We have started the first experiment in Tulane's Delta Basin (TDB)

Dr. Kyle Straub and graduate student Yinan Wang recently initiated the first experiment in Tulane’s Delta Basin housed in the sediment dynamics laboratory. The purpose of this experiment is to quantify internally-generated (autogenic) dynamics in sedimentary systems and their relationship to the architecture of preserved stratigraphy. In this first experiment Dr. Straub and Yinan Wang will quantify the evolution of topography for a delta constructed from non-cohesive sediment and relate this to the preserved stratigraphy at the end of the experiment. Results from this experiment will then be compared to future experiments with cohesive sediments. The goal of these experiments is to develop methods to filter the signature of autogenic processes from sedimentary deposits to improve our ability to interpret climate and tectonic signals preserved in the rock record.

To the left: Graduate student Yinan Wand and Assistant Professor Kyle Straub adjust the water and sediment discharge into Tulane’s Delta Basin