TY - JOUR T1 - The I<sub>x</sub>E<sub>A</sub> erosivity index: An index with the capacity to give more direct consideration to hydrology in predicting short-term erosion in the USLE modeling environment JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 507 LP - 512 VL - 50 IS - 5 AU - P. I. A. Kinnell Y1 - 1995/09/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/50/5/507.abstract N2 - In the past, hydrological considerations have received little direct attention within the R factor used in the USLE and this situation remains in the revised version (RUSLE). Some consequences of replacing the EI30 erosivity index by the IxEa index, an index based on the product of the excess rainfall rate (Ix) and the rainfall kinetic energy flux (EA) are considered in this paper. One consequence is that replacing the EI30 index by the IxEA index results in an event based empirical model that provides the capacity to give consideration to soil-topography-vegetation-management-climate interactions on sediment concentration and runoff separately. Also, because the basis of the IxEA index is more consistent with sediment transport principles, the IxEA index has the capacity to enhance the prediction of sediment movement across landscapes by models that have used, or more correctly, misused USLE technology to predict the soil erosion that is the source of the sediment. This provides a potential for modeling field and catchment erosion with respect to time and space better than is available using current USLE technology. ER -