Development and Validation of GSTAR-M, Generalized Sediment Transport for Alluvial Rivers - Meandering Rivers

GSTAR-M (Generalized Sediment Transport for Alluvial Rivers — Meandering Rivers) is computer model that simulates the bed topography and flow field in curved channels with a erodible bed. In each time step, GSTAR-M first calculates the flow field based on the standard step method or normal depth method. It then computes the channel bank erosion rate based on the minimization method of Randle or the linearization analyses of Johannesson and Parker. Finally the channel alignment is updated using the erosion rate, and channel cutoffs are simulated if defined criteria are met. The model can be used to predict the channel migration in meandering rivers. GSTAR-M is applied to a reach of the Rio Grande in New Mexico from 2002 to 2006. The aerial photos are used to verify the results. The application demonstrates the capabilities of the model in solving practical river engineering problems.