Hyperscale Modelling of Braided Rivers: linking morphology, sedimentology and sediment transport

James Brasington
2015
Hyperscale Modelling of Braided Rivers: linking morphology, sedimentology and sediment transport
This is a Full Scientific Report resulting from NERC Geophysical Equipment Facility Loan 892, principal investigator Prof James Brasington.

Abstract

A time-series of very high resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) of a braided reach of the Rees River, NZ were derived from a novel combination of mobile terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and image analysis of non-metric aerial photography. In total 10 DEMs were generated from surveys undertaken between October 2009 and May 2010 and used to quantify the 3D morphodynamics of the Rees River. The surveys involved between 86-356 individual laser scans that were acquired using a Leica HDS6100 high-frequency TLS while the braidplain was exposed at low flow. Scans were co-registered and georeferenced using a mobile network of targets positioned using RTK GPS. The unified point clouds incorporated over 4 x 109 raw 3D observations, with a median point density of 1600 pts m-2. Continuous topographic models of the braidplain were generated by fusing these data with empirical-optical depth maps of submerged areas of the reach, derived from calibrated, geo-referenced, helicopter aerial photography. DEMs and derived products were extracted from this combined product at resolutions ranging from 0.1-1 m resolutions, providing unparalleled information on the morphology, sedimentology and dynamics of braided rivers.

Full Report

PDF Hyperscale Modelling of Braided Rivers: linking morphology, sedimentology and sediment transport (2.1 Mb)
Cite as:
Brasington, J., "Hyperscale Modelling of Braided Rivers: linking morphology, sedimentology and sediment transport", NERC Geophysical Equipment Facility, Scientific Report 892, 2015

Selected external publications resulting from this GEF loan

  1. Williams, R.D., Rennie, C.D., Brasington, J., Hicks, D.M. and Vericat, D., 2015, Linking the spatial distribution of bed load transport to morphological change during high-flow events in a shallow braided river, Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface, 120(3), pp604-622, doi: 10.1002/2014JF003346
  2. Cook, S.J., Quincey, D.J. and Brasington, J., 2014, Geomorphology of the Rees Valley, Otago, NZ, Journal of Maps, 10(1), pp136-150
  3. Williams, R.D., Brasington, J., Vericat, D. and Hicks, D.M., 2014, Hyperscale terrain modelling of braided rivers: fusing mobile terrestrial laser scanning and optical bathymetric mapping, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 39(2), pp167-183, doi: 10.1002/esp.3437
  4. Williams, R.D., 2014, Two-dimensional numerical modelling of natural braided river morphodynamics, Aberystwyth University, PhD Thesis
  5. Redolfi, M., Tubino, M., Bertoldi, W. and Brasington, J., 2016, Analysis of reach-scale elevation distribution in braided rivers: Definition of a new morphologic indicator and estimation of mean quantities, Water Resources Research, 52(8), p5951-5970, doi: 10.1002/2015WR017918
  6. Williams, R.D., Brasington, J. and Hicks, D.M., 2016, Numerical modelling of braided river morphodynamics: review and future challenges, Geography Compass, 10(3), p102-127, doi: 10.1111/gec3.12260
  7. Williams, R.D., Measures, R., Hicks, D.M. and Brasington, J., 2016, Assessment of a numerical model to reproduce event-scale erosion and deposition distributions in a braided river10.1016/j.epsl.2016.08.031, Water Resources Research, 52, p6621-6642, doi: 10.1002/2015WR018491
  8. Williams, R.D., Measures, R., Hicks, D.M. and Brasington, J., 2016, Assessment of a numerical model to reproduce event-scale erosion and deposition distributions in a braided river, Water Resources Research, 52(8), p6621-6642, doi: 10.1002/2015WR018491
  9. Williams, R.D., Brasington, J., Hicks, M., Measures, R., Rennie, C.D. and Vericat, D., 2013, Hydraulic validation of two-dimensional simulations of braided river flow with spatially continuous aDcp data, Water Resources Research, 49, pp5183-5205, doi: 10.1002/wrcr.20391
  10. Brasington, J., Vericat, D. and Rychkov, I., 2012, Modeling river bed morphology, roughness, and surface sedimentology using high resolution terrestrial laser scanning, Water Resources Research, 48, W11519, doi: 10.1029/2012WR012223
  11. Rychkov, I., Brasington, J. and Vericat, D., 2012, Computational and methodological aspects of terrestrial surface analysis based on point clouds, Computers and Geosciences, 42, pp64-70, doi: 10.1016/j.cageo.2012.02.011
Back Back to the list of GEF reports