Abstract:
This dataset was collected to investigate the interaction of vegetation, water, and sediment in marshes with the goal of better understanding accretion on marshes.
The study area was located in Cubit's Gap on the Mississippi River Delta, near the mouth of the river. The field site consisted of a marsh area that is vegetated during all seasons and a mud flat area that is vegetated only during the spring and summer months.
This dataset consists of water samples, sediment samples, flow measurements, accretion measurements, elevation surveys and vegetation surveys. There are also numerous photographs including drone photographs from a dye experiment, and time lapse photos of the marsh.
Data was collected from spring of 2018 through autumn of 2019.
Suggested Citation:
Esposito, Christopher, Maricel Beltran Burgos, Melissa Baustian, and Diana Di Leonardo. 2022. Vegetation thresholds for sediment transport at Cubit's Gap from 2018-03-07 to 2019-08-21. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/TX087C8W
Purpose:
This dataset was collected to investigate the interaction of vegetation, water, and sediment in marshes with the goal of better understanding accretion on marshes.
Methods:
A detailed description of methods related to this dataset and study can be found in the following Master's Thesis:
Beltran Burgos, M. (2021). Effects of vegetation seasonality on sediment dynamics in a freshwater marsh of the Mississippi River Delta (Master of Science). Tulane University, New Orleans, LA. Retrieved from https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane%3A1219
Instruments:
These data were collected using several field instruments: YSI multiparameter sonde (water level, salinity, temperature, turbidity, ), Nortek Vector, Nortek Vectrino, RBR, Duo, tiles (sediment accretion), automated water sampler, vegetation surveys, and photos.
RBR Duo - water level and turbidity; 10 minute measurement interval; briefly deployed at the channel platform before being replaced by the YSI; processed using internal Matlab codes to removed outliers; hourly averaged;
EXO2 YSI - water level and turbidity, deployed at the channel platform; 12 minute measurments; processed using internal Matlab codes to removed outliers; hourly averaged; TSS from the AWS used to develop a rating curve for the YSI FNU measurement; Four YSI's with chlorophyll sensors were also deployed during the first drone /dye experiment - these sensors can measure the dye concentrations (rhodamine dye)
Nortek Vector - acoustic doppler velocimeter with attached turbidity sensor (Campbell OBS3+ sensor); deployed at the site; mounted horizontally on an aluminum v-shaped channel (approximately 24 cm from the approximate middle of the Vector to the bed surface) during field visits in February 13, April 3, and June 4, 2019; During the first deployment in 2019, the Vector collected data every three hours, for a three minutes burst, at 64 Hz. For the last two deployments, the settings of the instrument were changed to collect data for a four minutes burst, every three hours, at 64 Hz; velocities were converted to Earth coordinates by rotating the velocities to a vertical position around the y-axis (90 degrees) and the z-axis (317 degrees), so that the x-axis would represent the North, and the Y axis the East; all values greater than 0.4 m/s or less than -0.4m/s were removed from the record;
RTK - Trimble R8 Real Time Kinematic Differential GPS (RTK-DGPS) system with a pole mounted receiver
AWS (automatic water sampler) - Campbell Scientific automatic water sampler (AWS) deployed on a platform at the site; samples taken every 48 hours;
Water samples - Water samples were collected in 1 L bottles by hand to obtain suspended sediment concentrations at each station and in the channel during each field visit; samples were sieved with a 297 um sieve to remove large organics prior to being vacuum filtered through a 0.4 um polycarbonate filter; the samples were then dried and weighed; these samples were also measured for grain size using a Mal vern Mastersizer 3000E
Sediment Tiles - 15 cm by 15 cm unpolished ceramic tiles, placed on the marsh surface; only a 10 cm by 10 cm area from each tile was sampled using a 3D printed 'cookie cutter'
Photos (Go Pro mounted on platform)
Photos (drone) - photos of dye injections at the site; field visits in April, June, and July 2019; used in Beltran Burgos 2021 to calculate flow velocity
Various other photos were taken during the field trips including site photos and vegetation photos.
Vegetation Surveys - random plots (n= 20 per visit, 0.25m^2 quadrat); emergent vegetation density (no. of culms/0.25 m2), stem diameter (cm), stem height (cm) and stems per culm (total stems in a group, no./culm); mudflat, submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) was assessed as percent cover (%) by species
Provenance and Historical References:
Beltran Burgos, M. (2021). Effects of vegetation seasonality on sediment dynamics in a freshwater marsh of the Mississippi River Delta (Master of Science). Tulane University, New Orleans, LA. Retrieved from https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane%3A1219
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