EROS: a grid-based program for estimating spatially-distributed erosion indices

Abstract EROS is a grid-based terrain analysis program for estimating the spatial distribution of soil loss and erosion-and-deposition potential in a catchment. The sediment transport index is similar to the length-slope factor in the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation, but is applicable to three-dimensional terrain. It characterizes the effects of topography and catchment hydrology on soil loss, and helps to identify areas in a catchment that are highly susceptible to erosion by flowing water. The method is based on characterizing the sediment transport capacity of overland flow using a stream-power approach. The terrain attributes generated by TAPES-G provide the basic terrain attributes used by EROS. Stream networks, subcatchments and the spatial distribution of individual attributes can be plotted interactively or copied to the ARC/INFO geographic information system (GIS) for further analysis and display.

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