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A physically based model to predict hydraulic erosion of fine-grained riverbanks: The role of form roughness in limiting erosion

A physically based model to predict hydraulic erosion of fine-grained riverbanks: The role of form roughness in limiting erosion
A physically based model to predict hydraulic erosion of fine-grained riverbanks: The role of form roughness in limiting erosion
Hydraulic erosion of bank toe materials is the dominant factor controlling the long-term rate of riverbank retreat. In principle, hydraulic bank erosion can be quantified using an excess shear stress model, but difficulties in estimating input parameters seriously inhibit the predictive accuracy of this approach. Herein a combination of analytical modeling and novel field measurement techniques is employed to improve the parameterization of an excess shear stress model as applied to the Lower Mekong River. Boundary shear stress is estimated using a model (Kean and Smith, 2006a, 2006b) for flow over the irregular bank topography that is characteristic of fine-grained riverbanks. Bank erodibility parameters were obtained using a cohesive strength meter (Tolhurst et al., 1999). The new model was used to estimate annual bank erosion rates via integration across the Mekong's annual flow regime. Importantly, the simulations represent the first predictions of hydraulic bank erosion that do not require recourse to calibration, thereby providing a stronger physical basis for the simulation of bank erosion. Model predictions, as evaluated by comparing simulated annual rates of bank toe retreat with estimates of bank retreat derived from analysis of aerial photographs and satellite imagery, indicate a tendency to overpredict erosion (root-mean-square error equals ±0.53 m/yr). Form roughness induced by bank topographic features is shown to be a major component (61%–85%) of the spatially averaged total shear stress, and as such it can be viewed as an important factor that self-limits bank erosion.

0148-0227
F04003-[20pp]
Darby, Stephen E.
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Trieu, Hai Q.
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Carling, Paul A.
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Sarkkula, Juha
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Koponen, Jorma
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Kummu, Matti
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Conlan, Iwona
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Leyland, Julian
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Darby, Stephen E.
4c3e1c76-d404-4ff3-86f8-84e42fbb7970
Trieu, Hai Q.
a636dc48-e2ae-4224-b1df-93128ee6d633
Carling, Paul A.
8d252dd9-3c88-4803-81cc-c2ec4c6fa687
Sarkkula, Juha
b59d5d07-16ee-4083-bbcc-f573672d0afa
Koponen, Jorma
99f1a224-052f-4510-8152-5d0d52abf939
Kummu, Matti
b663f033-34e2-45e4-a5a3-d9987f72ca3b
Conlan, Iwona
449a44d4-ecd2-4a6f-8d8f-9f4b9b54d7f3
Leyland, Julian
6b1bb9b9-f3d5-4f40-8dd3-232139510e15

Darby, Stephen E., Trieu, Hai Q., Carling, Paul A., Sarkkula, Juha, Koponen, Jorma, Kummu, Matti, Conlan, Iwona and Leyland, Julian (2010) A physically based model to predict hydraulic erosion of fine-grained riverbanks: The role of form roughness in limiting erosion. Journal of Geophysical Research, 115 (F04003), F04003-[20pp]. (doi:10.1029/2010JF001708).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Hydraulic erosion of bank toe materials is the dominant factor controlling the long-term rate of riverbank retreat. In principle, hydraulic bank erosion can be quantified using an excess shear stress model, but difficulties in estimating input parameters seriously inhibit the predictive accuracy of this approach. Herein a combination of analytical modeling and novel field measurement techniques is employed to improve the parameterization of an excess shear stress model as applied to the Lower Mekong River. Boundary shear stress is estimated using a model (Kean and Smith, 2006a, 2006b) for flow over the irregular bank topography that is characteristic of fine-grained riverbanks. Bank erodibility parameters were obtained using a cohesive strength meter (Tolhurst et al., 1999). The new model was used to estimate annual bank erosion rates via integration across the Mekong's annual flow regime. Importantly, the simulations represent the first predictions of hydraulic bank erosion that do not require recourse to calibration, thereby providing a stronger physical basis for the simulation of bank erosion. Model predictions, as evaluated by comparing simulated annual rates of bank toe retreat with estimates of bank retreat derived from analysis of aerial photographs and satellite imagery, indicate a tendency to overpredict erosion (root-mean-square error equals ±0.53 m/yr). Form roughness induced by bank topographic features is shown to be a major component (61%–85%) of the spatially averaged total shear stress, and as such it can be viewed as an important factor that self-limits bank erosion.

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e-pub ahead of print date: 6 October 2010
Published date: October 2010
Organisations: Management, Environmental Processes & Change

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 164979
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/164979
ISSN: 0148-0227
PURE UUID: a7d4c876-77b2-4fdf-b601-015ca1a16d2b
ORCID for Stephen E. Darby: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8778-4394
ORCID for Julian Leyland: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3419-9949

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Date deposited: 07 Oct 2010 13:37
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:50

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Contributors

Author: Hai Q. Trieu
Author: Paul A. Carling
Author: Juha Sarkkula
Author: Jorma Koponen
Author: Matti Kummu
Author: Iwona Conlan
Author: Julian Leyland ORCID iD

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