The submarine delta of the Ganges–Brahmaputra: cyclone-dominated sedimentation patterns

Michels, Klaus; Kudrass, H. R.; Hübscher, Christian; Suckow, Axel; Wiedicke, Michael

doi:10.1016/s0025-3227(98)00021-8

Cited by 138 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…5). This contrasts with the accumulation rate and thickness profiles of constructional clinoforms, characterized by sedimentation rates greatest along the foreset portion and significantly lower towards both the topset and the bottomset (e.g., Alexander et al, 1991;Leithold, 1993;Michels et al, 1998;Pirmez et al, 1998;Walsh et al, 2004;Palinkas and Nittrouer, 2006;Cattaneo et al, 2007;Pellegrini et al, 2015) (Figs. 10-18).…”

Section: Clinoform Genesis and Dynamics: Active Versus Passive Clinofmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…Most of these clinoforms in the past were simply classified as "prodelta" (e.g., Roberts and Sydow, 2003), as they form muddy "subaqueous deltas" offshore major river outlets, usually developing a compound configuration (see later) with their subaerial delta counterparts (Driscoll and Karner, 1999;Swenson et al, 2005;Giosan et al, 2006a;Xue et al, 2010). Recent examples include the Ganges-Brahmaputra (Goodbred and Kuehl, 1999Kuehl et al, 1997Kuehl et al, , 2005Michels et al, 1998;Palamenghi et al, 2011, Fig. 13a); Yangtze and Yellow rivers (Chen et al, 2000;Hori et al, 2001;Liu et al, 2004Liu et al, , 2006Liu et al, , 2007aLiu et al, , 2007bQiu et al, 2014); Amazon Nittrouer et al, 1986); Fly Delta (Walsh et al, 2004); Po-Adriatic Shelf (Cattaneo et al, 2003(Cattaneo et al, , 2007Palinkas and Nittrouer, 2006;Puig et al, 2007;Palinkas, 2009 , Fig.…”

Section: Delta Scale Clinoformsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Clinoforms and clinoform systems: Review and dynamic classification scheme for shorelines, subaqueous deltas, shelf edges and continental margins

Patruno

Helland‐Hansen

2018

Earth-Science Reviews

169

162

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A B S T R A C TClinoforms are inclined and normally basinward-dipping horizons developed over a range of spatial and temporal scales in both siliciclastic and carbonatic systems. The study of clinoform successions underpins sequence stratigraphy and all efforts to reconstruct the relative partitioning of reservoir, seal and source rocks along shoreline to basin-floor profiles.Here, we review clinoform research and propose a more systematic description and classification of clinoforms. This is a crucial step to improve predictions of facies and lithology distribution within shoreline to continental shelf and abyssal plain successions, together with the genesis, drivers and dynamics of their constituent sedimentary units.Four basic clinoform types are here distinguished in delta/shorelines, lacustrines and marine environments, on the basis of their overall spatial and temporal scale, morphology, outbuilding dynamic and geodynamic and depositional setting: (1, 2) delta-scale clinoforms, which in turns are sub-divided into shoreline and delta-scale subaqueous clinoforms; (3) shelf-edge clinoforms; and (4) continental-margin clinoforms. Delta-scale clinoform sets are tens of metres high and typically represent 1-10 3 kyr, with progradation rates ranging from 1,000-100,000 m/kyr for shorelines and "subaerial deltas" to 100-20,000 m/kyr for subaqueous deltas; shelfedge clinoform sets are hundreds of metres high and are nucleated and accreted in 0.1-20 Myr (usual progradation rates of 1-100 m/kyr) by successive cross-shelf transits of delta-scale clinoforms; continental-margin clinoform sets are thousands of metres high, hallmark key geodynamic/crustal boundaries (e.g., continent/ocean transition) and slowly prograde basinwards in ca. 5-100 Myr, with typical rates of 0.1-10 m/kyr. As a consequence of the very different progradation rates and of the difficulty of large-scale clinothems to backstep during transgressions, shorelines are the most dynamic clinoforms with regards to position, continental margins the least, and shelf-edges are intermediate. Shortly after a transgression, therefore, the four clinoform types may prograde synchronously along shoreline-to-abyssal plain transects, forming "compound clinoform" systems. During the subsequent regressive cycle, however, due to the dissimilarity in progradation rates, different clinoform types will normally merge progressively with each other, giving rise to "hybrid clinoforms" (e.g., shelf-edge deltas), and fewer depositional breaks-in-slope are distinguished along a single shoreline-toabyssal plain transect. Overall, all clinoform systems are the result of the dynamic evolution of compound and hybrid clinoforms along a temporal and spatial continuum, regulated by the cyclical backstepping of the smallerscale system within natural progradational-retrogradational cycles of larger-scale clinothem outbuilding.All clinothem types may show either an accretionary/active or draping/passive style, depending on the proximity to the sediment source. Draping clinothems are nearly...

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Section: Clinoform Genesis and Dynamics: Active Versus Passive Clinofmentioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Delta Scale Clinoformsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinoforms and clinoform systems: Review and dynamic classification scheme for shorelines, subaqueous deltas, shelf edges and continental margins

Patruno

Helland‐Hansen

2018

Earth-Science Reviews

169

162

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The Ganges-Brahmaputra system carries about 1 billion tonnes of sediment each year (Allison 1998a, Islam et al 1999. About 30% of the modern sediment is distributed in the delta plain (Goodbred and Kuehl 1998), 21% along the topset of the subaqueous delta (Allison 1998b), 20% along the foreset of the subaqueous delta (Michels et al 1998) and the rest 29% is carried to the Swatch of No Ground (Goodbred and Kuehl 1999). These huge supplies of sediment contribute to the rapid accretion along the coastal zone, especially in the Meghna River Estuary area.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rates of shoreline change along the coast of Bangladesh

2013

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Bangladesh, at the confluence of the sediment-laden Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers, supports an enormous and rapidly growing population (>140 million in 2011), across low-lying alluvial and delta plains that have accumulated over the past few thousand years. It has been identified as one of the most vulnerable places in the world to the impacts of climate change and sea-level rise. Although abundant sediment supply has resulted in accretion on some parts of the coast of Bangladesh, others are experiencing rapid erosion. We report a systematic assessment of rates of shoreline change over a 20-year period from 1989 to 2009, using Landsat satellite images with pixel resolution of 30 m on the ground. A Band ratio approach, using Band-5 divided by Band-2, discriminated the water line on images that were largely cloud-free, adequately registered, and at comparable tidal stages. Rates of shoreline change were calculated for >16,000 transects generated at 50 m intervals along the entire mainland coastline (>1,100 km) and major islands, using the End Point Rate (EPR) method in the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) extension in ArcGIS®. Erosion characterises most of the seaward margin of the Sundarbans in western Bangladesh. Retreat rates of up to 20 m/yr are typical, with little evidence that local devastation of the mangrove fringe by Cyclone Sidr in November 2007 had resulted in uncharacteristic long-term rates of retreat where it made landfall. Erosion exceeded accretion in the Barguna Patuakhali coastal zone, most of which eroded at up to 20 m/yr, but with truncation of the southern tip of the Patharghata Upazila at up to 100 m/yr. In Bhola, erosion at rates of up to 120 m/yr were observed along much of the coast, but in the Noakhali Feni coastal zone, similar rates of erosion were balanced by rapid accretion of the main promontory by more than 600 m/yr. Rates of change were more subdued in the Chittagong and Cox's Bazar coastal zones of southeast Bangladesh. Islands in the Meghna estuary were especially dynamic; Hatiya Island accreted along some of its shoreline by 50 km2 between 1989 and 2009, but lost 65 km2 through erosion elsewhere, resulting in the island moving south. Similar trends were observed on adjacent islands. The overall area changed relatively little across the entire coastline over the 20-year period with accretion of up to 315 km2, countered by erosion of about 307 km2.

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“…Studies on large modern subaqueous deltas like the Amazon (Kuehl et al, 1986;Nittrouer et al, 1986;Nittrouer et al, 1996;Kineke et al, 1996) and the Ganges-Brahmaputra (Kuehl et al 1997;2005;Michels et al, 1998) show that hyperpycnal sediment plumes play a crucial role in transporting and delivering sediment from the river mouth to the clinoform, and that alongshore currents redistribute sediments allowing clinoform development along-shelf as well as across-shelf (Driscoll and Karner, 1999;Giosan et al, 2006). Modeling studies for gravity-driven, wave-supported sediment transport predict the equilibrium profile of a mid-shelf clinoform as a function of wave climate and fluvial sediment supply (Friedrichs and Wright, 2004;Wright and Friedrichs, 2006).…”

Section: Iamentioning

confidence: 99%

Aridification of the Indian subcontinent during the Holocene : implications for landscape evolution, sedimentation, carbon cycle, and human civilizations

Ponton¹

2012

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The Indian monsoon affects the livelihood of over one billion people. Despite the importance of climate to society, knowledge of long-term monsoon variability is limited. This thesis provides Holocene records of monsoon variability, using sediment cores from river-dominated margins of the Bay of Bengal (off the Godavari River) and the Arabian Sea (off the Indus River). Carbon isotopes of terrestrial plant leaf waxes (6 13 Cwax) preserved in sediment provide integrated and regionally extensive records of flora for both sites. For the Godavari River basin the 61 3 Cwax record shows a gradual increase in aridity-adapted vegetation from ~4,000 until 1,700 years ago followed by the persistence of aridity-adapted plants to the present. The oxygen isotopic composition of planktonic foraminifera from this site indicates drought-prone conditions began as early as -3,000 years BP. The aridity record also allowed examination of relationships between hydroclimate and terrestrial carbon discharge to the ocean. Comparison of radiocarbon measurements of sedimentary plant waxes with planktonic foraminifera reveal increasing age offsets starting -4,000 yrs BP, suggesting that increased aridity slows carbon cycling and/or transport rates. At the second site, a seismic survey of the Indus River subaqueous delta describes the morphology and Holocene sedimentation of the Pakistani shelf and identified suitable coring locations for paleoclimate reconstructions. The 6 3 Cwax record shows a stable arid climate over the dry regions of the Indus plain and a terrestrial biome dominated by C 4 vegetation for the last 6,000 years. As the climate became more arid 4,000 years, sedentary agriculture took hold in central and south India while the urban Harappan civilization collapsed in the already arid Indus basin. This thesis integrates marine and continental records to create regionally extensive paleoenvironmental reconstructions that have implications for landscape evolution, sedimentation, the terrestrial organic carbon cycle, and prehistoric human civilizations in the Indian subcontinent. 3 4A mi Tito y mi Sense, por haberme despertado el interes por la Ciencia. 5Creo muy poco en lo que veo. Y de lo que me cuentan... nada.-Juan Siyago 6 Acknowledgements I am indebted to my Advisors for their unconditional support and generosity with their ideas and their time. Thank you for keeping me afloat when the seas were rough and I had started to drown. I learned that persistence is key and Science is humbling. Through this journey Liviu's tenacity and strong guidance, and Tim's enthusiasm and optimistic outlook delivered me safely to shore.I will like to thank my committee members and Chair for their invaluable contributions to improve this thesis, but most importantly for their continuous support, concern and encouragement through out these years. Delia, for always being my advocate and offering your experience to suggest alternative solutions. Valier, I have learned immensely from you in the lab and our discussions have always been frui...

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The submarine delta of the Ganges–Brahmaputra: cyclone-dominated sedimentation patterns

Cited by 138 publications

References 36 publications

Clinoforms and clinoform systems: Review and dynamic classification scheme for shorelines, subaqueous deltas, shelf edges and continental margins

Clinoforms and clinoform systems: Review and dynamic classification scheme for shorelines, subaqueous deltas, shelf edges and continental margins

Rates of shoreline change along the coast of Bangladesh

Aridification of the Indian subcontinent during the Holocene : implications for landscape evolution, sedimentation, carbon cycle, and human civilizations

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