The Channel-Hillslope Integrated Landscape Development (CHILD) Model

The Channel-Hillslope Integrated Landscape Development (CHILD) model is a flexible computational framework for geomorphic modeling. The topography is represented by a Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) that can be generated from digital elevation models (DEMs). Size of the TIN mesh can be varied depending on the processes of interest and desired resolution. Landscape processes that CHILD simulates are:

  • Soil detachment and sediment transport capacity as a function of overland flow;
  • Hillslope transport by soil creep;
  • Bedrock weathering;
  • Transport and sorting of multiple grain-size fractions;
  • Loess and floodplain overbank deposition;
  • Stream meander;
  • 1-D Representation of vertical soil (or rock) stratification with varying erodibility and grain size composition at each point;
  • Infiltration-excess and saturation-excess runoff generation;
  • A simple vegetation model where vegetation grows as a function of available space and killed by floods and landslides. In CHILD vegetation increases the critical shear stress for wash erosion;
  • Currently shallow landsliding, debris flow routing, gully erosion by sapping, plunge-pool erosion and slab failures are being added to the model.

CHILD calculates erosion and deposition, updates the elevations of the TIN mesh and calculates local slope, drainage area and profile curvature after each model iteration.

References

[1] MOGLEN, G. E. and R. L . BRAS. The effect of spatial heterogeneities of geomorphic expression in a model of basin evolution. Water Resources Research, 31(10):pages 2613–2624 (1995a).

[2] MOGLEN, G. E. and R. L . BRAS. The importance of spatially heterogeneous erosivity and the cumulative area distribution within a basin evolution model. Geomorphology, 12(3):pages 173–185 [1995b].

[3] TUCKER , G. E. and R. L . BRAS. Hillslope processes, drainage density and landscape morphology. Water Resources Research, 34(10):pages 2751–2764 (1998).

[4] TUCKER , G. E., S. T. LANCASTER, N. M. GASPARINI and R. L . BRAS. The channel-hillslope integrated landscape development model, in Landscape Erosion and Evolution Modeling. In HARMON, R. and W. W. DOE III, eds., Landscape Erosion and Evolution Modeling, chap. 12, pages 349–388. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers (2001a).

[5] TUCKER , G. E., S. T. LANCASTER, N. M. GASPARINI , R. L . BRAS and S. RYBARCZYK. An Object-Oriented Framework for Distributed Hydrologic and Geomorphic Modeling using Triangulated Irregular Networks. Computers & geosciences, 21(8):pages 959–973 (2001b).

[6] WILLGOOSE , G., R. L . BRAS and I . RODRIGUEZ-ITURBE. A Coupled Channel Network Growth and Hillslope Evolution Model: 1. Theory. Water Resources Research, 27(7):pages 1671–1684 (1991a).

[7] WILLGOOSE , G., R. L . BRAS and I . RODRIGUEZ-ITURBE. A Coupled Channel Network Growth and Hillslope Evolution Model: 2. Nondimensionalization and applications. Water Resources Research, 27(7):pages 1685–1696 (1991b).