Deltas at risk |
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Authors: | James P M Syvitski |
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Institution: | (1) Environmental Computation and Imaging Facility, INSTAAR, University of Colorado—Boulder, Boulder, CO 80304-0595, USA |
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Abstract: | The long-term sustainability of populated deltas is often more affected by large-scale engineering projects than sea-level
rise associated with global warming and the global ocean volume increase. On deltas, the rate of relative eustatic sea-level
rise is often smaller than the rate for isostatic-controlled subsidence and of the same order of magnitude as natural sediment
compaction. Accelerated compaction associated with petroleum and groundwater mining can exceed natural subsidence rates by
an order of magnitude. The reduction in sediment delivery to deltas due to trapping behind dams, along with the human control
of routing river discharge across delta plains, contributes to the sinking of world deltas. Consequences include shoreline
erosion, threatened mangroves swamps and wetlands, increased salinization of cultivated land, and hundreds of millions of
humans put at risk. |
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Keywords: | Eustasy Isostasy Compaction Sediment loads Deltas Sea level |
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