Reduced-complexity modeling of braided rivers: Assessing model performance by sensitivity analysis, calibration, and validation

This paper addresses an important question of modeling stream dynamics: How may numerical models of braided stream morphodynamics be rigorously and objectively evaluated against a real case study? Using simulations from the Cellular Automaton Evolutionary Slope and River (CAESAR) reduced-complexity model (RCM) of a 33 km reach of a large gravel bed river (the Tagliamento River, Italy), this paper aims to (i) identify a sound strategy for calibration and validation of RCMs, (ii) investigate the effectiveness of multiperformance model assessments, (iii) assess the potential of using CAESAR at mesospatial and mesotemporal scales. The approach used has three main steps: first sensitivity analysis (using a screening method and a variance-based method), then calibration, and finally validation. This approach allowed us to analyze 12 input factors initially and then to focus calibration only on the factors identified as most important. Sensitivity analysis and calibration were performed on a 7.5 km subreach, using a hydrological time series of 20 months, while validation on the whole 33 km study reach over a period of 8 years (2001-2009). CAESAR was able to reproduce the macromorphological changes of the study reach and gave good results as for annual bed load sediment estimates which turned out to be consistent with measurements in other large gravel bed rivers but showed a poorer performance in reproducing the characteristics of the braided channel (e.g., braiding intensity). The approach developed in this study can be effectively applied in other similar RCM contexts, allowing the use of RCMs not only in an explorative manner but also in obtaining quantitative results and scenarios.