Soil, the foundation of life, is surprisingly more fluid than solid. It shifts, crumbles, and reforms in response to environmental changes. Yet, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reveals a startling fact: we’ve lost half the planet’s topsoil in the last 150 years.

While natural processes do contribute to soil degradation, human actions, especially poor land management, significantly worsen this issue and contribute to climate change. Soil plays a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. For instance, arctic soils alone contain about 1.5 trillion tons of carbon—more than the combined amount in our atmosphere and forests.

This carbon remains trapped in the soil due to permafrost and extensive peatlands, making northern circumpolar soils a major carbon storage. As we face increasing soil erosion, there’s a pressing need for more effective solutions to prevent this carbon from being released into the atmosphere, which would otherwise accelerate climate change. The impact of soil erosion in arctic areas, like Iceland, is particularly critical and cannot be downplayed.

In today’s market, professional project developers across various industries, from construction to soil protection, typically calculate soil erosion using observational qualitative research methods. These methods often rely on costly probes and established models like the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), and others.

The choice of models usually varies based on the country and its specific environmental conditions, as some models offer greater accuracy for certain climates. However, it’s important to note that these mathematical models are often seen as providing “average” estimates. They may not be highly precise, especially when applied to extensive land areas or specific smaller ecosystems.

As regulations become stricter in areas prone to high soil erosion, our mapping technology will be an essential tool for decision-making. It’s not just about identifying areas at risk, it’s about understanding the specific risk factors involved. This insight is crucial for project managers involved in strategic city planning, coastal reconstruction, and sustainable development initiatives.

Our product goes beyond identifying risk areas, it also pinpoints the optimal locations for new projects. Conversations with industrial engineers have highlighted several key concerns in new project locations, such as soil health, water saturation, and proximity to water bodies. Our map addresses these concerns by providing detailed information, including these factors and more, accessible via a hover-over feature. This makes it an invaluable resource for responsible and efficient project development.

Icelandic experts have traditionally found generic models ineffective for research-based remediation efforts due to the harsh and unpredictable Icelandic climate. As a result, hands-on field sampling has been the primary method used until now.

Our breakthrough is significant: we’ve achieved an 80% accuracy rate with our maps, overcoming challenges that others have not addressed. This achievement gives us a distinct competitive advantage in the Arctic region, where such precision and adaptability are crucial. Our approach revolutionizes how soil erosion and related environmental issues are assessed and managed in these challenging conditions.

Our initial prototype is set for beta-testing by Landgræðslan, where it will undergo a crucial evaluation phase. We’re committed to refining our technology based on the expert feedback we receive from them. The first version of our Graphical User Interface (GUI) is tailored to meet the specific requirements of Landgræðslan’s project GróLindar. However, our vision extends beyond this initial application. We plan to continually gather data and integrate features that will make our product relevant and valuable to a variety of other potential markets. This approach ensures our technology remains versatile and adaptable to diverse needs in the field of soil management and environmental protection.

Iceland’s soil data is the oldest and most thorough data in the entire world since it is the oldest soil erosion department, globally.

Fortunately for Iceland, this data, the ground truth data of the soil erosion risk, is completely free and available upon request from The Soil Conservation Service of Iceland (Landgræðslan), which we will use for estimations for calibration and validation purposes.

In Europe this data is generally freely accessible as well, upon request.

For the Arctic, the data is available, upon submission and approval of an application describing the research project. We are in the process of applying for this data.