River delta

Last updated
Lena river delta Lena River Delta - Landsat 2000.jpg
Lena river delta

A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by the deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. [1] [2] This occurs at a river mouth, when it enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more rarely) another river that cannot carry away the supplied sediment. It is so named because its triangle shape resembles the uppercase Greek letter delta, Δ. The size and shape of a delta are controlled by the balance between watershed processes that supply sediment, and receiving basin processes that redistribute, sequester, and export that sediment. [3] [4] The size, geometry, and location of the receiving basin also plays an important role in delta evolution.

Contents

River deltas are important in human civilization, as they are major agricultural production centers and population centers. [5] They can provide coastline defense and can impact drinking water supply. [6] They are also ecologically important, with different species' assemblages depending on their landscape position. On geologic timescales, they are also important carbon sinks. [7]

Etymology

A river delta is so named because the shape of the Nile Delta approximates the triangular uppercase Greek letter delta. The triangular shape of the Nile Delta was known to audiences of classical Athenian drama; the tragedy Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus refers to it as the "triangular Nilotic land", though not as a "delta". [8] Herodotus's description of Egypt in his Histories mentions the Delta fourteen times, as "the Delta, as it is called by the Ionians", including describing the outflow of silt into the sea and the convexly curved seaward side of the triangle. [8] Despite making comparisons to other river-systems' deltas, Herodotus did not describe them as "deltas". [8] The Greek historian Polybius likened the land between the Rhône and Isère rivers to the Nile Delta, referring to both as islands, but did not apply the word delta. [8] According to the Greek geographer Strabo, the Cynic philosopher Onesicritus of Astypalaea, who accompanied Alexander the Great's conquests in India, reported that Patalene (the delta of the Indus River) was "a delta" (Koinē Greek : καλεῖ δὲ τὴν νῆσον δέλτα, romanized: kalei de tēn nēson délta, lit. 'he calls the island a delta'). [8] The Roman author Arrian's Indica states that "the delta of the land of the Indians is made by the Indus river no less than is the case with that of Egypt". [8]

As a generic term for the landform at the mouth of river, the word delta is first attested in the English-speaking world in the late 18th century, in the work of Edward Gibbon. [9]

Formation

A delta forms where a river meets a lake. Delta Formation.svg
A delta forms where a river meets a lake.

River deltas form when a river carrying sediment reaches a body of water, such as a lake, ocean, or a reservoir. When the flow enters the standing water, it is no longer confined to its channel and expands in width. This flow expansion results in a decrease in the flow velocity, which diminishes the ability of the flow to transport sediment. As a result, sediment drops out of the flow and is deposited as alluvium, which builds up to form the river delta. [11] [12] Over time, this single channel builds a deltaic lobe (such as the bird's-foot of the Mississippi or Ural river deltas), pushing its mouth into the standing water. As the deltaic lobe advances, the gradient of the river channel becomes lower because the river channel is longer but has the same change in elevation (see slope).

Sacramento-San Joaquin (California) Delta at flood stage, early March 2009 Sacramento Delta at flood stage, 2009.jpg
Sacramento–San Joaquin (California) Delta at flood stage, early March 2009

As the gradient of the river channel decreases, the amount of shear stress on the bed decreases, which results in the deposition of sediment within the channel and a rise in the channel bed relative to the floodplain. This destabilizes the river channel. If the river breaches its natural levees (such as during a flood), it spills out into a new course with a shorter route to the ocean, thereby obtaining a steeper, more stable gradient. [13] Typically, when the river switches channels in this manner, some of its flow remains in the abandoned channel. Repeated channel-switching events build up a mature delta with a distributary network.

Another way these distributary networks form is from the deposition of mouth bars (mid-channel sand and/or gravel bars at the mouth of a river). When this mid-channel bar is deposited at the mouth of a river, the flow is routed around it. This results in additional deposition on the upstream end of the mouth-bar, which splits the river into two distributary channels. [14] [15] A good example of the result of this process is the Wax Lake Delta.

In both of these cases, depositional processes force redistribution of deposition from areas of high deposition to areas of low deposition. This results in the smoothing of the planform (or map-view) shape of the delta as the channels move across its surface and deposit sediment. Because the sediment is laid down in this fashion, the shape of these deltas approximates a fan. The more often the flow changes course, the shape develops as closer to an ideal fan, because more rapid changes in channel position result in more uniform deposition of sediment on the delta front. The Mississippi and Ural River deltas, with their bird's-feet, are examples of rivers that do not avulse often enough to form a symmetrical fan shape. Alluvial fan deltas, as seen by their name, avulse frequently and more closely approximate an ideal fan shape.

Most large river deltas discharge to intra-cratonic basins on the trailing edges of passive margins due to the majority of large rivers such as the Mississippi, Nile, Amazon, Ganges, Indus, Yangtze, and Yellow River discharging along passive continental margins. [16] This phenomenon is due mainly to three factors: topography, basin area, and basin elevation. [16] Topography along passive margins tend to be more gradual and widespread over a greater area enabling sediment to pile up and accumulate over time to form large river deltas. Topography along active margins tend to be steeper and less widespread, which results in sediments not having the ability to pile up and accumulate due to the sediment traveling into a steep subduction trench rather than a shallow continental shelf.

There are many other lesser factors that could explain why the majority of river deltas form along passive margins rather than active margins. Along active margins, orogenic sequences cause tectonic activity to form over-steepened slopes, brecciated rocks, and volcanic activity resulting in delta formation to exist closer to the sediment source. [16] [17] When sediment does not travel far from the source, sediments that build up are coarser grained and more loosely consolidated, therefore making delta formation more difficult. Tectonic activity on active margins causes the formation of river deltas to form closer to the sediment source which may affect channel avulsion, delta lobe switching, and auto cyclicity. [17] Active margin river deltas tend to be much smaller and less abundant but may transport similar amounts of sediment. [16] However, the sediment is never piled up in thick sequences due to the sediment traveling and depositing in deep subduction trenches. [16]

Types

Delta lobe switching in the Mississippi Delta,  4600 yrs BP,  3500 yrs BP,  2800 yrs BP,  1000 yrs BP,  300 yrs BP,  500 yrs BP,x current Mississippi Delta Lobes.jpg
Delta lobe switching in the Mississippi Delta, 4600 yrs BP, 3500 yrs BP, 2800 yrs BP, 1000 yrs BP, 300 yrs BP, 500 yrs BP,× current

Deltas are typically classified according to the main control on deposition, which is a combination of river, wave, and tidal processes, [18] [19] depending on the strength of each. [20] The other two factors that play a major role are landscape position and the grain size distribution of the source sediment entering the delta from the river. [21]

Fluvial-dominated deltas

Fluvial-dominated deltas are found in areas of low tidal range and low wave energy. [22] Where the river water is nearly equal in density to the basin water, the delta is characterized by homopycnal flow, in which the river water rapidly mixes with basin water and abruptly dumps most of its sediment load. Where the river water has higher density than basin water, typically from a heavy load of sediment, the delta is characterized by hyperpycnal flow in which the river water hugs the basin bottom as a density current that deposits its sediments as turbidites. When the river water is less dense than the basin water, as is typical of river deltas on an ocean coastline, the delta is characterized by hypopycnal flow in which the river water is slow to mix with the denser basin water and spreads out as a surface fan. This allows fine sediments to be carried a considerable distance before settling out of suspension. Beds in a hypocynal delta dip at a very shallow angle, around 1 degree. [22]

Fluvial-dominated deltas are further distinguished by the relative importance of the inertia of rapidly flowing water, the importance of turbulent bed friction beyond the river mouth, and buoyancy. Outflow dominated by inertia tend to form Gilbert type deltas. Outflow dominated by turbulent friction is prone to channel bifurcation, while buoyancy-dominated outflow produces long distributaries with narrow subaqueous natural levees and few channel bifurcations. [23]

The modern Mississippi River delta is a good example of a fluvial-dominated delta whose outflow is buoyancy-dominated. Channel abandonment has been frequent, with seven distinct channels active over the last 5000 years. Other fluvial-dominated deltas include the Mackenzie delta and the Alta delta. [14]

Gilbert deltas

A Gilbert delta (named after Grove Karl Gilbert) is a type of fluvial-dominated [24] delta formed from coarse sediments, as opposed to gently-sloping muddy deltas such as that of the Mississippi. For example, a mountain river depositing sediment into a freshwater lake would form this kind of delta. [25] [26] It is commonly a result of homopycnal flow. [22] Such deltas are characterized by a tripartite structure of topset, foreset, and bottomset beds. River water entering the lake rapidly deposits its coarser sediments on the submerged face of the delta, forming steeping dipping foreset beds. The finer sediments are deposited on the lake bottom beyond this steep slope as more gently dipping bottomset beds. Behind the delta front, braided channels deposit the gently dipping beds of the topset on the delta plain. [27] [28]

While some authors describe both lacustrine and marine locations of Gilbert deltas, [25] others note that their formation is more characteristic of the freshwater lakes, where it is easier for the river water to mix with the lakewater faster (as opposed to the case of a river falling into the sea or a salt lake, where less dense fresh water brought by the river stays on top longer). [29] Gilbert himself first described this type of delta on Lake Bonneville in 1885. [29] Elsewhere, similar structures occur, for example, at the mouths of several creeks that flow into Okanagan Lake in British Columbia and forming prominent peninsulas at Naramata, Summerland, and Peachland.

Wave-dominated deltas

In wave dominated deltas, wave-driven sediment transport controls the shape of the delta, and much of the sediment emanating from the river mouth is deflected along the coast line. [18] The relationship between waves and river deltas is quite variable and largely influenced by the deepwater wave regimes of the receiving basin. With a high wave energy near shore and a steeper slope offshore, waves will make river deltas smoother. Waves can also be responsible for carrying sediments away from the river delta, causing the delta to retreat. [6] For deltas that form further upriver in an estuary, there are complex yet quantifiable linkages between winds, tides, river discharge, and delta water levels. [30] [31]

The Ganges Delta in India and Bangladesh is the largest delta in the world, and one of the most fertile regions in the world. Ganges River Delta, Bangladesh, India.jpg
The Ganges Delta in India and Bangladesh is the largest delta in the world, and one of the most fertile regions in the world.

Tide-dominated deltas

Erosion is also an important control in tide-dominated deltas, such as the Ganges Delta, which may be mainly submarine, with prominent sandbars and ridges. This tends to produce a "dendritic" structure. [32] Tidal deltas behave differently from river-dominated and wave-dominated deltas, which tend to have a few main distributaries. Once a wave-dominated or river-dominated distributary silts up, it is abandoned, and a new channel forms elsewhere. In a tidal delta, new distributaries are formed during times when there is a lot of water around – such as floods or storm surges. These distributaries slowly silt up at a more or less constant rate until they fizzle out. [32]

Tidal freshwater deltas

A tidal freshwater delta [33] is a sedimentary deposit formed at the boundary between an upland stream and an estuary, in the region known as the "subestuary". [34] Drowned coastal river valleys that were inundated by rising sea levels during the late Pleistocene and subsequent Holocene tend to have dendritic estuaries with many feeder tributaries. Each tributary mimics this salinity gradient from their brackish junction with the mainstem estuary up to the fresh stream feeding the head of tidal propagation. As a result, the tributaries are considered to be "subestuaries". The origin and evolution of a tidal freshwater delta involves processes that are typical of all deltas [4] as well as processes that are unique to the tidal freshwater setting. [35] [36] The combination of processes that create a tidal freshwater delta result in a distinct morphology and unique environmental characteristics. Many tidal freshwater deltas that exist today are directly caused by the onset of or changes in historical land use, especially deforestation, intensive agriculture, and urbanization. [37] These ideas are well illustrated by the many tidal freshwater deltas prograding into Chesapeake Bay along the east coastline of the United States. Research has demonstrated that the accumulating sediments in this estuary derive from post-European settlement deforestation, agriculture, and urban development. [38] [39] [40]

Estuaries

Other rivers, particularly those on coasts with significant tidal range, do not form a delta but enter into the sea in the form of an estuary. Notable examples include the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Tagus estuary.

Inland deltas

Okavango Delta OkavangoDelta.png
Okavango Delta

In rare cases the river delta is located inside a large valley and is called an inverted river delta. Sometimes a river divides into multiple branches in an inland area, only to rejoin and continue to the sea. Such an area is called an inland delta, and often occurs on former lake beds. The term was first coined by Alexander von Humboldt for the middle reaches of the Orinoco River, which he visited in 1800. [41] Other prominent examples include the Inner Niger Delta, [42] Peace–Athabasca Delta, [43] the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, [44] and the Sistan delta of Iran. [45] The Danube has one in the valley on the Slovak–Hungarian border between Bratislava and Iža. [46]

In some cases, a river flowing into a flat arid area splits into channels that evaporate as it progresses into the desert. The Okavango Delta in Botswana is one example. [47] See endorheic basin.

Mega deltas

The generic term mega delta can be used to describe very large Asian river deltas, such as the Yangtze, Pearl, Red, Mekong, Irrawaddy, Ganges-Brahmaputra, and Indus. [48] [49]

Sedimentary structure

Delta on Kachemak Bay at low tide Line5066 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library.jpg
Delta on Kachemak Bay at low tide

The formation of a delta is complicated, multiple, and cross-cutting over time, but in a simple delta three main types of bedding may be distinguished: the bottomset beds, foreset/frontset beds, and topset beds. This three part structure may be seen in small scale by crossbedding. [25] [50]

Existential threats to deltas

Human activities in both deltas and the river basins upstream of deltas can radically alter delta environments. [53] Upstream land use change such as anti-erosion agricultural practices and hydrological engineering such as dam construction in the basins feeding deltas have reduced river sediment delivery to many deltas in recent decades. [54] This change means that there is less sediment available to maintain delta landforms, and compensate for erosion and sea level rise, causing some deltas to start losing land. [54] Declines in river sediment delivery are projected to continue in the coming decades. [55]

The extensive anthropogenic activities in deltas also interfere with geomorphological and ecological delta processes. [56] People living on deltas often construct flood defences which prevent sedimentation from floods on deltas, and therefore means that sediment deposition can not compensate for subsidence and erosion. In addition to interference with delta aggradation, pumping of groundwater, [57] oil, and gas, [58] and constructing infrastructure all accelerate subsidence, increasing relative sea level rise. Anthropogenic activities can also destabilise river channels through sand mining, [59] and cause saltwater intrusion. [60] There are small-scale efforts to correct these issues, improve delta environments and increase environmental sustainability through sedimentation enhancing strategies.

While nearly all deltas have been impacted to some degree by humans, the Nile Delta and Colorado River Delta are some of the most extreme examples of the devastation caused to deltas by damming and diversion of water. [61] [62]

Historical data documents show that during the Roman Empire and Little Ice Age (times where there was considerable anthropogenic pressure), there was significant sediment accumulation in deltas. The industrial revolution has only amplified the impact of humans on delta growth and retreat. [63]

Deltas in the economy

Ancient deltas are a benefit to the economy due to their well sorted sand and gravel. Sand and gravel is often quarried from these old deltas and used in concrete for highways, buildings, sidewalks, and even landscaping. More than 1 billion tons of sand and gravel are produced in the United States alone. [64] Not all sand and gravel quarries are former deltas, but for ones that are, much of the sorting is already done by the power of water.

The Kokemaki River (Kokemaenjoki) flows through the city of Pori in Satakunta, Finland. Its delta, where the delta islands remain between the distributaries, starts near the centre. Pori aerial 3.jpg
The Kokemäki River (Kokemäenjoki) flows through the city of Pori in Satakunta, Finland. Its delta, where the delta islands remain between the distributaries, starts near the centre.

Urban areas and human habitation tends to locate in lowlands near water access for transportation and sanitation. [65] This makes deltas a common location for civilizations to flourish due to access to flat land for farming, freshwater for sanitation and irrigation, and sea access for trade. Deltas often host extensive industrial and commercial activities as well as agricultural land which are often in conflict. Some of the world's largest regional economies are located on deltas such as the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, European Low Countries and the Greater Tokyo Area.

Examples

The Ganges–Brahmaputra Delta, which spans most of Bangladesh and West Bengal and empties into the Bay of Bengal, is the world's largest delta. [66]

The Selenga River delta in the Russian republic of Buryatia is the largest delta emptying into a body of fresh water, in its case Lake Baikal.

Deltas on Mars

Researchers have found a number of examples of deltas that formed in Martian lakes. Finding deltas is a major sign that Mars once had large amounts of water. Deltas have been found over a wide geographical range. Below are pictures of a few. [67]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sediment</span> Particulate solid matter that is deposited on the surface of land

Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand and silt can be carried in suspension in river water and on reaching the sea bed deposited by sedimentation; if buried, they may eventually become sandstone and siltstone through lithification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estuary</span> Partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water

An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments and are an example of an ecotone. Estuaries are subject both to marine influences such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water, and to fluvial influences such as flows of freshwater and sediment. The mixing of seawater and freshwater provides high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Braided river</span> Network of river channels separated by small, and often temporary, islands

A braided river consists of a network of river channels separated by small, often temporary, islands called braid bars or, in British English usage, aits or eyots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alluvial fan</span> Fan-shaped deposit of sediment

An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to semiarid climates, but are also found in more humid environments subject to intense rainfall and in areas of modern glaciation. They range in area from less than 1 square kilometer (0.4 sq mi) to almost 20,000 square kilometers (7,700 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoal</span> Natural submerged sandbank that rises from a body of water to near the surface

In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or above it, which poses a danger to navigation. Shoals are also known as sandbanks, sandbars, or gravelbars. Two or more shoals that are either separated by shared troughs or interconnected by past or present sedimentary and hydrographic processes are referred to as a shoal complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tidal marsh</span> Marsh subject to tidal change in water

A tidal marsh is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean. Tidal marshes experience many overlapping persistent cycles, including diurnal and semi-diurnal tides, day-night temperature fluctuations, spring-neap tides, seasonal vegetation growth and decay, upland runoff, decadal climate variations, and centennial to millennial trends in sea level and climate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meander</span> One of a series of curves in a channel of a matured stream

A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank which is typically a point bar. The result of this coupled erosion and sedimentation is the formation of a sinuous course as the channel migrates back and forth across the axis of a floodplain.

Tidal scour is "sea-floor erosion caused by strong tidal currents resulting in the removal of inshore sediments and formation of deep holes and channels". Examples of this hydrological process can be found globally. Two locations in the United States where tidal scour is the predominant shaping force is the San Francisco Bay and the Elkhorn Slough. Tidal force can also contribute to bridge scour.

A tidal river is a river whose flow and level are caused by tides. A section of a larger river affected by the tides is a tidal reach, but it may sometimes be considered a tidal river if it had been given a separate and another title name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cross-bedding</span> Sedimentary rock strata at differing angles

In geology, cross-bedding, also known as cross-stratification, is layering within a stratum and at an angle to the main bedding plane. The sedimentary structures which result are roughly horizontal units composed of inclined layers. The original depositional layering is tilted, such tilting not being the result of post-depositional deformation. Cross-beds or "sets" are the groups of inclined layers, which are known as cross-strata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Depositional environment</span> Processes associated with the deposition of a particular type of sediment

In geology, depositional environment or sedimentary environment describes the combination of physical, chemical, and biological processes associated with the deposition of a particular type of sediment and, therefore, the rock types that will be formed after lithification, if the sediment is preserved in the rock record. In most cases, the environments associated with particular rock types or associations of rock types can be matched to existing analogues. However, the further back in geological time sediments were deposited, the more likely that direct modern analogues are not available.

The Tumblagooda Sandstone is a geological formation deposited during the Silurian or Ordovician periods, between four and five hundred million years ago, and is now exposed on the west coast of Australia in river and coastal gorges near the tourist town of Kalbarri, Kalbarri National Park and the Murchison River gorge, straddling the boundary of the Carnarvon and Perth basins. Visible trackways are interpreted by some to be the earliest evidence of fully terrestrial animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sedimentary structures</span> Geologic structures formed during sediment deposition

Sedimentary structures include all kinds of features in sediments and sedimentary rocks, formed at the time of deposition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avulsion (river)</span> Rapid abandonment of a river channel and formation of a new channel

In sedimentary geology and fluvial geomorphology, avulsion is the rapid abandonment of a river channel and the formation of a new river channel. Avulsions occur as a result of channel slopes that are much less steep than the slope that the river could travel if it took a new course.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bar (river morphology)</span> Elevated region of sediment in a river that has been deposited by the flow

A bar in a river is an elevated region of sediment that has been deposited by the flow. Types of bars include mid-channel bars, point bars, and mouth bars. The locations of bars are determined by the geometry of the river and the flow through it. Bars reflect sediment supply conditions, and can show where sediment supply rate is greater than the transport capacity.

A mouth bar is an element of a deltaic system, which refers to the typically mid-channel deposition of the sediment transported by the river channel at the river mouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hapua</span>

A hapua is a river-mouth lagoon on a mixed sand and gravel (MSG) beach, formed at the river-coast interface where a typically braided, although sometimes meandering, river interacts with a coastal environment that is significantly affected by longshore drift. The lagoons which form on the MSG coastlines are common on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand and have long been referred to as hapua by the Māori. This classification differentiates hapua from similar lagoons located on the New Zealand coast termed waituna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sorthat Formation</span>

The Sorthat Formation is a geologic formation on the island of Bornholm, Denmark and in the Rønne Graben in the Baltic Sea. It is of Latest Pliensbachian to Late Toarcian age. Plant fossils have been recovered from the formation, along with several traces of invertebrate animals. The Sorthat Formation is overlain by fluvial to lacustrine gravels, along with sands, clay and in some places coal beds that are part of the Aalenian-Bathonian Bagå Formation. Until 2003, the Sorthat Formation was included as the lowermost part of the Bagå Formation, recovering the latest Pliensbachian to lower Aalenian boundary. The Sorthat strata reflect a mostly marginally deltaic to marine unit. Large streams fluctuated to the east, where a large river system was established at the start of the Toarcian. In the northwest, local volcanism that started in the lower Pliensbachian extended along the North Sea, mostly from southern Sweden. At this time, the Central Skåne Volcanic Province and the Egersund Basin expelled most of their material, with influences on the local tectonics. The Egersund Basin has abundant fresh porphyritic nephelinite lavas and dykes of lower Jurassic age, with a composition nearly identical to those found in the clay pits. That indicates the transport of strata from the continental margin by large fluvial channels of the Sorthat and the connected Röddinge Formation that ended in the sea deposits of the Ciechocinek Formation green series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sedimentation enhancing strategy</span>

Sedimentation enhancing strategies are environmental management projects aiming to restore and facilitate land-building processes in deltas. Sediment availability and deposition are important because deltas naturally subside and therefore need sediment accumulation to maintain their elevation, particularly considering increasing rates of sea-level rise. Sedimentation enhancing strategies aim to increase sedimentation on the delta plain primarily by restoring the exchange of water and sediments between rivers and low-lying delta plains. Sedimentation enhancing strategies can be applied to encourage land elevation gain to offset sea-level rise. Interest in sedimentation enhancing strategies has recently increased due to their ability to raise land elevation, which is important for the long-term sustainability of deltas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deltaic lobe</span>

A deltaic lobe is a wetland formation that forms as a river empties water and sediment into other bodies of water. As the sediment builds up from this delta, the river will break away from its single channel and the mouth will be pushed outwards, forming a deltaic lobe.

References

  1. Miall, A. D. 1979. Deltas. in R. G. Walker (ed) Facies Models. Geological Association of Canada, Hamilton, Ontario.
  2. Elliot, T. 1986. Deltas. in H. G. Reading (ed.). Sedimentary environments and facies. Backwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
  3. Blum, M.D.; Törnqvist, T.E. (2000). "Fluvial responses to climate and sea-level change: a review and look forward". Sedimentology. 47: 2–48. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3091.2000.00008.x. S2CID   140714394.
  4. 1 2 Pasternack, Gregory B.; Brush, Grace S.; Hilgartner, William B. (2001-04-01). "Impact of historic land-use change on sediment delivery to a Chesapeake Bay subestuarine delta". Earth Surface Processes and Landforms . 26 (4): 409–427. Bibcode:2001ESPL...26..409P. doi:10.1002/esp.189. ISSN   1096-9837. S2CID   129080402.
  5. Schneider, Pia; Asch, Folkard (2020). "Rice production and food security in Asian Mega deltas—A review on characteristics, vulnerabilities and agricultural adaptation options to cope with climate change". Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science. 206 (4): 491–503. doi: 10.1111/jac.12415 . ISSN   1439-037X.
  6. 1 2 Anthony, Edward J. (2015-03-01). "Wave influence in the construction, shaping and destruction of river deltas: A review". Marine Geology . 361: 53–78. Bibcode:2015MGeol.361...53A. doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2014.12.004.
  7. Hage, Sophie; Romans, Brian W.; Peploe, Thomas G. E.; Poyatos-Moré, Miquel; Haeri Ardakani, Omid; Bell, Daniel; Englert, Rebecca G.; Kaempfe-Droguett, Sebastian A.; Nesbit, Paul R.; Sherstan, Georgia; Synnott, Dane P.; Hubbard, Stephen M. (24 October 2022). "High rates of organic carbon burial in submarine deltas maintained on geological timescales". Nature Geoscience . 15 (1): 919–924. Bibcode:2022NatGe..15..919H. doi:10.1038/s41561-022-01048-4. S2CID   253145418 . Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Celoria, Francis (1966). "Delta as a geographical concept in Greek literature". Isis . 57 (3): 385–388. doi:10.1086/350146. JSTOR   228368. S2CID   143811840.
  9. "Word Stories: Unexpected Relatives for Xmas". Druide. January 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-10-22. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
  10. "How a Delta Forms Where River Meets Lake". Jet Propulsion Laboratory . 2014-08-12. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
  11. "Dr. Gregory B. Pasternack – Watershed Hydrology, Geomorphology, and Ecohydraulics :: TFD Modeling". pasternack.ucdavis.edu. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
  12. Boggs, Sam (2006). Principles of sedimentology and stratigraphy (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. pp. 289–306. ISBN   0131547283.
  13. Slingerland, R. and N. D. Smith (1998), "Necessary conditions for a meandering-river avulsion", Geology (Boulder), 26, 435–438.
  14. 1 2 Boggs 2006, p. 295.
  15. Leeder, M. R. (2011). Sedimentology and sedimentary basins : from turbulence to tectonics (2nd ed.). Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 388. ISBN   9781405177832.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Milliman, J. D.; Syvitski, J. P. M. (1992). "Geomorphic/Tectonic Control of Sediment Discharge to the Ocean: The Importance of Small Mountainous Rivers". The Journal of Geology . 100 (5): 525–544. Bibcode:1992JG....100..525M. doi:10.1086/629606. JSTOR   30068527. S2CID   22727856.
  17. 1 2 Goodbred, S. L.; Kuehl, S. A. (2000). "The significance of large sediment supply, active tectonism, and eustasy on margin sequence development: Late Quaternary stratigraphy and evolution of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta". Sedimentary Geology. 133 (3–4): 227–248. Bibcode:2000SedG..133..227G. doi:10.1016/S0037-0738(00)00041-5.
  18. 1 2 Galloway, W.E., 1975, Process framework for describing the morphologic and stratigraphic evolution of deltaic depositional systems, in Brousard, M.L., ed., Deltas, Models for Exploration: Houston Geological Society, Houston, Texas, pp. 87–98.
  19. Nienhuis, J.H., Ashton, A.D., Edmonds, D.A., Hoitink, A.J.F., Kettner, A.J., Rowland, J.C. and Törnqvist, T.E., 2020. Global-scale human impact on delta morphology has led to net land area gain. Nature, 577(7791), pp.514-518.
  20. Perillo, G. M. E. 1995. Geomorphology and Sedimentology of Estuaries. Elsevier Science B.V., New York.
  21. Orton, G.J.; Reading, H.G. (1993). "Variability of deltaic processes in terms of sediment supply, with particular emphasis on grain size". Sedimentology. 40 (3): 475–512. Bibcode:1993Sedim..40..475O. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3091.1993.tb01347.x.
  22. 1 2 3 Boggs 2006, p. 293.
  23. Boggs 2006, p. 294.
  24. Boggs 2006, pp. 293–294.
  25. 1 2 3 Characteristics of deltas. (Available archived at – checked Dec 2008.)
  26. Bernard Biju-Duval, J. Edwin Swezey. "Sedimentary Geology". Page 183. ISBN   2-7108-0802-1. Editions TECHNIP, 2002. Partial text on Google Books.
  27. Gilbert, G.K. (1885). The topographic features of lake shores. US Government Printing Office. pp. 104–107. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  28. Backert, Nicolas; Ford, Mary; Malartre, Fabrice (February 2010). "Architecture and sedimentology of the Kerinitis Gilbert-type fan delta, Corinth Rift, Greece". Sedimentology. 57 (2): 543–586. Bibcode:2010Sedim..57..543B. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3091.2009.01105.x. S2CID   129299341.
  29. 1 2 "Geological and Petrophysical Characterization of the Ferron Sandstone for 3-D Simulation of a Fluvial-deltaic Reservoir". By Thomas C. Chidsey, Thomas C. Chidsey Jr (ed), Utah Geological Survey, 2002. ISBN   1-55791-668-3. Pages 2–17. Partial text on Google Books.
  30. "Dr. Gregory B. Pasternack – Watershed Hydrology, Geomorphology, and Ecohydraulics :: TFD Hydrometeorology". pasternack.ucdavis.edu. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
  31. Pasternack, Gregory B.; Hinnov, Linda A. (October 2003). "Hydrometeorological controls on water level in a vegetated Chesapeake Bay tidal freshwater delta" (PDF). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science . 58 (2): 367–387. Bibcode:2003ECSS...58..367P. doi:10.1016/s0272-7714(03)00106-9.
  32. 1 2 Fagherazzi S., 2008, Self-organization of tidal deltas, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 105 (48): 18692–18695,
  33. "Gregory B. Pasternack – Watershed Hydrology, Geomorphology, and Ecohydraulics :: Tidal Freshwater Deltas". pasternack.ucdavis.edu. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
  34. Pasternack, G. B. (1998). Physical dynamics of tidal freshwater delta evolution (PhD dissertation). The Johns Hopkins University. OCLC   49850378.
  35. Pasternack, Gregory B.; Hilgartner, William B.; Brush, Grace S. (2000-09-01). "Biogeomorphology of an upper Chesapeake Bay river-mouth tidal freshwater marsh". Wetlands . 20 (3): 520–537. doi:10.1672/0277-5212(2000)020<0520:boaucb>2.0.co;2. ISSN   0277-5212. S2CID   25962433.
  36. Pasternack, Gregory B; Brush, Grace S (2002-03-01). "Biogeomorphic controls on sedimentation and substrate on a vegetated tidal freshwater delta in upper Chesapeake Bay". Geomorphology . 43 (3–4): 293–311. Bibcode:2002Geomo..43..293P. doi:10.1016/s0169-555x(01)00139-8.
  37. Pasternack, Gregory B.; Brush, Grace S. (1998-09-01). "Sedimentation cycles in a river-mouth tidal freshwater marsh". Estuaries and Coasts . 21 (3): 407–415. doi:10.2307/1352839. ISSN   0160-8347. JSTOR   1352839. S2CID   85961542.
  38. Gottschalk, L. C. (1945). "Effects of soil erosion on navigation in upper Chesapeake Bay". Geographical Review. 35 (2): 219–238. doi:10.2307/211476. JSTOR   211476.
  39. Brush, G. S. (1984). "Patterns of recent sediment accumulation in Chesapeake Bay (Virginia-Maryland, U.S.A.) tributaries". Chemical Geology . 44 (1–3): 227–242. Bibcode:1984ChGeo..44..227B. doi:10.1016/0009-2541(84)90074-3.
  40. Orson, R. A.; Simpson, R. L.; Good, R. E. (1992). "The paleoecological development of a late Holocene, tidal freshwater marsh of the upper Delaware River estuary". Estuaries and Coasts . 15 (2): 130–146. doi:10.2307/1352687. JSTOR   1352687. S2CID   85128464.
  41. Meade, Robert H. (January 1994). "Suspended sediments of the modern Amazon and Orinoco rivers". Quaternary International. 21: 29–39. Bibcode:1994QuInt..21...29M. doi:10.1016/1040-6182(94)90019-1.
  42. Dadson, Simon J.; Ashpole, Ian; Harris, Phil; Davies, Helen N.; Clark, Douglas B.; Blyth, Eleanor; Taylor, Christopher M. (4 December 2010). "Wetland inundation dynamics in a model of land surface climate: Evaluation in the Niger inland delta region". Journal of Geophysical Research. 115 (D23): D23114. Bibcode:2010JGRD..11523114D. doi:10.1029/2010JD014474.
  43. Leconte, Robert; Pietroniro, Alain; Peters, Daniel L.; Prowse, Terry D. (2001). "Effects of flow regulation on hydrologic patterns of a large, inland delta". Regulated Rivers: Research & Management. 17 (1): 51–65. doi: 10.1002/1099-1646(200101/02)17:1<51::AID-RRR588>3.0.CO;2-V .
  44. Hart, Jeff; Hunter, John (2004). "Restoring Slough and River Banks with Biotechnical Methods in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta". Ecological Restoration. 22 (4): 262–68. doi:10.3368/er.22.4.262. JSTOR   43442774.. S2CID   84968414.
  45. van Beek, Eelco; Bozorgy, Babak; Vekerdy, Zoltán; Meijer, Karen (June 2008). "Limits to agricultural growth in the Sistan Closed Inland Delta, Iran". Irrigation and Drainage Systems. 22 (2): 131–143. doi: 10.1007/s10795-008-9045-7 . S2CID   111027461.
  46. Petráš, Rudolf; Mecko, Julian; Oszlányi, Július; Petrášová, Viera; Jamnická, Gabriela (August 2013). "Landscape of Danube inland-delta and its potential of poplar bioenergy production". Biomass and Bioenergy. 55: 68–72. doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2012.05.022.
  47. Neuenschwander, A.L.; Crawford, M.M.; Ringrose, S. (2002). "Monitoring of seasonal flooding in the Okavango Delta using EO-1 data". IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. Vol. 6. pp. 3124–3126. doi:10.1109/IGARSS.2002.1027105. ISBN   0-7803-7536-X. S2CID   33284178.
  48. Seto, Karen C. (December 2011). "Exploring the dynamics of migration to mega-delta cities in Asia and Africa: Contemporary drivers and future scenarios". Global Environmental Change. 21: S94–S107. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2011.08.005.
  49. Darby, Stephen E.; Hackney, Christopher R.; Leyland, Julian; Kummu, Matti; Lauri, Hannu; Parsons, Daniel R.; Best, James L.; Nicholas, Andrew P.; Aalto, Rolf (November 2016). "Fluvial sediment supply to a mega-delta reduced by shifting tropical-cyclone activity" (PDF). Nature . 539 (7628): 276–279. Bibcode:2016Natur.539..276D. doi:10.1038/nature19809. PMID   27760114. S2CID   205251150.
  50. D.G.A Whitten, The Penguin Dictionary of Geology (1972)
  51. 1 2 Robert L. Bates, Julia A. Jackson, Dictionary of Geological Terms AGI (1984)
  52. Hori, K. and Saito, Y. Morphology and Sediments of Large River Deltas. Tokyo, Japan: Tokyo Geographical Society, 2003
  53. Day, John W.; Agboola, Julius; Chen, Zhongyuan; D’Elia, Christopher; Forbes, Donald L.; Giosan, Liviu; Kemp, Paul; Kuenzer, Claudia; Lane, Robert R.; Ramachandran, Ramesh; Syvitski, James (2016-12-20). "Approaches to defining deltaic sustainability in the 21st century". Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science . Sustainability of Future Coasts and Estuaries. 183: 275–291. Bibcode:2016ECSS..183..275D. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2016.06.018. ISSN   0272-7714.
  54. 1 2 Syvitski, James P. M.; Kettner, Albert J.; Overeem, Irina; Hutton, Eric W. H.; Hannon, Mark T.; Brakenridge, G. Robert; Day, John; Vörösmarty, Charles; Saito, Yoshiki; Giosan, Liviu; Nicholls, Robert J. (2009-10-01). "Sinking deltas due to human activities". Nature Geoscience . 2 (10): 681–686. Bibcode:2009NatGe...2..681S. doi:10.1038/ngeo629. hdl: 1912/3207 . ISSN   1752-0908.
  55. Dunn, Frances E; Darby, Stephen E; Nicholls, Robert J; Cohen, Sagy; Zarfl, Christiane; Fekete, Balázs M (2019-08-06). "Projections of declining fluvial sediment delivery to major deltas worldwide in response to climate change and anthropogenic stress". Environmental Research Letters . 14 (8): 084034. Bibcode:2019ERL....14h4034D. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/ab304e . ISSN   1748-9326.
  56. Syvitski, James P. M. (2008-04-01). "Deltas at risk". Sustainability Science. 3 (1): 23–32. doi:10.1007/s11625-008-0043-3. ISSN   1862-4057. S2CID   128976925.
  57. Minderhoud, P S J; Erkens, G; Pham, V H; Bui, V T; Erban, L; Kooi, H; Stouthamer, E (2017-06-01). "Impacts of 25 years of groundwater extraction on subsidence in the Mekong delta, Vietnam". Environmental Research Letters . 12 (6): 064006. Bibcode:2017ERL....12f4006M. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aa7146. ISSN   1748-9326. PMC   6192430 . PMID   30344619.
  58. ABAM, T. K. S. (2001-02-01). "Regional hydrological research perspectives in the Niger Delta". Hydrological Sciences Journal. 46 (1): 13–25. Bibcode:2001HydSJ..46...13A. doi: 10.1080/02626660109492797 . ISSN   0262-6667. S2CID   129784677.
  59. Hackney, Christopher R.; Darby, Stephen E.; Parsons, Daniel R.; Leyland, Julian; Best, James L.; Aalto, Rolf; Nicholas, Andrew P.; Houseago, Robert C. (2020-03-01). "River bank instability from unsustainable sand mining in the lower Mekong River". Nature Sustainability . 3 (3): 217–225. doi:10.1038/s41893-019-0455-3. hdl: 10871/40127 . ISSN   2398-9629. S2CID   210166330.
  60. Eslami, Sepehr; Hoekstra, Piet; Nguyen Trung, Nam; Ahmed Kantoush, Sameh; Van Binh, Doan; Duc Dung, Do; Tran Quang, Tho; van der Vegt, Maarten (2019-12-10). "Tidal amplification and salt intrusion in the Mekong Delta driven by anthropogenic sediment starvation". Scientific Reports . 9 (1): 18746. Bibcode:2019NatSR...918746E. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-55018-9 . ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   6904557 . PMID   31822705.
  61. Ali, Elham M.; El-Magd, Islam A. (2016-03-01). "Impact of human interventions and coastal processes along the Nile Delta coast, Egypt during the past twenty-five years". The Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research. 42 (1): 1–10. doi: 10.1016/j.ejar.2016.01.002 . ISSN   1687-4285.
  62. Witze, Alexandra (2014-03-20). "Water returns to arid Colorado River delta". Nature News. 507 (7492): 286–287. Bibcode:2014Natur.507..286W. doi: 10.1038/507286a . PMID   24646976.
  63. Maselli, Vittorio; Trincardi, Fabio (2013-05-31). "Man made deltas". Scientific Reports. 3: 1926. Bibcode:2013NatSR...3E1926M. doi:10.1038/srep01926. ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   3668317 . PMID   23722597.
  64. "Mineral Photos – Sand and Gravel". Mineral Information Institute. 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
  65. A., Stefan (2017-05-22). "Why are cities located where they are?". This City Knows. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  66. "Appendix A: The Major River Deltas Of The World" (PDF). Louisiana State University . Retrieved 2022-02-22.
  67. Irwin III, R. et al. 2005. An intense terminal epoch of widespread fluvial activity on early Mars: 2. Increased runoff and paleolake development. Journal of Geophysical Research: 10. E12S15

Bibliography