NUMERICAL MODELLING with Application to Landscape Evolution – Read (PDF 109KB)
Prof Jean Braun from Université Grenoble Alpes (France) presented the course on numerical modelling methods/concepts in general, and demonstrated how to solve landscape evolution problems using partial differential equations (PDEs). The course was attended by students PhD and Masters students from various university in South Africa.
Course Participants
The course outline was as follows:
- General introduction on modelling of geological processes
- Landscape evolution as an example of such a process (key questions)
- Basic equations for landscape evolution as an example of PDEs
- Spatial discretisation (triangular, rectangular and irregular meshes)
- Basic methods to solve PDEs (finite difference, finite volume, finite elements)
- Time integration, explicit vs implicit
- The need and advantages/disadvantages of solving systems of algebraic equations
Each participant had to write his/her own landscape evolution model, using his/her own laptop computer and any computing language he/she is familiar with (Matlab, R, python, C, Fortran, etc.).
