📋 Tender Overview
Assessing Feedback Responses Of Soil Erosion Through The Lens Of Variable Sediment Connectivity During Extreme Events In Semi-Arid Catchments.
A Closer Look At Soil Degradation In Semi-Arid Regionsin Semi-Arid Regions, The Degradation Of Soil Resources Threatens Food, Water, And Livelihood Security. The Lack Of Comprehensive Understanding Regarding Geomorphological Responses To Extreme Events Hinders Efforts To Attribute Soil Erosion Dynamics To Environmental Drivers. The Msca-Funded Asforeseen Project Aims To Study Geomorphological Responses In The Burdekin (Australia) And Makuyuni (Tanzania) Catchments. Focused On Understanding Soil Erosion Dynamics During Extreme Events, It Will Test The Hypothesis That Such Events Trigger Regime Shifts Toward Highly Connected Gully Networks. With High-Frequency Sensors And Sediment Dating Techniques, Asforeseen Will Quantify Temporal Dynamics In Fine Sediment And Phosphorous Transport. By Exploring Secondary Weathered Metal Species As Tracers, It Offers A Novel Approach To Attributing Gully Erosion Contributions.
Funded Under
Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (Msca)
Total Cost
€ 0,00
Eu Contribution
€ 288 737,28
Coordinated By
Universiteit Gent
Belgium
Start Date
1 January 2024
End Date
31 December 2026
Objective
Soil resources in semi-arid regions are rapidly degrading, posing an imminent threat to food, water and livelihood security. Caveats in our understanding of geomorphological responses to extreme events are a major hindrance for attributing soil erosion and sediment flux dynamics to environmental drivers. Using the Burdekin and Makuyuni catchments as natural laboratories for semi-arid regions, the AsFoRESEEN project will assess feedback dynamics in soil erosion through the lens of variable sediment connectivity to test the hypothesis that extreme events can trigger regime shifts towards highly connected ephemeral gully networks. The proposed knowledge transfer strategies will bring the researcher’s scientific and analytical skills to the international standard, underpinning his ambition to combine academic and consultancy work within a leading European research institution. The researcher's unique skillset will be applied to develop novel approaches and integrate them with established techniques in an open-access diagnostic toolkit to support targeted soil- and water management interventions. Temporal dynamics in fine sediment and Phosphorous transport will be quantified using high-frequency sensors and sediment dating techniques. We will be the first to evaluate the use of secondary weathered metal species as tracers, providing a new pathway for attributing the contribution of gully erosion in deeply weathered or alluvials soils. Stream monitoring and sediment source tracing outputs will be integrated in a dynamic sediment budget to elucidate non-linear geomorphological responses to extreme events and land use changes. As a source of innovation, we will couple a machine-learning gully
