Experimental Investigation of the Initiation of Bifurcation in Deltaic Settings Using a Sediment Filled Hele-Shaw Cell

Abstract:

Dendritic structures are pervasive in natural systems. While the mechanism responsible for these forms, Laplacian growth, has been extensively researched in the fields of physics and engineering , rarely has it been explored in deltaic geomorphology. We propose to investigate, by experimentally testing the tip splitting model proposed by Lajeunesse and Couder (2000, Journal of Fluid Mechanics), the Saffman–Taylor instability as it applies to distributary channel network growth and bifurcation. We hypothesize that bifurcation initiation is controlled by a dimensionless number that incorporates channel depth, channel width and channel tip growth rate. A greater understanding of these dynamics has potential applications for reconstruction of paleoflow conditions, preservation of modern river deltas, and predictions on future deltaic growth.