An ANSI-standard Fortran 77 program solves the steady, two-dimensional
advection-diffusion equation describing a turbid hypopycnal plume ema
nating from a river mouth. The model solves for the extent of the plum
e as a non-dimensioned inventory of sediment mass on an axial-lateral
grid. The basis for the model is a derivation by Albertson for a two-d
imensional momentum-driven submerged jet. Particle settling is based o
n the scavenging model of Syvitski. PLUME is robust but fast enough to
handle the sedimentation beneath a river plume flowing into a coastal
sea on a daily basis. Designed for speed, the model may be run with d
aily-changing river input characteristics (flow velocity, river mouth
dimensions, sediment concentrations of up to ten grain sizes) for many
(up to thousands of) years. PLUME1.1 works with input from long-term
field observations or from climate-hydrologic simulations. The model p
rovides for an improved geological simulator of land-sea interaction a
nd the delivery of sediment onto continental margins. The model can be
used to simulate flow into both open-coast and semi-enclosed basins.
Open-coast plume simulations include the hood-dominated Eel River marg
in, Northern California, where a three-day flood event could supply mo
re sediment than the previous seven years combined. A semi-enclosed ba
sin example is from a fjord-basin from British Columbia, where model s
imulations agree well with sediment concentration observations. (C) 19
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