LABORATORY FLUME EXPERIMENT. Monitoring Inland-Delta Formation using a Structured-Light System.

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The co-registered DEMs allow the comparison of the surfaces at different times to gain an insight into the stratigraphic record of the deposition pattern. This led to a more detailed and accurate analysis of the spatio-temporal dynamics of the delta formation process. Lobe switching and channel branching has been observed as in real-world delta settings. The pattern formation mechanisms of the experiment and the resulting morphology are similar to those observed in nature, but on a different scale in both space and time. The presented experimental technique can serve as a tool to understand the interplay between dominant sedimentation processes. Cross analysis of this laboratory flume experiment and the phenomenon of the Okavango Delta in Botswana were discussed in a previous paper by Seybold et al. (2010), which also showed that reduced complexity models of earth-surface evolution require high-quality ground-topography data, preferably in grid representation. The presented methodology fulfils this requirement favourably by adopting: (i) a high-resolution 3D structured-light sensor; (ii) resulting DEMs with +/- 50 microns feature accuracy; and (iii) strict co-registration of topographic data in both spatial and temporal domains.

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