Datasets published from project space Sediment Experimentalist Network

TDB_12_1

TDB-12-1: Fan-delta experiment performed in Tulane University Delta Basin. Experiment evolved under constant forcings of water (0.17 l/s), sediment (0.00017 l/s), and sea-level rise rate 0.25 (mm/hr). Experiment run time was 1285 hr. Experiment used a strongly cohesive sediment that had a wide grain size distribution with a median diameter of 65 microns. Experiment performed to explore autogenic sediment transport and stratigraphy with topography monitored every 1 hour of run time.

Created on: Sep 19, 2020

Repository: sead-int

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Dataset: TDB_12_1

Vegetated delta experiments with high discharge

Files in this dataset are from a set of two experiments designed to investigate the co-evolution of vegetation and a delta channel network. There is one unvegetated experiment (Run 1) and one vegetated experiment (Run 2). Both experiments were conducted with a sediment mixture of 70% sand and 30% silt, and alfalfa was used for vegetation, which was distributed manually through the air. Both experiments began with a period of flood discharge to grow a sizable delta deposit, after which discharge fluctuated between a flood and interflood. Interfloods had half of the flood water discharge and no sediment input. Seeding in Run 2 occurred between the flood and interflood, such that interflood channels could rework the delta surface to remove some seeds. Plants were allowed to grow for three days with only groundwater input before the next flood cycle began. Additional details of experimental methods can be found in a paper currently in review in GRL, the citation for which will be added following publication. Experiments in the paper named High Q-np and High Q-p refer to Run 1 and Run 2, respectively. Experiments in this dataset have an order of magnitude larger water discharge than our other vegetated delta datasets, also available in SEAD. Time lapse images were collected during both floods and interfloods every 15 seconds. This dataset includes several image image types for each experiment: (1) raw unprocessed time lapse photos for all floods and interfloods; (2) binary masks of delta topsets; (3) binary masks of wetted area; and (4) binary masks of vegetation cover, only for experiments that had vegetation. The time lapse images are the original photos taken during the experiments (every 15 seconds) and have not been resized, scaled, or corrected for lens distortion. Time lapse photos were rescaled to 2 mm per pixel, corrected for lens distortion, and cropped to make the various binary masks. All binary images are therefore at a resolution of 2 mm per pixel. Time lapse images were then manually masked to the shoreline and thresholded to make the topset binary images. Other binary images were made in photoshop by thresholding the color intensities for the red (wetted area) or green (vegetation) channel. Note that 'wetted area' images capture the channelized area, but because of low dye intensity in these experiments, some areas with thin sheet flow may not have been detected as red during thresholding and therefore may not appear in the binary mask.

Created on: Sep 03, 2019

Repository: sead-int

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Dataset: Vegetated delta experiments with high discharge

Delta size and plant density experiments

Experiments were conducted to examine the effects of delta size and plant patchiness on channel network organization in river deltas. This dataset contains five experiments that were described in detail in Piliouras & Kim (2019) doi: 10.1002/esp.4492. The experiments in this dataset correlate to those in the paper labeled Runs 1-5 as follows, Run 1 = Run1_noAlfalfa; Run 2 = Run2_Alfalfa; Run3 = Run3_Alfalfa; Run 4 = Run3b_noAlfalfa; Run 5 = Run3b_Alfalfa. There are two unvegetated experiments: Run1_noAlfalfa and Run3b_noAlfalfa. The three vegetated experiments are Run2_Alfalfa, Run3_Alfalfa, and Run3b_Alfalfa. Runs 1, 2, and 3 all started with smaller deltas that were approximately 0.5 m in length, while the two Runs labeled 3b started with larger deltas that were approximately 1 m in length. Run 2 had dense uniform seeding of 1-2 seeds per square cm, while Runs 3 and 3b had sparse uniform seeding of ~0.5 seeds per square cm. Alfalfa was used for vegetation, and seeds were dispersed manually to cover the delta surface. All experiments were initially run at a 'flood' discharge to grow the delta to either 0.5 m in length (Runs 1-3) or 1 m in length (Runs 3b Alfalfa and noAlfalfa). After this initial delta growth stage, discharge cycled between floods and interfloods, where interfloods had half of the flood water discharge and no sediment input. Vegetated experiments were seeded in between the flood and interflood, such that interfloods could remove some seeds from the delta topset. After a cycle of flood-seeding-interflood, plants were allowed to grow for three days before beginning another flood cycle. Full details of the experimental parameters and methods can be found in Table 1 and the methods section in the paper referenced above. This dataset includes several image types for each experiment: (1) raw unprocessed time lapse photos for all floods and interfloods; (2) binary masks of delta topsets; (3) binary masks of wetted area; and (4) binary masks of vegetation cover, only for experiments that had vegetation. The time lapse images are the original photos taken during the experiments (every 15 seconds) and have not been resized, scaled, or corrected for lens distortion. Time lapse photos were rescaled to 1 mm per pixel, corrected for lens distortion, and cropped to make the various binary masks. All binary images are therefore at a resolution of 1 mm per pixel. Time lapse images were then manually masked to the shoreline and thresholded to make the topset binary images. Other binary images were made in photoshop by thresholding the color intensities for the red (wetted area) or green (vegetation) channel.

Created on: Sep 03, 2019

Repository: sead-int

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Dataset: Delta size and plant density experiments

DeltaVeg - delta experiments with alfalfa

Plants are known to increase sediment trapping and decrease channel mobility on large scales, but their affects on delta grown were not yet understood. We conducted experiments to determine how to create and maintain dynamic channels on a vegetated delta. Experimental deltas are highly depositional by nature, so plants effectively erased channels. Discharge fluctuations were necessary to maintain channel relief. Runs 1-4 have constant discharge, while Runs 5-6 have fluctuating discharge. See linked paper for detailed experimental parameters. Runs 1 and 5 are control runs with no plants. All experiments are conducted with 170um silica sand, alfalfa for vegetation, and 0.02m basin depth. Data were used in paper https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JF004378. Paper run names and dataset run numbers: NP1 = Run 1 P1 = Run 4 NP2 = Run 5 P2 = Run 6

Created on: Jul 28, 2019

Repository: sead-int

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Dataset: DeltaVeg - delta experiments with alfalfa