The Daily Erosion Project - daily estimates of water runoff, soil detachment, and erosion, 2018

The Daily Erosion Project uses real-time remote sensing and the WEPP model to generate daily estimates of rainfall, runoff, and soil erosion across agricultural landscapes. It helps conservationists understand how management, landscape, and weather influence soil loss. By utilizing high-resolution data on topography, soils, and crop management, the DEP measures erosion at watershed and hillslope levels, showing that the high erosion happens where steep slopes and row crops overlap. The framework's strong sampling and modeling methods are statistically reliable and produce estimates similar to USDA benchmarks, aiding data-driven conservation priorities. Although there are some limitations due to input data and the exclusion of gully erosion, the DEP shows that large parts of the Midwest are eroding at rates well above sustainable levels, urging urgent conservation efforts.