Approaches to defining deltaic sustainability in the 21st century

Day, John W.; Agboola, Julius I.; Chen, Zhongyuan; D’Elia, Christopher F.; Forbes, Donald L.; Giosan, Liviu; Kemp, Paul R.; Kuenzer, Claudia; Lane, Robert R.; Ramachandran, Ramesh; Syvitski, James P. M.; Yáñez‐Arancibia, Alejandro

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2016.06.018

Cited by 141 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 134 publications

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“…Especially in Asia this is a prominent problem in muddominated systems, such as the Huanghe and Mekong deltas (e.g. Schmidt, 2015;Day et al, 2016). Our study shows that changes in sediment management in such deltas are likely to have impacts that may extend well beyond the delta plain, affecting adjacent coastal plains with dense populations and high economic value.…”

Section: Implications For Coastal Restorationmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Studies from China indicate a base of cheniers near the mean high-tide level (Yan et al, 1989;Ying and Xiankun, 1989), while Horne et al (2015) show cheniers in Australia with a base 0.1-0.2 m above the mean spring low-tide level. On the other hand, Dougherty and Dickson (2012) use the contact between chenier beach sand and foreshore deposits as a sea-level indicator. In addition, crest elevations of cheniers have been used as a sea-level indicator (McBride et al, 2007).…”

Section: Implications For Relative Sea-level Reconstruction From Chenmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Late Holocene evolution of a coupled, mud-dominated delta plain–chenier plain system, coastal Louisiana, USA

Hijma

Shen

Törnqvist³

et al. 2017

Earth Surf. Dynam.

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Abstract. Major deltas and their adjacent coastal plains are commonly linked by means of coast-parallel fluxes of water, sediment, and nutrients. Observations of the evolution of these interlinked systems over centennial to millennial timescales are essential to understand the interaction between point sources of sediment discharge (i.e. deltaic distributaries) and adjacent coastal plains across large spatial (i.e. hundreds of kilometres) scales. This information is needed to constrain future generations of numerical models to predict coastal evolution in relation to climate change and other human activities. Here we examine the coastal plain (Chenier Plain, CP) adjacent to the Mississippi River delta, one of the world's largest deltas. We use a refined chronology based on 22 new optically stimulated luminescence and 22 new radiocarbon ages to test the hypothesis that cyclic Mississippi subdelta shifting has influenced the evolution of the adjacent CP. We show that over the past 3 kyr, accumulation rates in the CP were generally 0-1 Mt yr −1 . However, between 1.2 and 0.5 ka, when the Mississippi River shifted to a position more proximal to the CP, these rates increased to 2.9 ±1.1 Mt yr −1 or 0.5-1.5 % of the total sediment load of the Mississippi River. We conclude that CP evolution during the past 3 kyr was partly a direct consequence of shifting subdeltas, in addition to changing regional sediment sources and modest rates of relative sea-level (RSL) rise. The RSL history of the CP during this time period was constrained by new limiting data points from the base of overwash deposits associated with the cheniers.These findings have implications for Mississippi River sediment diversions that are currently being planned to restore portions of this vulnerable coast. Only if such diversions are located in the western portion of the Mississippi Delta plain could they potentially contribute to sustaining the CP shoreline. Our findings highlight the importance of a better understanding of mud-dominated shorelines that are often associated with major deltas, in light of the enormous investments in coastal management and restoration that will likely be made around the globe, now and especially later during this century.

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Section: Implications For Coastal Restorationmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Implications For Relative Sea-level Reconstruction From Chenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Holocene evolution of a coupled, mud-dominated delta plain–chenier plain system, coastal Louisiana, USA

Hijma

Shen

Törnqvist³

et al. 2017

Earth Surf. Dynam.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…1.1) means processes occurring in one place within the deltaic system can lead to benefits or losses elsewhere. In particular, many human processes, such as river catchment management and land claim, modify water flows and the natural sedimentary processes that maintain deltas (Syvitski et al 2009;Day et al 2016). This, combined with climate-driven processes such as precipitation, sea-level rise and storm intensity and frequency, means that delta areas are subject to changes such as periodic and permanent submergence (Ericson et al 2006), erosion and accretion and salinisation.…”

Section: Ecosystem Processes and Services In Deltasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem Services, Well-Being and Deltas: Current Knowledge and Understanding

Adger

Adams

Kay

et al. 2018

Ecosystem Services for Well-Being in Deltas

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“…In summary, “little of the natural system remains for many deltas. Unless delta cultures and inhabitants can develop approaches and infrastructure to survive future extreme weather systems, then the advantages of world deltas (flat‐lying food sources and transportation hubs) will become disadvantages” (Day et al , , p. 3).…”

Section: The Geomorphic Consequences Of Extreme Storm Eventsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stormy geomorphology: geomorphic contributions in an age of climate extremes

Naylor

Spencer

Lane

et al. 2016

Earth Surf Processes Landf

103

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The increasing frequency and/or severity of extreme climate events are becoming increasingly apparent over multidecadal timescales at the global scale, albeit with relatively low scientific confidence. At the regional scale, scientific confidence in the future trends of extreme event likelihood is stronger, although the trends are spatially variable. Confidence in these extreme climate risks is muddied by the confounding effects of internal landscape system dynamics and external forcing factors such as changes in land use and river and coastal engineering. Geomorphology is a critical discipline in disentangling climate change impacts from other controlling factors, thereby contributing to debates over societal adaptation to extreme events. We review four main geomorphic contributions to flood and storm science. First, we show how palaeogeomorphological and current process studies can extend the historical flood record while also unraveling the complex interactions between internal geomorphic dynamics, human impacts and changes in climate regimes. A key outcome will be improved quantification of flood probabilities and the hazard dimension of flood risk. Second, we present evidence showing how antecedent geomorphological and climate parameters can alter the risk and magnitude of landscape change caused by extreme events. Third, we show that geomorphic processes can both mediate and increase the geomorphological impacts of extreme events, influencing societal risk. Fourthly, we show the potential of managing flood and storm risk through the geomorphic system, both near-term (next 50 years) and longer-term. We recommend that key methods of managing flooding and erosion will be more effective if risk assessments include palaeodata, if geomorphological science is used to underpin nature-based management approaches, and if land-use management addresses changes in geomorphic process regimes that extreme events can trigger. We argue that adopting geomorphologically-grounded adaptation strategies will enable society to develop more resilient, less vulnerable socio-geomorphological systems fit for an age of climate extremes.

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Approaches to defining deltaic sustainability in the 21st century

Cited by 141 publications

References 134 publications

Late Holocene evolution of a coupled, mud-dominated delta plain–chenier plain system, coastal Louisiana, USA

Late Holocene evolution of a coupled, mud-dominated delta plain–chenier plain system, coastal Louisiana, USA

Ecosystem Services, Well-Being and Deltas: Current Knowledge and Understanding

Stormy geomorphology: geomorphic contributions in an age of climate extremes

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