Over the last 25 years the Laboratory for Experimental Geomorphology has been extensively studying overland flow hydraulics and soil erosion (both by overland flow and raindrop impact) and aeolian processes, both in the field and in the laboratory. It has therefore acquired a large experience and infrastructure for the experimental study of these processes and a large number of papers on overland flow hydraulics, erosion and aeolian processes have been published in international scientific literature (see list of publications enclosed).
Significant results with respect to physical soil degradation, overland flow hydraulics, interrill and rill erosion include the development of a splash erosion model, an algorithm to predict the resistance of plane beds, including the effect of rainfall, the study of the effect of bedform irregularities on flow resistance and erosion, the study of the hydraulic resistance in rills and the effect of rock fragments on overland flow resistance and erosion. The mechanics of overland flow hydraulics and erosion continue to be a key interest of the Laboratory: as such, the research in this field to be undertaken by the Laboratory within the framework of this project is convergent with other ongoing and planned research activities in the Laboratory. Over this period, the Laboratory has also developed rainfall simulation techniques based on capillary tubes and nozzles both for the laboratory and the field. Rainfall simulation has been used in a wide variety of studies, including the development of a splash erosion model, the effect of rock fragments on infiltration and interrill erosion and the effect of drop impact on flow resistance.
The study of aeolian processes mainly focusses on the mechanics of aeolian transport and deposition of fine-grained airborne particles (atmospheric dust). These processes are studied in an aeolian dust wind tunnel and in several field stations in the Middle East. Topics currently under study are: the effect of terrain topography on the erosion, transport and deposition of atmospheric dust, short-term and long-term effects of aeolian dust deposition and accumulation on the desert ecosystem, aeolian dust deposition on solar collectors, and the structures of aeolian landforms. Significant results with respect to these themes include the development of physical and mathematical models that describe the behaviour of fine-grained dust in the terrestrial atmosphere, the development of specific techniques that allow one to model atmospheric dust behaviour in a controlled (wind tunnel) environment, and the physical explanation of aeolian sediment distribution patterns, both for ancient and modern deposits.
Recently, the Laboratory has also paid attention to the study of the implication of the process formulations derived from laboratory and field experiments for water and sediment movement at the landscape scale. One of the elements necessary for this study is the development of routing algorithms to determine which path will be followed by the water and the eroded sediment. The work carried out by the Laboratory has concentrated on the comparative study of routing algorithms and their effect on model output. The knowledge acquired in building and evaluating routing algorithms will be used to design procedures for an efficient and accurate prediction of runoff flowpaths within agricultural catchments.
Present research interests are soil erosion processes (rill and gully erosion, sedimentation) operating at various temporal and spatial scales in a variety of environments, physical soil degradation (surface sealing, compaction), aeolian processes, desertification, soil conservation techniques, the use of GIS and Digital Elevation Models in soil erosion research as a way to upscale experimental results, soil erosion modelling at the catchment scale, the role of tillage erosion in the total soil redistribution, the use of the caesiumtracer for the identification of erosion patterns and rates (in collaboration with the Department of Geography at the University of Exeter , and the modelling of the physical behaviour of atmospheric dust.
Members of the Laboratory for Experimental Geomorphology are involved in a number of international research projects such as EUROSEM (CEC), MEDALUS (CEC), MWISED (CEC), TERON(CEC), EFLAM(CEC) Soil Fertility Conservation in Northern Thailand, Comparability of the susceptibility of loess soils from the major loess areas in the world (NATO), water harvesting techniques in the Middle East and in the Mediterranean, Savannization of the desert fringes in the Middle East, Desertification in the Mediterranean and in Northern Ethiopia, Aeolian dust dynamics in the Negev Desert and soil degradation and soil conservation in Ecuador.
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Last revision: 18 March 2002
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