Intercomparing varied erosion, deposition and transport process representations for simulating sediment yield

Abstract Over the past several decades there has been an enormous proliferation of sediment models, ranging from empirical to physically-based. Most of these models aim to capture the impacts of three primary sediment processes viz. erosion, deposition, and transport. As a range of process represent...

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Main Authors: Tan Zi, Mukesh Kumar, John Albertson
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2019-08-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-48405-9
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author Tan Zi
Mukesh Kumar
John Albertson
author_facet Tan Zi
Mukesh Kumar
John Albertson
author_sort Tan Zi
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Over the past several decades there has been an enormous proliferation of sediment models, ranging from empirical to physically-based. Most of these models aim to capture the impacts of three primary sediment processes viz. erosion, deposition, and transport. As a range of process representations exist for simulating these three processes, it is natural to wonder about their influence on estimates of suspended sediment yield from a watershed. While several studies have focused on intercomparison of sediment models, their scopes have generally been restricted to comparing the individual model performances, rather than understanding the role of process representations on sediment model output. Here, six model configurations, which span the different permutations of erosion, deposition and transport process representations being used in extant models, are considered to evaluate the role of process representations on sediment yield estimates. The numerical experiments are designed to evaluate the extent to which the sediment dynamics as modeled by a physically-based model with coupled surface-subsurface hydrologic interactions are captured by simpler models. The presented work delineates the applicability and limitations of widely used representations of sediment processes, and could help users identify the pros and cons of using a sediment model at a given temporal scale.
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spelling doaj.art-235d2c0cafb6498fb4c0d8f741de262a2022-12-21T18:01:45ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222019-08-019111310.1038/s41598-019-48405-9Intercomparing varied erosion, deposition and transport process representations for simulating sediment yieldTan Zi0Mukesh Kumar1John Albertson2Tetra Tech Inc, Integrated Water ManagementUniversity of Alabama, Civil, Construction, and Environmental EngineeringCornell University, Civil and Environmental EngineeringAbstract Over the past several decades there has been an enormous proliferation of sediment models, ranging from empirical to physically-based. Most of these models aim to capture the impacts of three primary sediment processes viz. erosion, deposition, and transport. As a range of process representations exist for simulating these three processes, it is natural to wonder about their influence on estimates of suspended sediment yield from a watershed. While several studies have focused on intercomparison of sediment models, their scopes have generally been restricted to comparing the individual model performances, rather than understanding the role of process representations on sediment model output. Here, six model configurations, which span the different permutations of erosion, deposition and transport process representations being used in extant models, are considered to evaluate the role of process representations on sediment yield estimates. The numerical experiments are designed to evaluate the extent to which the sediment dynamics as modeled by a physically-based model with coupled surface-subsurface hydrologic interactions are captured by simpler models. The presented work delineates the applicability and limitations of widely used representations of sediment processes, and could help users identify the pros and cons of using a sediment model at a given temporal scale.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-48405-9
spellingShingle Tan Zi
Mukesh Kumar
John Albertson
Intercomparing varied erosion, deposition and transport process representations for simulating sediment yield
Scientific Reports
title Intercomparing varied erosion, deposition and transport process representations for simulating sediment yield
title_full Intercomparing varied erosion, deposition and transport process representations for simulating sediment yield
title_fullStr Intercomparing varied erosion, deposition and transport process representations for simulating sediment yield
title_full_unstemmed Intercomparing varied erosion, deposition and transport process representations for simulating sediment yield
title_short Intercomparing varied erosion, deposition and transport process representations for simulating sediment yield
title_sort intercomparing varied erosion deposition and transport process representations for simulating sediment yield
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-48405-9
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AT mukeshkumar intercomparingvariederosiondepositionandtransportprocessrepresentationsforsimulatingsedimentyield
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