A multi-disciplinary project for modeling clastic sedimentation occurring in basins over geologic time scales is planned. The model includes the dynamic deposition and entrainment of sediments in an arbitrary three-dimensional region. The governing equations are the full three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations coupled with a parabolic transport equation for each species of sediment. The computational domain is composed of two free surfaces, an air-water interface and a water bed interface, as well as artificially imposed boundaries that limit computation to the region of interest. Among the computation difficults are handling of the free surfaces, the very large geologic time scales, and the treatment of turbulence. The complexity of the system necessitates development of parallel algorithms for the solution of the model equations. The research team includes Professors M.J. Wheeler and B.Ramaswamy of Rice University and Professor R. Glowinski of the University of Houston and hydrologists from Texaco Corporation.
