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Geosciences
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Numerical Modeling of Surface Processes
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Numerical Modeling of Surface Processes

A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2020) | Viewed by 20518

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Michael Nones

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Hydrology and Hydrodynamics, Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, 01-452 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: hydraulics; sediment transport; floods; remote sensing; hydro-morphodynamics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The aim of this Special Issue of Geosciences is to provide an overview regarding the broad field of numerically modelling surface processes, with a special focus on landscape evolution and the formation of river networks.

To date, there are several numerical models that can dynamically reproduce the evolution of landscapes forced by atmospheric drivers such as precipitation and flowing water, but additional research is needed in order to reproduce all the involved phenomena in a physically-based manner. Indeed, because the processes acting in forming landscapes and river networks (water, sediment, vegetation, etc.) have different spatial and temporal scales, advanced modelling techniques should be taken into account, coupling classical methods with new approaches.

This Special Issue aims to cover, without being limited to, the broader field of reproducing the landscape evolution by means of numerical models, comparing traditional and advanced approaches and discussing the future steps towards a better representation of the natural environment.

Particularly encouraged are papers covering case studies at the regional scale coming from practitioners and engineers, as well as review articles.

An abstract will be requested for planned papers. The authors are required to submit the full manuscript by the deadline of 31 January 2020.

Dr. Michael Nones
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Geosciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • numerical modelling
  • landscape evolution
  • surface processes
  • river networks
  • advanced coding

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 5503 KiB  
Article
A Computer Aided Approach for River Styles—Inspired Characterization of Large Basins: A Structured Procedure and Support Tools
by Andrea Nardini, Santiago Yépez and Maria Dolores Bejarano
Geosciences 2020, 10(6), 231; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10060231 - 15 Jun 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3198
Abstract
This paper presents a systematic procedure for developing a characterization and classification of river reaches inspired by the River Styles Framework, through which insight can be gained about the understanding of river behavior. Our procedure takes advantage of several computer based “tools”, i.e., [...] Read more.
This paper presents a systematic procedure for developing a characterization and classification of river reaches inspired by the River Styles Framework, through which insight can be gained about the understanding of river behavior. Our procedure takes advantage of several computer based “tools”, i.e., algorithms implemented in software packages of various types, from “simple” Excel sheets to sophisticated algorithms in Python language, in general all supported by Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The main potentially useful, existing tools for this specific aim are discussed here, revealing their strengths and weaknesses. New, complementary or alternative tools that have been developed in the project feeding this paper are presented, which can contribute to the scientific community and stakeholders of the topic. The main result of our research is a structured and practical guide (a ToolBox Manual) that can support practitioners and researchers wishing to characterize and classify large rivers, based on the River Styles Framework. The main contribution is that this set of ideas, solutions, and tools, makes this type of exercise significantly more transparent and at the same time much less subjective. Moreover, the procedure is applicable to large systems and does not require more information than that generally available also in developing or emerging countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Numerical Modeling of Surface Processes)
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13 pages, 4451 KiB  
Article
Numerical Modeling of the Hydro-Morphodynamics of a Distributary Channel of the Po River Delta (Italy) during the Spring 2009 Flood Event
by Michael Nones, Vittorio Maselli and Arianna Varrani
Geosciences 2020, 10(6), 209; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10060209 - 30 May 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2566
Abstract
One-dimensional (1D) numerical models generally provide reliable results when applied to simulate river hydraulics and morphodynamics upstream of the tidal influence, given the predominantly unidirectional flow conditions. Such models, however, can also be used to reproduce river hydraulics across the fluvial to marine [...] Read more.
One-dimensional (1D) numerical models generally provide reliable results when applied to simulate river hydraulics and morphodynamics upstream of the tidal influence, given the predominantly unidirectional flow conditions. Such models, however, can also be used to reproduce river hydraulics across the fluvial to marine transition zone when specific conditions occur, as during high discharge events, and the results obtained via these simple modeling tools can provide indicative trends that may guide more structured and detailed modeling of a particularly critical area. In this study, the application of a 1D model setup with hydrologic engineering centers river analysis system (HEC-RAS) for simulating the hydro-morphodynamic conditions of a distributary channel of the Po River Delta (Italy) during a flooding event that occurred in Spring 2009 is presented. The channel bathymetry and the grainsize composition was taken from field measurements, while the dimension of the plume offshore the delta was derived from a MODIS image acquired at the peak of the flood. The comparison between the numerical outcomes and the field evidence shows the reliability of the proposed 1D modeling approach in representing the delta dynamics at a large scale, as well as in showing locations where more spatially detailed studies are needed. The code was also able to adequately reproduce the channel hydro-morphodynamics and the sediment data as derived from a core sample taken a few km offshore during the flooding event of April–May 2009. Through a sensitivity analysis, it is also proven that the dimension of the river plume can influence the evolution of the prodelta, while having a rather negligible effect inland, because of the major stresses induced by the high river discharge during the flood event. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Numerical Modeling of Surface Processes)
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17 pages, 16961 KiB  
Article
2D Runout Modelling of Hillslope Debris Flows, Based on Well-Documented Events in Switzerland
by Florian Zimmermann, Brian W. McArdell, Christian Rickli and Christian Scheidl
Geosciences 2020, 10(2), 70; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10020070 - 14 Feb 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5196
Abstract
In mountain areas, mass movements, such as hillslope debris flows, pose a serious threat to people and infrastructure, although size and runout distances are often smaller than those of debris avalanches or in-channel-based processes like debris floods or debris flows. Hillslope debris-flow events [...] Read more.
In mountain areas, mass movements, such as hillslope debris flows, pose a serious threat to people and infrastructure, although size and runout distances are often smaller than those of debris avalanches or in-channel-based processes like debris floods or debris flows. Hillslope debris-flow events can be regarded as a unique process that generally can be observed at steep slopes. The delimitation of endangered areas and the implementation of protective measures are therefore an important instrument within the framework of a risk analysis, especially in the densely populated area of the alpine region. Here, two-dimensional runout prediction methods are helpful tools in estimating possible travel lengths and affected areas. However, not many studies focus on 2D runout estimations specifically for hillslope debris-flow processes. Based on data from 19 well-documented hillslope debris-flow events in Switzerland, we performed a systematic evaluation of runout simulations conducted with the software Rapid Mass Movement Simulation: Debris Flow (RAMMS DF)—a program originally developed for runout estimation of debris flows and snow avalanches. RAMMS offers the possibility to use a conventional Voellmy-type shear stress approach to describe the flow resistance as well as to consider cohesive interaction as it occurs in the core of dense flows with low shear rates, like we also expect for hillslope debris-flow processes. The results of our study show a correlation between the back-calculated dry Coulomb friction parameters and the percentage of clay content of the mobilised soils. Considering cohesive interaction, the performance of all simulations was improved in terms of reducing the overestimation of the observed deposition areas. However, the results also indicate that the parameter which accounts for cohesive interaction can neither be related to soil physical properties nor to different saturation conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Numerical Modeling of Surface Processes)
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15 pages, 7005 KiB  
Article
Scale-Optimized Surface Roughness for Topographic Analysis
by John B. Lindsay, Daniel R. Newman and Anthony Francioni
Geosciences 2019, 9(7), 322; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9070322 - 22 Jul 2019
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 8761
Abstract
Surface roughness is a terrain parameter that has been widely applied to the study of geomorphological processes. One of the main challenges in studying roughness is its highly scale-dependent nature. Determining appropriate mapping scales in topographically heterogenous landscapes can be difficult. A method [...] Read more.
Surface roughness is a terrain parameter that has been widely applied to the study of geomorphological processes. One of the main challenges in studying roughness is its highly scale-dependent nature. Determining appropriate mapping scales in topographically heterogenous landscapes can be difficult. A method is presented for estimating multiscale surface roughness based on the standard deviation of surface normals. This method utilizes scale partitioning and integral image processing to isolate scales of surface complexity. The computational efficiency of the method enables high scale sampling density and identification of maximum roughness for each grid cell in a digital elevation model (DEM). The approach was applied to a 0.5 m resolution LiDAR DEM of a 210 km2 area near Brantford, Canada. The case study demonstrated substantial heterogeneity in roughness properties. At shorter scales, tillage patterns and other micro-topography associated with ground beneath forest cover dominated roughness scale signatures. Extensive agricultural land-use resulted in 35.6% of the site exhibiting maximum roughness at micro-topographic scales. At larger spatial scales, rolling morainal topography and fluvial landforms, including incised channels and meander cut banks, were associated with maximum surface roughness. This method allowed for roughness mapping at spatial scales that are locally adapted to the topographic context of each individual grid cell within a DEM. Furthermore, the analysis revealed significant differences in roughness characteristics among soil texture categories, demonstrating the practical utility of locally adaptive, scale-optimized roughness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Numerical Modeling of Surface Processes)
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