NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF LONGITUDINAL CHANNEL PROFILE EVOLUTION ALONG HIGHLAND CREEK, ONTARIO

A deterministic computational simulation of longitudinal channel profile evolution has been developed using MATLAB. Mass movement and fluvial sediment transport act iteratively upon spaced points of initially attributed elevations from drainage divide to base level. The model is applied to simulate Holocene long profile evolution in Highland Creek, Ontario. Beginning with a deduced post-glacial topography and stratigraphy, calibration has been performed to minimize differences between the predicted long profile and those observed in digital elevation datasets. Based on this retrodictive parameterization, the model is used in a series of what-if scenarios to evaluate the impacts of anthropogenic land use change and climate change on channel long profile, denudation rates, sediment yield, and stream power in Highland Creek.