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A model has been devised that quantitatively describes how the shape of a river delta is affected by sediments, tides and waves. It reveals that the area of delta land is increasing globally, as a result of human activities upstream.
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- Nick van de Giesen0
- Nick van de Giesen
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Nick van de Giesen is in the Department of Water Management, Delft University of Technology, 2628 Delft, the Netherlands.
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Undisturbed river deltas are diverse ecosystems that encompass tidal wetlands and floodplains. Because of their rich soils and convenient positions for trade and transport, many deltas have also become hotspots of socio-economic development. The Nile delta, for example, with its iconic triangular shape, has been one such locus for more than 5,000 years. Not all deltas are triangular, however — their morphology can vary widely. Writing in Nature, Nienhuis et al.1 report a model that correlates the forces that shape deltas with delta morphology, and use it to analyse the shapes of some 11,000 coastal deltas. This global overview allows the authors to assess how delta morphology is affected by changes in sediment delivery caused by river damming and soil erosion.
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Nature 577, 473-474 (2020)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-00047-y
References
Nienhuis, J. H. et al. Nature 577, 514–518 (2020).
Pekel, J.-F., Cottam, A., Gorelick, N. & Belward, A. S. Nature 540, 418–422 (2016).
Donchyts, G. et al. Nature Clim. Change 6, 810–813 (2016).
Renaud, F. G. et al. Curr. Opin. Environ. Sustain. 5, 644–654 (2013).
Tessler, Z. D. et al. Science 349, 638–643 (2015).
Bucx, T., Marchand, M., Makaske, B. & van de Guchte, C. Comparative Assessment of the Vulnerability and Resilience of 10 Deltas – Synthesis Report. Delta Alliance Rep. 1 (2010); go.nature.com/2ssuqhx
Auerbach, L. W. et al. Nature Clim. Change 5, 153–157 (2015).
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (eds Core Writing Team, Pachauri, R. K. & Meyer, L. A.) p.60 (Table 2.1) (IPCC, 2014).
Garner, A. J. et al. Earth’s Future 6, 1603–1615 (2018).
Smith, D. E., Harrison, S., Firth, C. R. & Jordan, J. T. Quat. Sci. Rev. 30, 1846–1860 (2011).
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