ODM2 Variable Name Controlled Vocabulary ODM2 Working Group A vocabulary for describing the name of Variables. Erosion rate In earth science, erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location (not to be confused with weathering which involves no movement). Added to support Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) data use cases.