The Riemann problem for the shallow water equations with discontinuous topography (Q2477139)

The authors construct the solution of the Riemann problem for the nonlinear shallow water equations with discontinuous topography, in one space dimension. By adding a third equation, that corresponds to a fixed geometry, the system under consideration can be viewed as a non-strictly hyperbolic system of balance laws with a linearly degenerate characteristic field. Then the system does not admit a fully conservative form and the authors establish the existence of two-parameter wave sets, rather than wave curves. The lack of strict hyperbolicity and the non-conservative form of the equations make the selection of admissible waves particularly challenging. Waves in the same characteristic field may be repeated in a single Riemann solution and the Riemann problem may not always have a solution. The authors' construction is fully explicit, and leads to formulas that can be implemented numerically for the approximation of the general initial-value problem.