The dataset compiles sediment, hydrologic, and temperature data collected from the Rio Grande Delta upstream of Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico, USA. The data was collected during four field campaigns spanning between July 2021 and September 2022: (1) July 4-6, 2021, (2) March 20-22, 2022, (3) May 6-8, 2022, and (4) September 16-18, 2022. The temperature data, however, was measured continuously at 15-minute intervals between March 21 and September 17, 2022.
Sediment analyses were conducted on four sample types: (1) suspended sediment collected from water in the Rio Grande channel at two-thirds of the total channel depth below the water surface, (2) bed material in the Rio Grande channel, (3) shallow stratigraphic column samples collected from 0 to 0.5 meters in depth in the Rio Grande Delta, and (4) Elephant Butte Reservoir water samples collected near the mouth of the Rio Grande at the top (0.5 m below the water surface) and bottom (0.5 m above the bed) of the water column. The sediment analyses include measuring Suspended Sediment Concentration (SSC) for sample types 1 and 4, Organic Matter Content (%) for all sample types (1-4), and Grain Size Distributions (GSD) for all sample types (1-4). SSC was determined by measuring the water volume of the sample, then freeze-drying and weighing the mass of sediment to obtain a concentration (kg/m^3). OM% was determined by performing Loss on Ignition (LOI) on all sample types (1-4), which removes organic material from the sample through exposure to high temperatures in a muffle furnace. GSD was determined for all sample types (1-4) with a Malvern Mastersizer 3000 laser diffraction grain size analysis system with a Hydro LV dispersion unit. Further, GSD for gravel residing at two point bars on the Rio Grande were determined via Wolman pebble counts in September 2022.
The hydrologic data includes: (1) Rio Grande and Elephant Butte Reservoir water depth, collected with a Lowrance Hook Reveal X Series single beam sonar, and (2) Elephant Butte Reservoir water column stratification of conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) within and near the mouth of the Rio Grande channel, collected with a SonTek CastAway CTD.
The temperature data includes: (1) continuous measurements of air temperature from a control location in the Rio Grande Delta, and (2) a combination of air and water temperature from the Rio Grande Delta, since it became inundated by river flooding and high reservoir levels during a portion of the study. The temperature data was collected with HOBO Tidbit v2 Temp Loggers, installed on wooden stakes two centimeters above the ground. Additional details on how the samples were collected, prepared, and processed are given in Eckland et al. (2023), and are provided within the README files.
The purpose of this data collection effort was to evaluate sedimentation patterns and burial rates across the Rio Grande Delta.
