Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers

2011 Edition
| Editors: Vijay P. Singh, Pratap Singh, Umesh K. Haritashya

Sediment Transfer Modeling

Reference work entry
First Online:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2642-2_479
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Synonyms

Sediment transport modeling

Definition

Simulation of rates of suspended-sediment transport in glacial meltwaters, by statistical or physical methods.

Introduction

Models of suspended-sediment transfer in glacially fed rivers have been developed in order to forecast sediment yields for engineering purposes (e.g., Bezinge et al., 1989; Bogen, 1989), to predict erosion rates for geomorphological purposes (e.g., Swift et al., 2002, 2005), to investigate fluvial processes (e.g., Church and Gilbert, 1975; Gurnell and Fenn, 1984), and to identify and interpret seasonal changes in suspended-sediment transfer from glacierized catchments (e.g., Gurnell et al., 1992, 1994; Hodgkins, 1996). Although sophisticated, computational fluid dynamics approaches are well established in hydraulic engineering, the modeling of sediment transfer in glacial environments is typically restricted by the perennial difficulties of acquiring continuous, high-quality hydrometric and sediment transport data...

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© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of GeographyLoughborough UniversityLeicestershireUK