c e f l o w f r o m cause they occur within a mature soil profile
soil profiles, M e a n Bull G u l l y where, over time, they likely would have been
disturbed by pedogenic processes and
Auger hole profiles revealed characteristic bioturbation.
profiles of clay concentration and moisture
content with depth that were indicative of sub-
surface flow and erosion. Clay concentration Conclusions
typically decreased downward from the surface
and was distinctly depleted at the base of the A
horizon just above the claypan B horizon (Fig. In our study area in the coastal San Mateo
8). Because the soils were difficult to penetrate County area, subsurface erosion is remarkably
when dry, auger holes were not dug until early rapid, with some gullies doubling in length in

0
~B A/B
i_ ..... f A/B

5o S I
I
:.. J
rI
I
.ii
o r
I- lO(
I,- r"
!
I i" 100

o
150

(a) (b) (c)

i
40 60

PERCENT CLAY

Fig. 8. Percent clay distribution for three soil profiles in the study area: Profile (a) taken from tunnel collapse wall in Mean
Bull Gully basin, (b) from gully headcut at Mean Bull Gully, (c) from site near San Gregorio ( U S D A , 1961 ). A/B indicates
the abrupt contact between the permeable A soil horizon and the relatively impermeable underlying B soil horizon.
402
several years. Subsurface erosion is far more
significant here than headcut migration in the
initiation and extension of gully channels. From
1982 through 1986, numerous tunnel roof col-
lapses have appeared and exposed 80 m of new
open channel in the Mean Bull Gully basin,
while in the same period, headcut migration has
been but a few centimeters per year. Field mea-
surements of sediment and water discharge
from the basin during a 25-yr storm showed that
t~he subsurface net accounted for nearly 70% of
t,he water and over 90% of the sediment
discharge.
Subsurface erosion appears to have been re-
sponsible for prolific gully growth visible on
aerial photographs for the past 57 years. A reg-
ular developmental sequence of gully initiation
and growth (from lateral eluviation of clays to
tunnel collapse), observed in the field at pres-
ent, can also be recognized on historical aerial
photographs.
Our study demonstrates the importance of
field and historical measurements in distin-
guishing the relative importance of surface ver-
sus subsurface erosion in gully development.
Although the rates of subsurface erosion docu-
mented here may be unusually high, similar soil
piping and gully development has been ob-
served in many different environments. Field
measurements of water and sediment discharge
are needed at more sites to determine the rela-
tive importance of surface versus subsurface
erosion in different settings.
Recognition of the predominant gully form-
ing mechanism in a particular area is crucial to
development of erosion control strategies. For
gully systems in which subsurface erosion is
dominant, traditional gully treatment meth-
ods, aimed at reducing surface erosion, may
prove ineffective in controlling gully
proliferation.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the California De-
partment of Parks and Recreation for funding
M.L.SWANSONET AL.
this study, and to Syd Brown for her support
and guidance. Howard Wilshire suggested the
study area, visited the field site, and provided
helpful suggestions. Luna B. Leopold gave the
authors valuable guidance and loaned equip-
ment for field work. Wil Graf, Tom Dunne and
M. Gordon Wolman visited the field site and
provided helpful suggestions. Stan Stevens, map
librarian at the University of California at Santa
Cruz, generously made available an extensive
collection of aerial photographs. The senior au-
thor, who completed the project as a masters
thesis at the University of California at Santa
Cruz, wishes to thank Gary B. Griggs, Robert
R. Curry, and Robert E. Garrison for their sup-
port and constructive criticism.
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