A practical Lagrangian transport model

An unconditionally stable and practical transport model for use in upland streams and rivers has been developed and verified. Basing the model on the Lagrangian, rather than the Eulerian, reference frame greatly reduces the numerical problems associated with solving the advective terms of the convective-diffusion equation. The model contains almost no numerical dispersion, is conceptually simple, and is relatively easy to code. Model results closely simulated dye concentrations measured in the Chattahoochee River near Atlanta, Ga. under highly unsteady flow conditions.