Surface Erosion and Control.ppt

Surface Erosion and Control Ali Fares, PhD Watershed Hydrology, NREM662 UHM-CTAHR-NREM Ia is all losses before runoff begins it includes: water retained in surface depressions, Water interception by vegetation Evaporation and infiltration. Ia was found to follow: Ia = 0.2*S Potential Maximum Retention S is related to the soil cover conditions of the watershed through the CN. CN has a range of 0 to 100 Soil Erosion What’s soil erosion? Erosion is the process of detachment and transport of soil particles by erosive agents (Ellison, 1944) Erosion is a natural geologic process WATER EROSION WIND EROSION TILLAGE TRANSLOCATION SOIL EROSION IS GLOBAL PROBLEM 1/3 WORLD’S ARABLE LAND LOST SINCE 1950 MOST IN ASIA, AFRICA, S. AMERICA 13-18 t/a/yr 30% OF US FARMLAND ABANDONED EROSION SALINIZATION WATER-LOGGING 90% OF US CROPLAND LOSING SOIL FASTER THAN IT IS REPLACED 1 t/a/yr WIND EROSION Dust bowl 1931-1939 there was a drought called the “dust bowl”. It caused huge dust storms to erupt that destructed billions of acres of farm land. storms In the first year of the drought there were 14 storms reported and the second year there were 38 storms. It was getting worse. Ruined land Tons of damage was done to every ones land and it costs billions of dollars to repair the damages. Black Sunday April 14th,1934 black Sunday was the worst blizzard of the dustbowl which caused the most extensive damage. REDUCING WIND EROSION MAINTAIN SURFACE COVER CROP RESIDUE COVER CROPS INCREASE STUBBLE HEIGHT INSTALL WINDBREAKS EFFECTIVE 15x HEIGHT IRRIGATE STRIP CROPS PERPENDICULAR TO PREVAILING WIND The Shelterbelt Program WATER EROSION PROCESS BEGINS WITH RAINDROPS STRIKING BARE SOIL DISLODGING PARTICLES INTENSE RAINS SEAL SURFACE WHEN RAINFALL EXCEEDS INFILTRATION WATER IS STORED IN SMALL DEPRESSIONS ONCE DEPRESSIONS ARE FILLED, RUNOFF BEGINS WATER EROSION PROCESS Initially water flows in a discontinuous sheet Eventually it concentrates into small channels or rills. The runoff now has ene