The Effect of Simulated Sea Level on the Sedimentation of the Tien River Estuaries, Lower Mekong River, Southern Vietnam

Abstract

Owing to global warming, sea-level rise (SLR) poses a serious threat to low-lying coastal areas. The potential impacts of SLR include inundation, coastal erosion, salinity intrusion, and degradation of coastal habitat. The Mekong River Delta (MRD) in southern Vietnam is a flat, low-lying land area that has experienced significant effects of climate change and SLR. Sea-level data collected from 1979 to 2006 show that the highest mean surface level of the spring tide has risen by 13 cm. This study investigated the impacts of climate change and SLR on sedimentation processes in the Tien River Estuaries of the Mekong River System. Long-term simulation results were obtained for the baseline and two SLR scenarios. In the low-SLR scenario, morphological evolutions of the Tien River Estuaries showed the same trend as the existing processes in the baseline, but intensified erosion and deposition processes. In the high-SLR scenario, the processes of erosion and deposition become too complex to estimate.

Assessing the Effects of Upstream Dam Developments on Sediment Distribution in the Lower Mekong Delta, Vietnam

“…When the bed shear velocity exceeds the fall veloctiy, sediment is transported as both suspended sediment and bed load. The sediment properties specified in the model are presented Table 1, which are based on a number of previous studies, Hung et al [8], Manh et al [15], Ngoc et al [1]. Most suspended sediment in the LMD is fine-grained, Hung et al [7].…”

“…A large number of sedimentation studies were conducted and published, Steiger et al [20], [21], Middelkoop [22], Baborowksi et al [23], Hung et al [7] [8] [13], Manh et al [14] [15], Ngoc et al [1], Habersack et al [24], however, these studies focused on other aspects such as reservoir sedimentation, urban retention pond, reservoir influence or suspended sediment mobilization and transport in small mountainous catchments. Then, the sediment transport (ST) model is used to compute spatial variation of sediment erosion and deposition in the river/channel network of the LMD.…”

“…However, little is known about the dynamics of the suspended sediment, including spatial and temporal variation of erosion/deposition and transport in the complex channel network of the LMD, Ngoc et al [1], Hung et al [8]. A number of recent studies provided some information on sediment deposition and erosion indicated major factors that influence sediment transport in the LMD, Wolanski et al [9] [10], Tamura et al [11], Mikhailov and Arakelyants [12], Hung et al [7] [8] [13], Ngoc et al [1], Thanh Letrung et al [3] and Manh et al [14] [15].…”

“…These two main rivers germinate into a dense river network on the flat lowlying and fertile delta of southern Vietnam before draining into the Southeast Sea from Vung Tau to Camau cape, Ngoc et al [1].…”

Effect of the Interaction Between Monsoon Currents and Waves on the Morphological Processes along the Mekong River Delta Coast

“…For example, the impacts of waves and salinity were not considered in detail, and sediment transport and bed parameters were not determined by measured data. In the study of Ngoc et al (2013), two large-scale models were established to investigate the impacts of climate change and SLR on sedimentation processes in the Tien River estuary. Ngoc et al (2013) showed that morphological evolutions would become too complex to estimate in case of rising sea levels.…”