CLiDE version 1.0 user guide

The Dynamic Environmental Sensitivity to Change (DESC) project coupled cellular automaton (CA) modelling from various backgrounds and produced the CAESAR-Lisflood-DESC (CLiDE) modelling platform: a geomorphological simulator that allows a variety of Earth system interactions to be explored. A derived version of the well established Cellular Automaton Evolutionary Slope and River (CAESAR) model (Coulthard and Van De Wiel, 2006), CAESAR-Lisflood, which incorporates the Lisflood hydrodymanic model (Coulthard et al., 2013) to simulate channel and overbank flow, is used as the platform kernel. The two dimensional modular design allows great versatility in the range of simulated spatio-temporal scales to which it can be applied. CAESAR has been used to investigate a variety of sediment transport, erosional and depositional processes under differing climatic and land use pressures in river reaches and catchments (Hancock et at., 2011). The recent addition of Lisflood to the code improves the representation of surface water flow within the model by incorporating momentum. However, as with many landscape evolution models (LEMs), CAESAR over-simplifies the representation of some of the hydrological processes and interactions that drive sediment transport. Specifically, it does not simulate groundwater flow and its discharge to rivers. To address these limitations, the non-Lisflood controlled surface hydrological processes within the CLiDE platform are replaced with a bespoke distributed hydrological model that includes a groundwater model. This hydrological model partitions rainfall between surface run-off and recharge to groundwater using a soil water balance model, which is applied at each grid cell. To simulate groundwater flow to river channels we incorporate a single layer finite difference model into the code. This solves the governing partial differential groundwater flow equation using a forward time-stepping, or explicit, solution method (Wang and Anderson, 1982), which can be considered as a cellular automaton (CA) model (Ravazzani et al., 2011). The groundwater model is coupled to the surface model through the exchange of recharge and baseflow. In addition to the hydrological modifications, a debris flow component has been added to the platform. The triggering aspect of this component is linked to simulated groundwater levels

The potential impact of green agendas on historic river landscapes : numerical modelling of multiple weir removal in the Derwent Valley Mills world heritage site, UK

The exploitation of river systems for power and navigation has commonly been achieved through the installation of a variety of in-channel obstacles of which weirs in Britain are amongst the most common. In the UK, the historic value of many of these features is recognised by planning designations and protection more commonly associated with historic buildings and other major monuments. Their construction, particularly in the north and west of Britain, has often been associated with industries such as textiles, chemicals, and mining, which have polluted waterways with heavy metals and other contaminants. The construction of weirs altered local channel gradients resulting in sedimentation upstream with the potential as well for elevated levels of contamination in sediments deposited there. For centuries these weirs have remained largely undisturbed, but as a result of the growth in hydropower and the drive to improve water quality under the European Union's Water Framework Directive, these structures are under increasing pressure to be modified or removed altogether. At present, weir modifications appear to be considered largely on an individual basis, with little focus on the wider impacts this might have on valley floor environments. Using a numerical modelling approach, this paper simulates the removal of major weirs along a 24-km stretch of the river Derwent, Derbyshire, UK, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The results suggest that although removal would not result in significant changes to the valley morphology, localised erosion would occur upstream of structures as the river readjusts its base level to new boundary conditions. Modelling indicates that sediment would also be evacuated away from the study area. In the context of the Derwent valley, this raises the potential for the remobilisation of contaminants (legacy sediments) within the wider floodplain system, which could have detrimental, long-term health and environmental implications for the river system. Worldwide, rivers have a common association with industry – being the focus of settlement and development since the earliest civilisations with channel engineering a common practice. Therefore, the conceptual issues raised by this study have global resonance and are particularly important where heritage protection is less robust and structures can be removed with little consideration of the environmental consequences

Long-term landscape trajectory - Can we make predictions about landscape form and function for post-mining landforms?

A significant issue for the application of numerical Landscape Evolution Models (LEMs) is their calibration/parameterisation and validation. LEMs are now at the stage of development where if calibrated, they can provide meaningful and useful results. However, before use, each LEM requires a set of data and parameter values for it to run reliably and most importantly produce results with some measure of precision and accuracy. This calibration/validation process is largely carried out using parameter values determined from present day, or recent surface conditions which are themselves product of much longer-term geology-soil-climate-vegetation interactions. Here we examine the reliability of an LEM to predict catchment form over geological time (500,000 years) for a potential rehabilitated mine landform using defensible parameters derived from field plots. The findings demonstrate that there is no equifinality in landscape form with different parameter sets producing geomorphically and hydrologically unique landscapes throughout their entire evolution. This shows that parameterisation does matter over geological time scales. However, for shorter time scales (< 10,000 years) the geomorphic differences in hillslope form are minimal as described by the hypsometric curve, area–slope and cumulative area distribution, yet there are large differences in sediment output. Therefore, obtaining reliable and defensible parameters for input to LEMs is essential

Modelling upland catchment response to Holocene environmental change

Available from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DX213147 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Testing a cellular modelling approach to simulating late-Holocene sediment and water transfer from catchment to lake in the French Alps since 1826

This paper describes the application of a hydrogeomorphological numerical model (CAESAR) to simulate, at hourly time steps, changes in the hydrological and sediment regime of the Petit lac d’Annecy catchment. The outputs of the model were validated in three ways. In the short term (~5 years), water discharge outputs were compared against observed instrumental data. Over the longer term, modelled sediment discharge (AD 1825–2005) was compared with proxies for detrital sediment influx (environmental magnetism) and accumulation rates discerned from a 210Pb chronology for the lake sediments.Finally, spatial validation of the modelled erosion and deposition of sediment was undertaken by comparison with a field and remotely sensed survey of catchment geomorphology. The results suggest that while minor perturbations in forest cover during the last 180 years have partially conditioned the response of the sediment system, the bulk of modelled sediment discharge and particularly the peaks in sediment discharge were controlled by flood duration and magnitude, which in turn is driven by precipitation (storms/floods) and snowmelt. Basin geometry and geomorphology of each sub-catchment (Ire and Tamie) were also important in producing differences in the modelled sediment discharge. In essence, these differences were a function of sediment accommodation space and the ability of each system to store and release sediments. Modelled sediment discharge and χpara (lake sediments) display similar histories, and thus are both interpreted as reflecting variations in detrital sediment supply. Intriguingly the style of modelled sediment discharge from the Ire, a confined mountain torrent, displays a greater similarity to and perhaps dominates the lake sediment record. These results provide partial validation of the CAESAR model and indicate that perhaps in the future it may be used as an exploratory and predictive tool in determining the impact of changes in climate, meteorology and land use on lake-catchment systems

The development of land quality indicators for soil degradation by water erosion

International audienc

The development of land quality indicators for soil degradation by water erosion

International audienc

The recent history of hydro-geomorphological processes in the upper Hangbu river system, Anhui Province, China

This paper describes 20th century climate and human impacts on terrestrial and fluvial systems in the Dabie Mountains, Anhui Province, China, based on analyses of four types of information. Analyses of particle size,mineral magnetism, organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in a sediment core taken from the Longhekou reservoir, built in 1958 AD in the upper reaches of Hangbu River, provide an ?45 year record of fluvial responses, while monitored meteorological and hydrological data provide records of climate and river discharge. Census data compiled for the local Shucheng County provide records of population and land use,complemented with analyses of satellite images. The Xiaotian river delivers over 65% of the total water and silt to the reservoir. Analyses indicate that the fluvial regime tracks the monsoon climate over seasonal timescales, but human activities have a strongly mediating effect on sediment supply, sediment delivery and, to a lesser extent, runoff over longer timescales. Notable periods of human impact on erosion include the Great Leap Forward (1958–1960) and Great Cultural Revolution (1966–1976). A rising trend in precipitation and new land use changes at the present time may be leading to an enhanced flood risk