Within the context of establishing well validated physical and mathematical descriptions of the behavior and fate of concentrated near-bed suspensions and their interaction with the water column and the sediment bed a large amount of data was generated. One of the project deliverables is an internet oriented data base containing the data of field surveys and laboratory experiments e.g. information about sediment properties, hydrodynamics, geometry, bathymetry, concentrations, instrumentation, data-processing etc. Also the results of numerical simulations for a number of test cases are stored in the data base for use as a benchmark or inter-comparison with other models.
The data base is accessible at:
http://www.hydromech.uni-hannover.de/cosinus/database
or via the COSINUS web site at:
http://sun-hydr-01.bwk.kuleuven.ac.be/COSINUS/cosinus.html
The database contains:
1. Data from field measurements: the (COSINUS) Tamar Estuary Experiment (sediment properties, floc properties, bed properties) September 1998 and the SILTMAN experiment (1996).
2. Data from laboratory measurements Consolidation and strength evolution of mud Annular flume experiments on the entrainment by a turbulent CBS. Consolidation columns tests Grid tank experiments.
3. Data from numerical simulations1 DV case Siltman case. Case studies: Weser, Loire, Tamar estuary. The description of the data (meta-data) and the data itself are organised in packages which are comparable to reports on paper with a data-disc attached. One package contains the description and the data of one set of experiments and was supplied by only one participant of the COSINUS project. The data base is a "distributed" data base. It means that although all data are accessible through the COSINUS web page, the data are "physically" on the server of the institute that produced the data. In this way the producer of the data can quality check the data and maintain the data base up to date. All data are available in a standard ASCII format.
Only meta-data (descriptions) are stored centrally in the data management system in Hanover. The actual data (numbers) are stored locally at the institute or organization, which generated the data (distributed data storage).The data-management system is Internet based. The user gets access to the system with a Java-enabled browser via Internet. No special software installation on the computer of the user is required. The actuality of the information is always assured.
The meta-data (physically located in Hanover) and the data are connected by a link. Data are supplied by putting a copy of the data (plain numbers in ASCII-format) at a place where the internet-server of the supplying institute has access to them. As such, the data supplier has full responsibility for its data.
The database input tool is used to input/change the meta-data (description). With this tool the data can be edited and organized and links connecting the data can be generated. Write access to meta-data is only given to the user who supplied it. When accessing data via the database, the user first sees the meta-data before getting the opportunity to download the data itself.
Inside the database, meta-data are organized in packages. Starting with an introduction, the description may branch down into several sub-chapters. Each (sub-) chapter again may have (sub-) sub-chapters and so on. This opens up the opportunity to construct a branched description, which helps give explanations relevant for a group of data of a higher level and to supply special information for individual data sets on a lower level.
A package is comparable to a report on paper describing a group of measurements, which were obtained during laboratory experiments or field surveys, in a text, which refers to tables or figures in the appendix. A tradition of good scientific practice on data documentation is not interrupted through the application of a WWW-based data-management. If needed (library, archiving, etc.), the database packages can be transformed into reports without much additional effort, i.e. "downward compatibility".
The external part of the database has been linked to the COSINUS homepage and contains packages that are ready and checked. The development and editing of a package is done in the internal part. The description of the data (meta-data) and the data itself are organised in packages which are comparable to reports on paper with a data-disc attached. One package contains the description and the data of one set of experiments and was supplied by only one participant of the COSINUS project.
All data are available in a standard ASCII format. http://www.hydromech.uni-hannover.de/cosinus/database or via the COSINUS web site: http://sun-hydr-01.bwk.kuleuven.ac.be/COSINUS/cosinus.html
The database contains:
1. Data from field measurements: the (COSINUS) Tamar Estuary Experiment: sediment properties, floc properties, bed properties (SedErode), (HR Wallingford, University of Plymouth, University of Wales at Bangor, University of Oxford) the SILTMAN experiment (Delft Hydraulics, 1996).
2. Data from laboratory measurements. Consolidation and strength evolution of mud (TUDelft, UOX) Annular flume experiments on the entrainment by a turbulent CBS (TUDelft) Consolidation column data processing (KULeuven) Grid tank experiments (LEGI).
3. Data from numerical simulations: 1 DV case (LNHE). Case study Weser (UHA) Schematic Esturary (LNHE) Case study Loire (LNHE) Case study Tamar estuary (DHI)