DOI: 10.1038/ngeo2142
论文题名: Sand as a stable and sustainable resource for nourishing the Mississippi River delta
作者: Nittrouer J.A. ; Viparelli E.
刊名: Nature Geoscience
ISSN: 17520894
出版年: 2014
卷: 7, 期: 5 起始页码: 350
结束页码: 354
语种: 英语
Scopus关键词: dam construction
; delta
; estimation method
; flow modeling
; morphodynamics
; sand
; suspended sediment
; wetland
; Louisiana
; Mississippi Delta
; United States
英文摘要: The Mississippi River delta is undergoing a catastrophic drowning, whereby 5,000 km2 of low-lying wetlands have converted to open water over at least the past eight decades, as a result of many anthropogenic and natural factors. Continued net land loss has been thought inevitable due to a decline in the load of total suspended sediment - both sand and mud - carried by the river. However, sand - which accounts for ~ 50-70% of modern and ancient Mississippi delta deposits but comprises only ~ 20% of the sampled portion of the total load - could be more important than mud for subaerial delta growth. Historically, half of the Mississippi River sediment load is supplied by the Missouri River. Here we analyse suspended sediment load data from two locations downstream from the lowest Missouri River dam to show that the measured sand load in the lower 1,100 km of the Mississippi River has not significantly diminished since dam construction. A one-dimensional numerical model of river morphodynamics predicts that the sand load feeding the delta will decrease only gradually over the next several centuries, with an estimated decline from current values of no more than about 17% within the coming six centuries. We conclude that the lower Mississippi River channel holds a significant reservoir of sand that is available to replenish diminished loads via bed scour and substantially mitigate land loss. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. Citation statistics:
资源类型: 期刊论文
标识符: http://119.78.100.158/handle/2HF3EXSE/106623
Appears in Collections: 气候减缓与适应 科学计划与规划
There are no files associated with this item.
作者单位: Department of Earth Science, Rice University, Houston, TX 77251, United States; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, United States
Recommended Citation:
Nittrouer J.A.,Viparelli E.. Sand as a stable and sustainable resource for nourishing the Mississippi River delta[J]. Nature Geoscience,2014-01-01,7(5)