Rock erodibility in a digital world: Advancing the state of the art using high‐resolution remote sensing technology and digital rock mass generation

Abstract Rock erodibility is a critical issue for dams, spillways, and other water conveyance structures that can lead to costly damage or even loss of life in the event of a structure failure. Scour of rock is a complex process that can evolve over 3D space and time. Inherent variability in geologic and hydraulic conditions can make reliable scour prediction difficult such that historically, research and scour assessment tools have focused on simplified, idealized situations. This makes extension to more complex, site‐specific conditions difficult. The rapidly expanding field of remote sensing technology (such as lidar, photogrammetry/structure from motion (SfM), multibeam sonar, and even video) in addition to the use of 3D digitally generated rock mass models has permitted the most detailed view to date into the site‐specific characteristics of rock scour and provides the promise of improved state‐of‐the‐art scour prediction models.