DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15902910
title: Data availability for numerical model  input data of the Yellow River Delta to simulate the vegetation distribution processes following deltaic morphological evolution with different flow paths (QN: the current existing pathway, QS: the Qingshuigou Southeast pathway, DK: the Diaokou River pathway)

description: This dataset contains all model-ready input files required to reproduce the hydro-morphodynamic and vegetation-habitat simulations presented in the manuscript “Natural process-based coastal wetland restoration by relocating river flow paths in a river-dominated delta”. The study area is the Yellow River Delta, China. Simulations were performed with the Delft3D-FLOW (v. 4.04.00) two-dimensional, depth-averaged hydro-morphodynamic model coupled with a Gaussian habitat-suitability model for the pioneer halophyte Suaeda salsa. Three single-path flow relocation scenarios were evaluated:





QN – the current Qingshuigou North channel (baseline)




QS – the historical Qingshuigou Southeast channel (1976-1996)




DK – the historical Diaokou channel (1964-1976)










File name
Format
Description
Size (KB)




Bathymetry.dep
DEP
Grid-cell bathymetry referenced to GPS datum (EPSG:32650)
16 984


Grid.grd
GRD
Curvilinear computational grid (n = 706 446 cells, 50–500 m resolution)
59 573


Grid enclosure.enc
ENC
Land boundary and coastline polygons
17


dep.xyz
XYZ
Raw point-measurement bathymetry used for interpolation
225


Open boundaries.bnd
BND
Location and type of open-sea boundaries
1


Tidal boundary conditions.bca
BCA
Harmonic tidal constituents (K1, O1, M2, S2) at nine Bohai Sea stations
1


Constituents boundary conditions.bcc
BCC
Sediment concentration boundaries (mud) for each open boundary
2


Sediment characteristics.sed
SED
Uniform cohesive-silt parameters (D50 = 0.03 mm, ρ = 2 650 kg m⁻³, τc,ero = 1 N m⁻², τc,dep = 1 000 N m⁻²)
2


QN Discharge locations.src
SRC
Point-source locations for QN scenario river inflow
3


QN Discharges rates.dis
DIS
Time-series river discharge and sediment load (m³ s⁻¹, kg m⁻³) for QN
191


QS Discharge locations.src
SRC
Point-source locations for QS scenario river inflow
2


QS Discharges rates.dis
DIS
Time-series river discharge and sediment load for QS
191


DK Discharge locations.src
SRC
Point-source locations for DK scenario river inflow
2


DK Discharges rates.dis
DIS
Time-series river discharge and sediment load for DK
191


mor.mor
MOR
Morphological characters
3


Observation point.obs
OBS
Coordinates of 15 validation stations for water level, velocity, SSC
1


obs.xyz
XYZ
In-situ observation coordinates used for validation
1






Model settings





Simulation period: 10 years after flow-path initiation.




Time step: 0.02 min (hydrodynamics); morphological scale-up factor = 10.




Upstream boundary: daily-averaged discharge and SSC from Lijin station (post-WSRS: 667.91 m³ s⁻¹, 8.97 kg m⁻³).




Downstream boundary: tidal harmonics + sediment concentration = 0 kg m⁻³.




Initial conditions: cold start with constant flow, then hot-start morphological run.




Vegetation sub-model: Gaussian habitat-suitability curve for Suaeda salsa based on spring-tide average water depth (optimum −0.67 to −0.17 m, suitability −0.92 to 0.08 m, derived from 69 field plots).



AccessAll files are provided under CC-BY 4.0. Data are archived at Zenodo (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15902911) and can be downloaded as a single ZIP package (Dataset ID: YRD-FLOW-VEG-2025).