NSL uses remote sensing to simplify and improve data collection efforts from large watersheds previously obtained manually. This information can be used with geographical information systems (GIS) to develop a database of watershed characteristics. A GIS can organize watershed data so additional information can be obtained, such as locations of highly erodible lands based on soils, vegetation, and field slopes. The integration of GIS and watershed models provides a convenient method of deriving many model input parameters. Previously, the determination of model parameters manually was a deterrent in the application of the models to large watersheds

          The integration of remote sensing and GIS with watershed models, such as SWAT and AGNPS, has provided NSL with the opportunity to research and develop technology that combines many complex watershed processes into modules for watershed models. These modules address the effects of highly ephemeral streams, such as in northern Mississippi, on total sediment yield from a watershed. Included in these modules are the effects on the watershed from instream structures for bed and bank protection, and management decisions based on the best practices for controlling erosion within fields. The integration of field and channel processes in a model provides a tool to evaluate the effects of management decisions on the entire watershed system.

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