Wave Tidal Deltas

The experiments from which these data were taken were carried out in the Delta Basin facility at St. Anthony Falls Laboratory. The goal was to study the combined effects of waves and tides under controlled experimental conditions. The effects of both waves and tides on deltas are well known and pronounced in the field, but relatively little work has been experimentally on either in the delta context. We successfully used a paired set of pumps to simulate the effects of tides on experimental deltas. Combined with waves from a paddle-type wave generator, the deltas developed a set of morphological features consistent with those seen in the field, including barrier islands, spits, inlets, a clearly delimited intertidal zone, and a set of headward-cutting, shoreward-widening blind channels.