Atchafalaya Basin River Discharge Surveys for Delta-X Campaign

Seventy-five river discharge channel surveys from the Atchafalaya Basin in coastal Louisiana, USA. Measurements were collected during the Pre-Delta-X campaign from October 15 to 20, 2016 using an acoustic doppler current profiler. This in situ dataset was produced by NASA for calibrating and validating Delta-X hydrodynamic models of the Mississippi River Delta floodplain.

Use Cases

• Calibrating hydrodynamic models for the Mississippi River Delta using in situ discharge measurements.
• Validating AirSWOT swath data and water level measurements from coincident survey sites.
• Analyzing river discharge variability across wide (~100 m) and narrow (~10 m) channels in a deltaic basin.
• Studying freshwater input and flow dynamics within the Atchafalaya River Basin wetland ecosystem.

Strengths

• Contains 75 distinct channel surveys, providing multiple measurement points.
• Data collection method is specified: SonTek RiverSurveyor M9 acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP).
• Spatial alignment with AirSWOT swaths and water level locations supports integrated analysis.
• Explicitly designed for model calibration and validation, indicating a clear purpose.

Limitations

• Column names and data structure are unknown from all sources.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date: datagov lists 2026-03-12, while nasa_earthdata lists 2016-10 -20.
• Exact row count and file size are not provided by any platform.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Seventy-five channel surveys conducted with a SonTek RiverSurveyor M9 acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP).

Time Range

2016-10-15 to 2016-10-20

Freshness

2026-03-12 22:35:29.477063

Geography

Atchafalaya River Basin, within the Mississippi River Delta (MRD) floodplain in coastal Louisiana, USA.