Project Modelling

We are carrying out Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations within selected reaches of the South Saskatchewan River to quantify the 3D flow structures generated by bed morphology over a range of spatial scales (from individual dunes up to compound bar complexes). These CFD simulations are validated using field datasets and then used to develop new parameterisations of flow and sediment transport processes within 2D depth-averaged morphodynamic models.

These parameterisations are being incorporated with the morphodynamic model HSTAR, which is then applied to simulate the evolution of sand-bed rivers over time periods of years to centuries. We are validating these simulations using Digital Elevation Models of the South Saskatchewan River generated using Structure from motion photogrammetry, and apply the model to investigate the controls on sand-bed river morphodynamics over scales ranging from the Saskatchewan up to the largest rivers in the World.

Example output from a HSTAR simulation of a sand-bed river.
HSTAR simulation of a large sand-bed river (red represents topography; dark is high; blue represents depth; dark is deep).