Wind Erosion in Western Queensland Australia

Chapter 1 - Introductionbeen linked to the timing of rainfall which affects source area erodibility (vegetation cover,soil moisture), and wind erosivity (McTainsh et al., 1998). Both are affected by the west-toeastpassage of rain-bearing frontal systems and increased windiness during spring and earlysummer (Eckström et al., 2004; Leslie and Speer, 2006).The seasonal and inter-annual variations in wind erosion activity indicate that spatial andtemporal changes in land susceptibility to wind erosion are important drivers of variations inwind erosion activity across Australia. The extent to which land erodibility varies in Australiais, however, yet to be quantified. Furthermore, research is yet to quantify the relationshipbetween drivers of rainfall variability like the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) andvariations in the erodibility of the Australian landscape. Monitoring and modelling studies atspatial resolutions