Articles | Volume 18, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-1463-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-1463-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Model description paper
| 
10 Mar 2025
Model description paper |
| 10 Mar 2025
| 10 Mar 2025
The Water Table Model (WTM) (v2.0.1): coupled groundwater and dynamic lake modelling
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
Andrew D. Wickert
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Sektion 4.6: Geomorphologie, GFZ Helmholtz-Zentrum für Geoforschung, Potsdam, Germany
Richard Barnes
National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
Jacqueline Austermann
Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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Andrew D. Wickert, Jabari C. Jones, Devon Libby, Phillip H. Larson, Katherine R. Barnhart, Maximillian S. Van Wyk de Vries, and Taylor F. Schildgen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1018, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-1018, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Earth Surface Dynamics (ESurf).
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Some rivers are wide. Others are narrow. Why is this, and do they change over time? To answer these questions, we developed a model and tested it against real rivers. Rivers erode bank materials to widen, but transported sediments can settle on and rebuild the banks. Rivers generally widen during large floods and narrow during moderate ones. We demonstrate how changing streamflow alters river-channel width over time, with implications for erosion and flood hazards.
Andrew J. Moodie, Eric Barefoot, Eric Hutton, Charles Nguyen, Andrew D. Wickert, and Jeffrey Marr
Earth Surf. Dynam., 14, 85–94, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-14-85-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-14-85-2026, 2026
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Geomorphologists have more data and computational resources available than ever before, but lack tools to facilitate collaborations needed to integrate data from different modes of study (e.g., field, experimental, modeling). In this article, we discuss challenges to collaboration in geomorphology, and report a new schema for sharing data. The sandsuet schema is designed to accommodate most kinds of rasterized geomorphology data, and makes it easy to package, publish, and share those data.
Fergus McNab, Taylor F. Schildgen, Jens M. Turowski, and Andrew D. Wickert
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 1059–1092, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-1059-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-1059-2025, 2025
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Alluvial rivers form networks, but many concepts we use to analyse their long-term evolution derive from models that treat them as single streams. We develop a model including tributary interactions and show that, while patterns of sediment output can be similar for network and single-segment models, complex signal propagation affects aggradation and incision within networks. We argue that understanding a specific catchment's evolution requires a model with its specific network structure.
Shanti B. Penprase, Abigail C. Wilwerding, Andrew D. Wickert, Marion A. McKenzie, Phillip H. Larson, and Tammy M. Rittenour
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3920, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3920, 2025
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Slackwater sediments are deposited when a river floods and inundates its tributaries. During deglaciation, these fine-grained sediments can include glacial sediment and serve as a record for glacial meltwater routing. We analyze slackwater sediments from the upper Mississippi River and identify five phases of meltwater routing corresponding to a brief period of ice readvance during deglaciation. Our results connect local and large scale reconstructions of meltwater down the Mississippi River.
Andrew D. Wickert, Jabari C. Jones, and Gene-Hua Crystal Ng
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1409, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1409, 2025
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Two common questions about water in rivers are: (1) "How high is the water?" and "How much water is moving downstream?" Measuring (1) is relatively easy and tells us if a river is flooding. Measuring (2) is relatively difficult, but links flow in the river to upstream rainfall, evaporation, and other watershed processes. Here we provide a straightforward but physically based way to translate between (1) and (2), and our method can keep working even if the river channel changes shape.
Matias Romero, Shanti B. Penprase, Maximillian S. Van Wyk de Vries, Andrew D. Wickert, Andrew G. Jones, Shaun A. Marcott, Jorge A. Strelin, Mateo A. Martini, Tammy M. Rittenour, Guido Brignone, Mark D. Shapley, Emi Ito, Kelly R. MacGregor, and Marc W. Caffee
Clim. Past, 20, 1861–1883, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1861-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1861-2024, 2024
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Investigating past glaciated regions is crucial for understanding how ice sheets responded to climate forcings and how they might respond in the future. We use two independent dating techniques to document the timing and extent of the Lago Argentino glacier lobe, a former lobe of the Patagonian Ice Sheet, during the late Quaternary. Our findings highlight feedbacks in the Earth’s system responsible for modulating glacier growth in the Southern Hemisphere prior to the global Last Glacial Maximum.
Andrew Hollyday, Maureen E. Raymo, Jacqueline Austermann, Fred Richards, Mark Hoggard, and Alessio Rovere
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 883–905, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-883-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-883-2024, 2024
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Sea level was significantly higher during the Pliocene epoch, around 3 million years ago. The present-day elevations of shorelines that formed in the past provide a data constraint on the extent of ice sheet melt and the global sea level response under warm Pliocene conditions. In this study, we identify 10 escarpments that formed from wave-cut erosion during Pliocene times and compare their elevations with model predictions of solid Earth deformation processes to estimate past sea level.
Andrew D. Wickert, Jabari C. Jones, and Gene-Hua Crystal Ng
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3118, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3118, 2024
Preprint archived
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For over a century, scientists have used a simple algebraic relationship to estimate the amount of water flowing through a river (its discharge) from the height of the flow (its stage). Here we add physical realism to this approach by explicitly representing both the channel and floodplain, thereby allowing channel and floodplain geometry and roughness to these estimates. Our proposed advance may improve predictions of floods and water resources, even when the river channel itself changes.
Maximillian Van Wyk de Vries and Andrew D. Wickert
The Cryosphere, 15, 2115–2132, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2115-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-2115-2021, 2021
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We can measure glacier flow and sliding velocity by tracking patterns on the ice surface in satellite images. The surface velocity of glaciers provides important information to support assessments of glacier response to climate change, to improve regional assessments of ice thickness, and to assist with glacier fieldwork. Our paper describes Glacier Image Velocimetry (GIV), a new, easy-to-use, and open-source toolbox for calculating high-resolution velocity time series for any glacier on earth.
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Short summary
We present the Water Table Model (WTM), a new model for simulating groundwater and lake levels at continental scales over millennia. The WTM enables long-term evaluations of water-table changes. As a proof of concept, we simulate the North American water table for the present and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), showing that North America held more groundwater and lake water during the LGM than it does today – enough to lower sea levels by 14.98 cm. The open-source code is available on GitHub.
We present the Water Table Model (WTM), a new model for simulating groundwater and lake levels...
