Hyporheic Exchange Flow Paths
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(patience, it loads slowly)
This demo uses Java. If your computer doesn't have it you can download it here.
This demo was created with NetLogo.
What does this demonstration show?
- This shows a 2D simple case of hyporheic exchange.
- Bedforms are represented by a simple sine curve.
- Water particles are represented by the blue circles and their paths are recorded by blue lines (when show-paths is selected).
- Particles are released at the sand and water interface in a flux weighted manner.
- Finally the particles flow through the hyporheic zone (sand) using velocities calculated from the surface topography of the system (in this case the sine curve).
- You can try varying the amplitude (height) of the sine curve to view the effects on the path of the water.
Things to notice as you play
(for those inexperienced with hyporheic exchange)- Water flows to the right and to the left, meaning that some water flows upstream under the sand.
- Particles with deeper flow paths take longer to get back to the surface, giving these particles larger residence times.
- Particles enter the hyporheic zone in some areas and leave in others. The largest amount of particles enter close to the beginning of the sine curve (X=0, λ, 2λ, etc.., where λ represents the wavelength of the sine curve).
- Particles flow more slowly the deeper they are in the system and speed back up as they approach the surface.