National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory, West Lafayette, Indiana

• Scope of work under Recovery Act

Amount: $775,000

Repair of critical deferred maintenance including refurbishing boiler and distribution pumps, replace roofing system, repair security system. Replace HVAC cooling unit and provide reliable back-up power source. Replace windows that are allowing infiltration of water.

Milestones - To be updated as milestones are completed.

Construction Photos

Research at the National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory

The National Soil Erosion Laboratory at West Lafayette, Indiana, is the focal point for the U.S. Government’s national research program aimed at controlling soil erosion, which can impact environmental quality, reduce crop yields, and increase costs to producers and consumers. The laboratory has developed some of the most widely used tools in the world to estimate and ultimately control soil erosion.

Soil erosion is the movement of soil particles by the erosive forces of wind or water. While soil erosion can be controlled, it is almost impossible to completely stop. Erosion can also be accelerated through people’s activities such removing surface vegetation or crop residues.

The National Soil Erosion Laboratory created the first nationwide soil erosion-prediction equation. Since then, the laboratory has released a erosion-prediction mapping interface software called GeoWEPP (Water Erosion Prediction Project) that mimics water and erosion processes on crop-, range- and forest lands across small watersheds.

Top soil is a thin resource on which all crop production depends. We need to understand how farming practices and natural processes influence the lose of top soil.

Project Photographs Before Construction