Flume experimental data for the study of morphological response of alpine gravel-bed rivers to flow and sediment forcing

Abstract. This paper presents a dataset derived from flume experiments designed to reproduce conditions typical of alpine gravel-bed streams. The experiments aim to investigate how different hydro-sedimentary forcings influence channel morphology. The flume setup is Froude-scaled based on measurements collected on a braided reach in the French Alps. Experimental runs represent daily flood peaks characteristic of the melting season, together with their associated sediment supply. The dataset includes several types of measurements: full-flume topography obtained by photogrammetry, bedload flux at the outlet measured with a force sensor, grain-size distribution of transported sediments, and flow surface velocities derived from a tracer method. Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) were generated from the photogrammetric surveys at multiple timesteps, with a spatial resolution of 0.7 mm/pixel and a mean vertical error of 1 mm. Bedload flux at the outlet can be estimated from the force sensor measurements, while the grain-size distribution of transported material was determined by sieving. For each run, the dataset includes a video of the run, DEMs of the bed at different timesteps, a video for flow velocities estimates, sediment flux and transported grain-size at the outlet, and the input liquid and solid discharges. This large dataset available at https://doi.org/10.57745/QM4ZOO comprises 115 DEMs, 35 videos for velocities estimates, 81 transported grain size distribution and videos for various input conditions. It offers strong potential for studying morphological processes at micro- to macro-scales and across various timescales, and a fabulous playground for numerical investigations.