Database of USDA ARS JETs on channel boundary materials

This dataset contains 1253 jet erosion tests (JETs) conducted in situ on stream-related materials by staff of the USDA-ARS National Sedimentation Laboratory, Oxford, MS, across the contiguous U.S. between 1997 and 2023. For each JET, its location in the channel cross section (e.g., bed, bank toe, and bank face), type of jet test device used, and time series of scour hole depth and associated pressure head are provided. The JET is comprehensively described by Hanson and Cook (2004). The JET is used to measure the erosion resistance of soils. A submerged jet formed by forcing pressurized flow through a nozzle is used to exert a shear stress on an erodible soil surface. The rate at which the soil surface erodes is measured over time. Erosion rate and applied shear stress can be calculated from the time series of scour hole depth and pressure head provided for each JET in this dataset. The relation between erosion rate and shear stress, termed erosion function, is then used to describe soil erosion resistance. The ARS post-processing tools for JETs (PP-JET) are available from GitHub (Langendoen, 2025). The derived erosion functions can be used for developing improved JET post-processing methods, evaluating the influence of different jet test devices, developing new mechanistic descriptions of the erosion of channel boundary materials, and as information required to assess best management practices for river management.