A discrete random model describing bedrock profile abrasion

TL;DR

This paper introduces a simple discrete random model for bedrock profile abrasion that accurately predicts steady state shapes and matches laboratory results, advancing understanding of geological erosion processes.

Contribution

It presents a novel discrete, collision-based abrasion model with three key parameters that effectively simulate bedrock profile evolution.

Findings

Steady state shapes emerge robustly in the model.

Model predictions align quantitatively with laboratory experiments.

Three parameters suffice for realistic abrasion simulations.

Abstract

We use a simple, collision-based, discrete, random abrasion model to compute the profiles for the stoss faces in a bedrock abrasion process. The model is the discrete equivalent of the generalized version of a classical, collision based model of abrasion. Three control parameters (which describe the average size of the colliding objects, the expected direction of the impacts and the average volume removed from the body due to one collision) are sufficient for realistic predictions. Our computations show the robust emergence of steady state shapes, both the geometry and the time evolution of which shows good quantitative agreement with laboratory experiments.