How we assess erosion
The purpose of the project is to analyze the data from Sentinel 2 in order to assess the soil erosion risk.
Sentinel 2 satellite:
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Spectral Instrument (MSI) with 13 spectral bands
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Bands range from visible range to the shortwave infrared (SWIR)
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Variable resolution from 10m to 60m
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Wavelenght is determined based on specific purposes
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​What we do with the data:
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Calculate various vegetation and soil indices
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Assess the risk of erosion in the given area using a combination of spectral indices and statistics analysis of these indices
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Method based on Gadal, Gbetkom & Mfondoum (2021)
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The indices we calculate:
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NDVI - Evaluates the chlorophyll activity of plants and monitors the state of the vegetation cover
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MSAVI2 - Describes the vegetation density and reduces the effects of soil, especially in arid and semi-arid environments
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NDGI - Estimates the biomass of vegetation and measures the hydric potential of leaves at the level of the canopy
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NDSI - Identifies soils affected by salinity and their spatial extent
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Soil crusting - Maps different lithological morphological units. Reveals poor infiltration and reduced air exchange between soil and atmosphere
The program analyzes a given image, calculates indices and for each index it builds an image that shows the risk of erosion based on that particular index (red color indicates the highest risk of erosion, blue one - the lowest).
Calculating soil erosion risk from wind and precipitation
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We are using data from vedurstofa to measure precipitation and wind speeds in different areas of Iceland
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Using a model that was used in Canada, we can use this to assess the risk of erosion from wind and rain over these areas
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Next step: gather more soil data to complete this model
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Combine this vizualisation to our satellite data mapping to create a more complete risk assessment
How we calculate the soil erosion
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