Evidence for Biofilm-induced Self-sustaining Meandering Channels

This dataset presents the complete morphological evolution of a braided river channel transitioning into a single-thread meandering channel under the influence of synthetic biofilm. It includes data from three independent experimental replicates, all conducted these experiments in a large flume at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, where a sand bed, constant sediment feed, and alternating high and low flow cycles were used to reproduce natural river dynamics.
The dataset contains high-resolution top-view images and videos documenting channel evolution during each flow cycle, 3D topographic measurements collected using a laser scanner, and machine learning including a trained YOLO segmentation model (weights and analysis scripts) for detecting and tracking channel morphology.
Together, these data provide comprehensive and reproducible evidence of how synthetic biofilms modify sediment transport, channel mobility, and river morphodynamics, ultimately promoting the emergence and persistence of meandering river patterns across all three replicates.