New Delta Basin Experiment (TDB-12-1) begins. Experiment designed to explore influence of sediment cohesion on long time-scale evolution of deltas and resulting stratigraphy

Graduate students Qi Li and William (Matt) Benson recently started a new experiment in our delta basin. The experiment, TDB-12-1, is part of a set of experiments designed to examine the influence of sediment cohesion on delta processes and resulting stratigraphy. This experiment uses a sediment mixture, designed at ExxonMobil, which incorporates a polymer that adds cohesion to the sediment. Qi will be using information from this experiment to explore how cohesion influences basin filling sedimentation patterns, while Matt will use data from this experiment to compare how geomorphic surface statistics compare to stratigraphic surface statistics. The experiment is designed to include 900 hours of aggradation following 100 hours of progradation, a VERY long run!