Data from a flume investigation using Fiber Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing (FO-DTS), U.S. Geological Survey Geomorphology and Sediment Transport Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, fall 2019

Evaluating technologies and approaches to identify the movement of fine sediment over coarser substrate has implications for monitoring the condition of habitat restoration sites. This goal motivated testing the efficacy of Fiber Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing (FO-DTS) as a technique for detecting the migration of sand bedforms over coarser bed material. Experiments were conducted in a laboratory flume at the USGS Geomorphology and Sediment Transport Laboratory (GSTL) in Golden, Colorado. An approximately 20-meter length of fiber optic cable was placed in the flume. The first 5 meter segment of cable was buried in approximately 5 centimeters of gravel substrate and extended from the upstream (top) to the downstream (bottom) [...]