Posters and Spotlights
Beneath the Crops: Agrogeophysical methods can map subsurface erosional processes.
Start Date
30-4-2025 11:30 AM
Document Type
Event
Description
Internal erosion, specifically in the form of soil pipes, occurs when water seeps through the soil and erodes fine particles, creating a network of pipes beneath the surface. Identifying the network of soil pipes in agricultural fields is a methodological challenge, but their identification is essential to estimating their contribution to total fertile soil loss. Soil pipes on agricultural fields are often covered by crops and vegetation, making remote sensing and photogrammetric detection difficult. Researchers from UM's National Center for Physical Acoustics (NCPA) and USDA's National Sedimentation Laboratory implemented two expedient and non-invasive agrogeophysical methods, electromagnetic induction (EMI) and ground penetrating radar (GPR), for mapping the subsurface networks of soil pipes at the Goodwin Creek Experimental Watershed (GCEW). These methods can quickly generate soil pipe susceptibility maps of vast agricultural fields. Electromagnetic induction survey results identified locations susceptible to soil pipe formations, whereas ground penetrating radar results mapped the vertical and horizontal meandering of the soil pipes in high resolution. The results from this study will aid farmers and landowners in making informed and timely decisions to mitigate soil loss from soil pipe formations. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement 58-6060-6-009. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
Relational Format
poster
Recommended Citation
Wodajo, Leti, "Beneath the Crops: Agrogeophysical methods can map subsurface erosional processes." (2025). Showcase of Research and Scholarly Activity. 63.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/ored_showcase/2025/posters/63
Beneath the Crops: Agrogeophysical methods can map subsurface erosional processes.
Internal erosion, specifically in the form of soil pipes, occurs when water seeps through the soil and erodes fine particles, creating a network of pipes beneath the surface. Identifying the network of soil pipes in agricultural fields is a methodological challenge, but their identification is essential to estimating their contribution to total fertile soil loss. Soil pipes on agricultural fields are often covered by crops and vegetation, making remote sensing and photogrammetric detection difficult. Researchers from UM's National Center for Physical Acoustics (NCPA) and USDA's National Sedimentation Laboratory implemented two expedient and non-invasive agrogeophysical methods, electromagnetic induction (EMI) and ground penetrating radar (GPR), for mapping the subsurface networks of soil pipes at the Goodwin Creek Experimental Watershed (GCEW). These methods can quickly generate soil pipe susceptibility maps of vast agricultural fields. Electromagnetic induction survey results identified locations susceptible to soil pipe formations, whereas ground penetrating radar results mapped the vertical and horizontal meandering of the soil pipes in high resolution. The results from this study will aid farmers and landowners in making informed and timely decisions to mitigate soil loss from soil pipe formations. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement 58-6060-6-009. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U. S. Department of Agriculture.