Dr. Heck's general research interest is on the quantification of soil morphology at several scales of observation. At the local catchment scale, his lab is employing high-resolution airborne remote sensing techniques which include: a) visible/near-infrared imaging of soil and crops used to reveal...
Dr. Heck's general research interest is on the quantification of soil morphology at several scales of observation. At the local catchment scale, his lab is employing high-resolution airborne remote sensing techniques which include: a) visible/near-infrared imaging of soil and crops used to reveal variations in soil type; and b) computerized photogrammetry of stereo-air photos and LiDAR imaging used to generate digital elevation models, from which landform quantification is performed. At the pedon/polypedon scale, his lab is employing thermal imaging and non-contacting magnetic induction techniques (electrical conductivity and magnetic susceptibility) to generate, through inversion modelling, 3D soil models. At the sub-pedon scale, his lab is employing high-resolution digital imaging of soil thin sections, as well as X-ray micro-computed tomography (mCT), combined with pixel- and context-based image processing, to reveal the spatial configuration of soil components. His lab has on-going collaborations with researchers in Canada, the United States, South America, Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia.