Articles | Volume 18, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-3427-2025
© 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-18-3427-2025
© 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
| 
13 Jun 2025
Model description paper |
| 13 Jun 2025
| 13 Jun 2025
RiverBedDynamics v1.0: a Landlab component for computing two-dimensional sediment transport and river bed evolution
Center for Ecohydraulics Research, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Idaho, Boise, ID, USA
Samuel R. Anderson
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
Nicole M. Gasparini
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
Elowyn M. Yager
Center for Ecohydraulics Research, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Idaho, Boise, ID, USA
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Mountain rivers create fast-flowing water that behaves differently around obstacles compared to slower flows. We used computer simulations and digital bed representation to study how rough riverbeds affect water flow. Our research shows individual grains completely change water movement, creating chaotic patterns instead of organized flows. This makes forces on riverbeds much more variable than previously thought, important for understanding how mountain rivers shape landscapes.
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Mountain rivers create fast-flowing water that behaves differently around obstacles compared to slower flows. We used computer simulations and digital bed representation to study how rough riverbeds affect water flow. Our research shows individual grains completely change water movement, creating chaotic patterns instead of organized flows. This makes forces on riverbeds much more variable than previously thought, important for understanding how mountain rivers shape landscapes.
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We measured rock strength and amount of fracturing in the two different rock types, sandstones and carbonates, in Last Chance Canyon, New Mexico, USA. Where there is more carbonate bedrock, hills and channels steepen in Last Chance Canyon. This is because the carbonate-type bedrock tends to be more thickly bedded, is less fractured, and is stronger. The carbonate bedrock produces larger boulders than the sandstone bedrock, which can protect the more fractured sandstone bedrock from erosion.
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Short summary
Rivers shape landscapes by moving sediments and changing their beds, but existing computer models oversimplify these processes by only considering erosion. We developed new software that simulates how rivers transport sediments and change over time through both erosion and deposition. This helps scientists and engineers better predict river behavior for water management, flood prevention, and ecosystem protection.
Rivers shape landscapes by moving sediments and changing their beds, but existing computer...
