Calibration of GSTAR-M (Generalized Sediment Transport for Alluvial Rivers - Meandering Rivers) to the Sacramento River

Active river meandering is often necessary for healthy in-stream and riparian habitats. However, the ability to predict meander rates is not well understood and few tools for the simulation of river meandering exist. To assess the predictive capability of river meander modeling, GSTAR-M was used to simulate river meandering on the Sacramento River between Red Bluff and Colusa, CA. Additional model description and verification are submitted in a companion paper. GSTAR-M was calibrated to the Sacramento River by adjusting bank erosion coefficients so that the change in channel centerline matched the historical change for the period of 1976 to 1999. The results of the calibration were compared to existing bank mapping data, which was provided by the California Department of Water Resources. A correlation between bank erosion coefficients and bank mapping parameters was not yet established. Once established, resulting correlations will be used to predict channel meandering and alignment in response to proposed in-channel flows and floodplain land use.