A River Simulation

Introduction

Below is a simulation of a river system that is affected by a rain storm. As the rain storm progresses, the simulation computes water levels on the land in real-time. The darker the blue, the deeper the water. The water level will also rise and fall. A spring is a continous source of water in the right fork of the river.

We only have one canned example in the list but there could be many more. We also plan to provide interactive controls as well.

The computation is independent of the landscape, so that other landscapes including real landscapes from the US Geological Surveys could be displayed and observed. A cellular automata written in Java is running the simulation and has been designed to be extended to different models including mudslides, crop models, ground water studies, meteorological models etc.

How to use

  1. Click on Run to begin the simulation. (There is currently a problem with loading a file the first time, so click on stop after a few seconds and click on run to restart).
  2. Select the River Bed from the viewpoint List while the simulation is running. You should hear and see rainfall.
  3. You are free to navigate throughout the riverbed while the simulation is running.
  4. Background music is provided for your listening pleasure.