Soil erosion by water is the most important global environmental problem. A modern system for assessing and monitoring soil erosional degradation should be based on the use of remote sensing data. This raises the issue of correct data decoding. The article proposes a method for visual interpretation of eroded soils according to the Sentinel image obtained in the visible range. The authors give some combinations of decoding signs to determine the manifestations of linear and surface water erosion from images. The article shows possible errors in decoding the manifestations of water erosion and gives an example of assessing the erosion of the soil cover based on the results of decoding the Sentinel-2 satellite image. Moderately and heavily eroded soils are reliably distinguished, the area of which, according to the interpretation data, was 2.4% of the area of arable land in the studied territory. In the future, the obtained sample of spectral images of eroded soils can be used to develop an automated method of interpretation based on the principle of "computer vision".
Purpose: analysis of the features of visual decoding of eroded soils and erosion processes according to remote sensing data.
Methods. Remote sensing, field, comparative geographical, historical, cartographic, GIS analysis.
Results. The main attention in the article is paid to the features of visual decoding of linear forms of erosion. Comparative analysis of aerial photographs of 1943 and modern satellite imagery for the Kharkov region shown that in the second half of the 20th century the growth of gullies was almost stopped due to large-scale anti-erosion measures carried out at that time. Currently the main erosion losses occur in sheet erosion and small gully erosion. The article provides a list of decoding features that determine linear forms of erosion in the images. It is shown problems that can arise during automatic decoding. As an example of artifact formations requiring the participation of a human analyst in the decryption process, the so-called "Turkish Wall" is shown, the traces of which can be erroneously diagnosed as a manifestation of linear erosion
Conclusions. Automatic decoding of water erosion processes and an inventory of erosion landforms requires the obligatory monitoring of a qualified analyst to eliminate object identification errors.
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