Mississippi Delta Sediment Crisis
Edmonds, D.A., Toby, S.C., Siverd, C.G., Twilley, R., Bentley, S.J., Hagen, S. and Xu, K. Nature Sustainability (2023) 6:644–651
Research from scientists at Indiana University and Louisiana State University reveals new information about the role humans have played in large-scale land loss in the Mississippi River Delta — crucial information in determining solutions to the crisis. Published in Nature Sustainability, the study compares the impacts of different human actions on land loss and explains historical trends. Until now, scientists have been unsure about which human-related factors are the most consequential, and why the most rapid land loss in the Mississippi River Delta occurred between the 1960s and 1990s and since has slowed down.
Optimal vegetation height for sedimentation in deltaic freshwater marshes
Nardin, W. and Edmonds, D.A. Nature Geoscience (2014) 7(10):722-726
River deltas support a disproportionate percentage of the world’s population and some are drowning as sea level rises. Resilient deltas theoretically balance relative sea-level rise with vertical growth from surface sedimentation. Vegetation generally enhances inorganic sedimentation and resiliency in some settings, such as tidal saltwater marshes, but the effect of vegetation on freshwater marshes in river deltas is less clear.
Fluvio-deltaic avulsions during relative sea-level fall
Nijhuis, A.G., Edmonds, D.A., Caldwell, R.L., Cederberg, J.A., Slingerland, R.L., Best, J.L., Parsons, D.R., and Robinson, R.A.J. Geology (2015) 43 (8): 719-722.
Understanding river response to changes in relative sea level (RSL) is essential for predicting fluvial stratigraphy and source-to-sink dynamics. Recent theoretical work has suggested that rivers can remain aggradational during RSL fall, but field data are needed to verify this response and investigate sediment deposition processes. We show with field work and modeling that fluvio-deltaic systems can remain aggradational or at grade during RSL fall, leading to superelevation and continuation of delta lobe avulsions.
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39. *David, S.R., Czuba, J.A., and Edmonds, D.A. (2018) Channelization of meandering river floodplains by headcutting. Geology 47(1):15-18. Link |
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37. Zheng, S., Han, S., Guangming, T., Xia, J., Wu, B., Wang, K., and Edmonds, D.A. (2018) Morphological adjustment of the Qingshuigou channel on the Yellow River Delta and factors controlling its avulsion, Catena, 166, 44-55. Link |
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2. Edmonds, D.A. and Slingerland, R.L. (2008) Stability of delta distributary networks and their bifurcations. Water Resources Research 44:W09426. Link |
1. Edmonds, D.A. and Slingerland, R.L. (2007) Mechanics of river mouth bar formation: Implications for the morphodynamics of delta distributary networks. Journal of Geophysical Research 112:F02034. Link |