Abstract
Modern sedimentology and stratigraphy could not be pursued without an experimental basis, yet introduction of physical models into sedimentology labs and exercises can be difficult. The use of physical models in inquiry-based lab exercises can effectively convey to students a wide range of sedimentary processes, from the motion of grains on a sand bed to the broadest controls on basin-wide facies architecture. In some of our laboratory exercises, we bring students to the National Center for Earth Surface Dynamics at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (University of Minnesota) and make use of the facilities available there. However, few geoscience departments have a flume, let alone an entire sedimentation laboratory and staff with the time or the budget to construct physical models for their course. Therefore, we also make use of easy-to-build, small-scale physical models and digital video of more elaborate experiments in inquiry-based sedimentology labs. Concepts investigated by the students include the dynamics of density currents, bedload sediment transport, bedform phase diagrams, generation of synthetic cross stratification, slope stability, landscape evolution over geological timescales, controls on alluvial facies architecture, and basic principals of sequence stratigraphy. These exercises allow students (1) to define hypotheses and predict the behavior of complex, dynamic sedimentary systems; (2) to collect, compile, and analyze data to test their hypotheses; (3) to visualize sedimentary processes that might otherwise be difficult to convey using static images; (4) to understand the role of physical modeling as a bridge between field-based hypotheses and numerical modeling; and (5) to see the fundamental relationship between experimentation and our understanding of the sedimentary rock record. We provide several examples where we have applied experimental sedimentology in both introductory geoscience courses and in a major's level course in sedimentology and stratigraphy.