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From CSDMS
CSDMS 2026: Modeling Landscapes in Motion
River morphodynamic modelling across scales using BASEMENT software
Abstract
River morphodynamic processes shape the landscape and are relevant for their characteristics. The modelling of such processes allows for analyzing and predicting trajectories in landscape evolution. The BASEMENT software is a versatile tool for the numerical modelling of various river morphodynamic processes from catchment to reach scale. The available 1D and 2D models are based on the Saint-Venant-Exner equations for transient flow including bed and suspended load, i.e. transport of coarse and fine sediments. Implemented numerical schemes for solving the governing equations are best choice for alpine conditions and efficiency is employed by parallelization for multi-core CPU and GPU. The software has an intuitive user interface that simplifies the setting up of models and comes along with comprehensive documentation. BASEMENT is available for free and is in transition to open source software. The clinic includes a short introduction to the theoretical background of the models and demonstrates how to setup hydro and morphodynamic simulations that can be run straight away. For the case of the 1D model, a local river widening is considered where all states of gradually varied flow including flow transition may occur during bed level evolution until the situation reaches its dynamic equilibrium state. The case study follows a conceptual approach following best practice in application to ensure robust model setup and to avoid pitfalls.
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