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ARS Home » Midwest Area » West Lafayette, Indiana » National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory » Research » Research Project #444084

Research Project: WEPP GIS for NRCS Field Scale Erosion Assessment

Location: National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory

Project Number: 5020-12130-004-019-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Aug 1, 2023
End Date: Aug 31, 2024

Objective:
1. Develop a Geographic Information System (GIS) based user interface that will be used by a watershed stakeholders, which will allow access to data from geographic, land management and climate databases. 2. Provide delineation access for 10m and 3m Digital Elevation Models along with base layers for satellite view and roads. In addition, develop a GIS Application Programming Interface (API) for the Terrain Analysis Using Digital Elevation Model (TauDEM) software as used by the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP). 3. Develop custom input panels and output reports for the WEPP watershed user interface.

Approach:
Web based GIS user interfaces for watershed simulations will be developed and tested with the WEPP watershed erosion model and databases, working closely with USDA-ARS staff. In particular, more detailed and available geo-spatial elevation data will be used. The project will also use Soil Survey Georgraphic Database (SSURGO) soils data and land use data for an area of interest. Land use and water use data may be customized and associated with a particular sub area within the watershed area of interest. Specific inputs to the model, such as channel parameters and impoundment parameters will also be able to be viewed and associated with simulations. The user interface will be built using the Cooperator's software. The Cooperator will work closely with ARS to define the data exchange between the web based GIS user interface and model services. Evaluation interfaces will be made available to ARS and NRCS cooperators for feedback.