2021 CSDMS meeting-068

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Coupling glacial and fluvial erosion models to simulate sediment dynamics

Sarah Schanz, Colorado College Colorado Springs Colorado, United States. sschanz@coloradocollege.edu
Brian Yanites, Indiana University Bloomington Indiana, United States. byanites@iu.edu



Glacially-derived debris often blankets alpine streams, yet few models have explicitly linked sediment supply and transport between glacial and fluvial systems. Here, we combine a 1-D river-incision model with a quarrying-dominated glacial erosion model. We link sediment production and supply between the two systems, and include a valley width variable that allows glaciers to widen valleys and temporarily store glacially-derived sediment within those valleys. A lateral erosion factor in the fluvial model re-incorporates this sediment, which is transported using a modified Meyer-Peter and Mueller equation and incorporated into bedrock erosion through a cover effect. We calibrated this model using the DAKOTA calibration software to Holocene glaciated alpine rivers in North America and are able to match observed topography within an acceptable Χ^2 fit of <2.

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