Soil erosion modelling case-study in agricultural landscapes of South Australia

The main focus of my research lies in the modelling of soil erosion by wind and water in low rainfall cropping regions using remotely sensed data and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The application of remote sensing techniques and modern satellite imagery can facilitate the evaluation of natural processes such as soil erosion over very large regions (e.g. 160,000 km2). Indeed, higher resolution datasets are now available, with high temporal imaging capabilities, ranging from daily to every 30 minutes. This research therefore aims at combining and comparing some of these products and select the best combination to assess soil losses linked to land management and climate conditions.

The main outcome of this project is to propose a modelling tool, which can be used for more efficient decision making, to assess the influence of changes in land uses and climate conditions on soil erosion and wind-to-water erosion balance.