Rapid In Situ Characterization of Soil Erodibility With a Field Deployable Robot

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dc.bibliographic.citation@article{qian2019rapid, title={Rapid In Situ Characterization of Soil Erodibility With a Field Deployable Robot}, author={Qian, Feifei and Lee, Dylan and Nikolich, George and Koditschek, Daniel and Jerolmack, Douglas}, journal={Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface}, year={2019}, publisher={Wiley Online Library} }
dc.contributor.authorQian, Feifei
dc.contributor.authorLee, Dylan
dc.contributor.authorNikolich, George
dc.contributor.authorKoditschek, Daniel E
dc.contributor.authorJerolmack, Douglas J
dc.date2023-05-17T22:49:30.000
dc.date.accessioned2023-05-22T19:13:39Z
dc.date.available2023-05-22T19:13:39Z
dc.date.issued2019-05-23
dc.date.submitted2019-09-28T20:50:02-07:00
dc.description.abstractPredicting the susceptibility of soil to wind erosion is difficult because it is a multivariate function of grain size, soil moisture, compaction, and biological growth. Erosive agents like plowing and grazing also differ in mechanism from entrainment by fluid shear; it is unclear if and how erosion thresholds for each process are related. Here we demonstrate the potential to rapidly assemble empirical maps of erodibility while also examining what controls it, using a novel “plowing” test of surface-soil shear resistance (𝜏r) performed by a semi-autonomous robot. Field work at White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, United States, examined gradients in erodibility at two scales: (i) soil moisture changes from dry dune crest to wet interdune (tens of meters) and (ii) downwind-increasing dune stabilization associated with growth of plants and salt and biological crusts (kilometers). We found that soil moisture changes of a few percent corresponded to a doubling of 𝜏r, a result confirmed by laboratory experiments, and that soil crusts conferred stability that was comparable to moisture effects. We then compared different mechanisms of mechanical perturbation in a controlled laboratory setting. A new “kick-out” test determines peak shear resistance of the surface soil as a proxy for yield strength. Kick-out resistance exhibited a relation with soil moisture that was distinct from the plowing test and that was correlated with the independently measured threshold-fluid stress for wind erosion. Results show that our new method maps soil erodibility in arid environments and provides an understanding of environmental controls on variations in soil erodibility. (For more information: Kod*lab)
dc.description.sponsorshipThis research was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under INSPIRE award, CISE NRI1514882, and NRI INT award 1734355.
dc.formatflash_audio
dc.identifier.urihttps://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/34108
dc.legacy.articleid1927
dc.legacy.fieldstrue
dc.legacy.fieldshttps://doi.org/10. 1029/2018JF004887
dc.legacy.fulltexturlhttps://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1927&context=ese_papers&unstamped=1
dc.relation.url
dc.relation.urlhttps://repository.upenn.edu/ese_images/1077/preview.jpg
dc.source.beginpage1261
dc.source.endpage1280
dc.source.issue861
dc.source.issue124
dc.source.journalDepartmental Papers (ESE)
dc.source.journaltitleJournal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface
dc.source.peerreviewedtrue
dc.source.statuspublished
dc.subject.otherGRASP
dc.subject.otherKodlab
dc.subject.otherlegged robot
dc.subject.othergeomorphology
dc.subject.othererodibility
dc.subject.othershear strength
dc.subject.otherElectrical and Computer Engineering
dc.subject.otherEngineering
dc.subject.otherSystems Engineering
dc.titleRapid In Situ Characterization of Soil Erodibility With a Field Deployable Robot
dc.typeArticle
digcom.contributor.authorisAuthorOfPublication|email:fqian@seas.upenn.edu|institution:University of Pennsylvania|Qian, Feifei
digcom.contributor.authorisAuthorOfPublication|email:dylanblee@gmail.com|institution:University of Pennsylvania|Lee, Dylan
digcom.contributor.authorNikolich, George
digcom.contributor.authorKoditschek, Daniel E
digcom.contributor.authorJerolmack, Douglas J
digcom.identifierese_papers/861
digcom.identifier.contextkey15445003
digcom.identifier.submissionpathese_papers/861
digcom.typearticle
dspace.entity.typePublication
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationc22ae087-7437-46e2-96dd-d6b05d440859
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationed0713d3-78eb-4d6e-a09d-5ec47af872bc
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscoveryc22ae087-7437-46e2-96dd-d6b05d440859
upenn.schoolDepartmentCenterDepartmental Papers (ESE)
upenn.schoolDepartmentCenterGeneral Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception Laboratory
upenn.schoolDepartmentCenterKod*lab
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