Formalizing computational river networks

Abstract We present a simple framework, called computational network, for formalizing river networks to provide a computer-based solution to problems of simulating concentrations of water quality constituents in river networks. The method was applied on a river network in Beijing-Tianjin area. The framework is developed by an object-oriented approach integrating the modelling of the static structure of river networks with that of the dynamic behavior of water quality constituents in them. Similar to artificial neural networks, computational networks can be used for learning, problem solving and controlling.