River dune predictions: Comparison between a parameterized dune model and a cellular automation dune model

River dunes are of great importance for the determination of water levels, especially during flood events. They have a large influence on the hydraulic roughness and thereby on water levels. In addition, dune formation could affect the navigability of rivers and propagation of dunes could uncover pipelines or other constructions beneath the river bed. That is why many have tried and are still trying to model dimensions and propagation of dunes under various conditions (e.g. Van Rijn, 1984; Nabi et al., 2013). Because fast calculations are essential during an upcoming flood event, there is a need for fast model predictions. The focus of this research is on a parameterized dune model (Paarlberg et al., 2009) and the cellular automaton dune model (CA model) HR Wallingford is experimenting with (Knaapen et al., 2013). Both models are relatively fast in their calculations they do however, have a fundamentally different approach to predict river dunes. This research reveals the performance of these two models tested under various conditions.
The objective of this research is to compare the performance of the cellular automaton dune model and the parameterized dune model for the prediction of dune dimensions, migration rates and sediment transport in equilibrium state, under flume conditions, similar to low-land river situations like the River Rhine (the Netherlands).