2025 CSDMS meeting-129
From CSDMS
(if you haven't already)
Log in (or create account for non-CSDMS members)
Forgot username? Search or email:CSDMSweb@colorado.edu
Browse abstracts
First Application of AeoLiS to Fluvial-Aeolian Systems
Madeline Kelley,
USGS Golden Colorado, United States. mmkelley@usgs.gov
Joel Swankey, USGS Flagstaff Arizona, United States.
Alan Kasprak, US EPA Corvallis Oregon, United States.
Amy East, USGS Santa Cruz California, United States.
Aeolian sediment transport in river corridors remains an underexplored process despite its significant implications for landscape evolution, ecosystem management, and cultural resource preservation. Therefore, predictive tools for forecasting and hindcasting aeolian transport dynamics can improve the management of these resources. While progress has been made in numerical models capturing aeolian dynamics in coastal environments, their application to fluvial-aeolian interactions has been limited. In this study, we adapt the AeoLiS coastal aeolian model to a dryland river corridor, where wind-driven sediment transport is closely linked to sandbar dynamics. We apply AeoLiS to a fluvial sandbar along the Colorado River corridor, through Grand Canyon National Park, where sediment exchange between fluvial sandbars and adjacent aeolian dunes is influenced by regulated flow regimes, climatic forcing, and vegetation dynamics. Using 7.5 months of field data—including meteorological measurements, river gauge records, sediment traps, and topographic surveys—we parameterize and validate the model. We compare observed and modeled estimates of topographic change and aeolian sediment flux at a sandbar-dune complex to assess model performance. Our findings demonstrate that AeoLiS effectively simulates aeolian transport dynamics in this setting, supporting its broader applicability beyond coastal systems. This research advances understanding of coupled fluvial-aeolian geomorphic processes and highlights the potential for modeling to inform management strategies in dynamic sedimentary systems.
