The influence of transverse slope effects on large scale morphology in morphodynamic models

Abstract

Large-scale morphology is greatly affected by the amount of downslope sediment transport on slopes transverse to the main flow direction, which determines bar length and bifurcation dynamics. Consequently, the transverse slope parameter is a crucial part of morphodynamic models. However, existing models have the tendency to overpredict channel depth and braiding index, and therefore slope effects are often increased when calibrating on existing morphology. The objective of this study is to identify possible causes of the overdeepening of channels in the morphodynamic model Delft3D, and to show how different slope effect parameterisations affect morphology in rivers and estuaries. Results show that the two methods to calculate transverse sediment transport in Delft3D have a significantly different effect on the predicted morphology and this effect is larger for environments with a large braiding index, in combination with the sediment transport predictor of Engelund-Hansen. Results furthermore imply that even when models are initially calibrated on existing morphology, results could significantly differ downstream when calibrated with a different choice of transverse slope option.