Toward accelerating fluvial morphodynamic simulations through a speed accuracy trade-off assessment.

Area of Science:

• Earth Science
• Geomorphology
• Computational Hydrology

Background:

• Physics-based models are vital for fluvial morphodynamics.
• Long-term river system analysis is hindered by computational demands.
• Existing models are often limited to shorter temporal scales.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate and combine morphological acceleration factor (morfac) and condensed hydrographs for efficient fluvial modeling.
• To reduce computational burden in decadal to centennial-scale river system simulations.
• To provide practical guidance for applying these techniques in operational frameworks.

Main Methods:

• Applied morphological acceleration factor (morfac) to scale sediment transport rates.
• Utilized condensed hydrograph inputs focusing on dominant runoff events.
• Calibrated and integrated both techniques for fluvial environments.

Main Results:

• Morfac values up to 20 enhanced model efficiency without performance loss; higher values degraded performance.
• Condensed hydrographs further improved performance by focusing on key geomorphic events.
• Combined techniques achieved over 98.8% reduction in computational runtime.

Conclusions:

• Morfac and condensed hydrographs are effective for accelerating fluvial morphodynamic simulations.
• The combined approach enables feasible long-term geomorphic change analysis.
• This research advances the operational utility of numerical models for river systems.