The consistent use of parameters and symbols for parameters is summarized in a notation table stating symbols, associated parameter definitions, and parameter units. Table 1 and Table 2 list Latin and Greek letters (symbols) used in this eBook.
Table 1:Latin letters (symbols) and parameters used in this eBook (in alphabetical order).
Letter | Unit | Description |
|---|---|---|
m | flow cross section | |
m | channel width at the water surface | |
m | channel bottom width | |
m | mean flow width | |
Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy (CFL) condition | ||
g m | fine material equilibrium near-bed concentration (cf. Suspended Load Formulae) | |
drag coefficient (cf. Equation (4)) | ||
skin friction coefficient (Equation (11)) | ||
g m | fine material concentration (cf. Equation (3)) | |
convergence constant (cf. Equation (2)) | ||
index | combined habitat suitability index | |
m/s | diffusion coefficient (or diffusivity) | |
m | mean grain diameter of a sediment mixture | |
m | grain diameter of which ~ of the mixture are finer | |
m | dimensionless grain diameter (cf. Equation (5) and Shields parameter) | |
Darcy-Weisbach friction factor | ||
Einstein-Brown (EB) factor (Equation (4)) | ||
factor in the Engelund and Hansen bedload equation (7) | ||
friction correction factor for bed shear stress (Equation (10)) | ||
Meyer-Peter and Müller (MPM) factor (Equation (2)) | ||
m s | gravitational acceleration | |
index | habitat suitability index | |
m | water depth | |
or | level one scalar iterator (1d space) | |
or | level two scalar iterator (2d space) | |
| level three scalar iterator (3d space) | |
m s or J kg | ||
m s | Strickler roughness coefficient (fictive units) | |
kg m s | Partheniades (1965) erosion constant (cf. Equation (6)) | |
channel bank slope | ||
target value of a matrix iterator | ||
target value of a scalar iterator | ||
m s | Manning’s roughness coefficient (fictive units) | |
m | wetted perimeter | |
probability | ||
(also or ) | m s | discharge (water), fluxes, or volume flow rate |
m s | unit discharge | |
kg s | bed load transport (capacity) | |
kg s | dimensionless bed load transport (capacity) | |
kg s m | unit bedload transport (capacity) | |
kg s m | slope-corrected unit bedload transport (capacity) | |
m s | bank-full discharge | |
kg s m | unit sediment transport capacity | |
kg s m | unit suspended deposition flux (Equation (3)) | |
kg s m | unit suspended erosion flux (Equation (6)) | |
Reynolds number | ||
m | hydraulic radius | |
slope | ||
channel slope | ||
energy slope | ||
ratio of sediment grain and water density | ||
years | recurrence interval | |
s | time, duration | |
or or | m s | flow velocity in , , and directions, respectively |
(bold) | m s | flow velocity vector (multidimensional) |
m s | shear velocity | |
m s | critical shear velocity for mud deposition (cf. Equation (3)) | |
m s | settling velocity (cf. Equation (4)) | |
m a.s.l. | water surface elevation (absolute) | |
m | streamwise coordinate pointing in the upstream direction, or Easting of geodata | |
m | spanwise coordinate pointing toward the right bank, or Northing of geodata | |
m | vertical coordinate pointing against the gravity acceleration vector | |
m or m a.s.l. | riverbed elevation pointing against the gravity acceleration vector |
Table 2:Greek letters (symbols) and parameters used in this eBook (in alphabetical order).
Letter | Unit | Description |
|---|---|---|
rad or deg | angle between the longitudinal channel () axis and a mass transport vector | |
empiric bedload intensity correction factor (e.g., in Gaia) | ||
s or years | time period (duration) or timestep length | |
m | horizontal distance or cell size in -direction | |
m | spanwise distance or cell size in -direction | |
m | difference in height or cell size in -direction | |
porosity | ||
var. | absolute error between two quantities (see Equation (1)) | |
m | active layer thickness | |
Kolmogorov length scale | ||
Kolmogorov time scale | ||
Kolmogorov velocity scale | ||
operator vector (nabla) of partial differentials where refers to the dimensions of the flow field Kundu & Cohen, 2008 | ||
= | kg m s | dynamic viscosity |
= | m s | kinematic viscosity |
dimensionless Sediment transport | ||
dimensionless Bedload transport | ||
variable | constant of a transported particle (substance) | |
kg m | sediment grain density | |
kg m | density of water | |
N m | bed shear stress | |
N m | Critical dimensional bed shear stress (cf. Equation (6)) | |
Critical Dimensionless bed shear stress or Shields parameter |
- Partheniades, E. (1965). Erosion and Deposition of Cohesive Soils. Journal of the Hydraulics Division, 91(1), 105–139. https://cedb.asce.org/CEDBsearch/record.jsp?dockey=0013640
- Kundu, P. K., & Cohen, I. M. (2008). Fluid Mechanics (4th ed.). Elsevier Inc.