Abstract
The importance of the size of raindrop in causing soil detachment and splash has long been recognized, although the total energy expended on erosion by splash may be small. The aggressiveness of rainfall or its capacity to cause detachment can be expressed in terms of drop size, rainfall intensity and kinetic energy or momentum. An attempt has been made to determine the rainfall erosivity (EI) of two gauged stations where continuous rainfall recorders were installed, on the basis of rainfall characteristics. Thus, the relationship between average storm EI30 (rainfall erosivity for 30 minutes interval) values and average depths of rainfall could be developed for the Bheta Gad basin of the Gomati River in the Hindu-Kush Himalayas. The analysis has revealed that if factors other than rainfall remain constant, soil splash erosion from cultivated fields is directly proportional to the rainstorm parameter identified as EI.
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Ramprasad, B.K., Kothyari, B.P. & Pande, R.K. Evaluation of rainfall erosivity in Bheta Gad catchment, Kumaun Hills of Uttar Pradesh, central Himalayas. The Environmentalist 20, 301–308 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006761412994
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006761412994