River bed profile evolution subject to stochastic forcing by migrating tributaries

Details

Supervisors

Capart, Hervé ; Massart, Estelle

Faculty

Ecole polytechnique de Louvain

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur civil en mathématiques appliquées, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

In steep valleys of mountainous regions, civil infrastructures are threatened by changes in the river bed elevation due to rainfall and landslides. The objective of this thesis is to propose a new model of the evolution of the river bed elevation. The elevation changes are modeled with a diffusion equation having a stochastic source term representing the sediment load from tributaries. The migration of the tributaries is represented as a random walk and its properties are derived. To account for rainfall variability, the model is modulated by a hydrologic time. An analytical and a numerical solution are derived for this model. Model calibration is performed using rainfall data and aerial images for the hydrologic time and the parameters of the migrating source.