@article {2623,
	title = {A base-level stratigraphic approach to determining Holocene subsidence of the Ganges{\textendash}Meghna{\textendash}Brahmaputra Delta plain},
	journal = {Earth and Planetary Science Letters},
	volume = {499},
	year = {2018},
	month = {Jan-10-2018},
	pages = {23 - 36},
	abstract = {Relative sea level history, which is the result of the combined effects of land subsidence, sediment supply and absolute sea level history may be reconstructed from preserved sediment thicknesses. However, variations in the preserved sediment thicknesses between different sedimentary environments strongly limit the accuracy of this type of geological approach, particularly in fluvial channelized systems, such as delta plains. To address this, we apply three different and independent stratigraphic approaches to the case of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta (GBMD). Our approach has been made possible by a broad dataset of geological archives we have collected, which includes more than 400 hand-drilled stratigraphic wells, 198 radiocarbon ages, and river seismic reflection data (255 km of high-resolution multichannel seismic images). The seaward gradient of accommodation and the limit of the subsiding delta plain are estimated, assuming that the delta is near or at the base-level, which is considered to be the relative sea-level. First, a statistical analysis of the variability of preserved sediment thicknesses is used to derive the average pattern of accommodation from the Holocene isopach. Secondly, the preserved sediment thicknesses are analyzed by geomorphotectonic domains to estimate an average pattern of accommodation. Thirdly, the burial history of the seismically imaged last glacial incision of the Brahmaputra River is reconstructed. Results suggest that the variability of preserved sediment thicknesses can be up to 35\% in a delta plain between river channel and flood plain deposits for the same relative sea-level history. Taking this variability into consideration, the Holocene relative sea-level history of the GBMD and the most likely pattern of subsidence are determined. Results provide evidence of moderate Holocene subsidence over the delta, gently increasing seaward from <0.2 mm/yr landward of the Hinge Zone, which can be considered as the northern limit of the subsiding delta plain, to 2 +/- 0.7 mm/yr in the middle fluvial delta to 4 +/- 1.4 mm/yr in the lower tidal delta. This enables us to construct the first millennial-scale map of subsidence pattern on the GBMD in which uncertainties on subsidence rates are provided. This map may aid in evaluating the negative impact that human modification may have on subsidence and relative sea level in the GBMD, and thereby help to determine better sustainable coastal management practices for the GBMD and other large delta plains. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.},
	keywords = {base level stratigraphic method, delta plain, Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta, indicative meaning of sea level index, relative sea level, subsidence},
	issn = {0012821X},
	doi = {10.1016/j.epsl.2018.07.008},
	url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X1830414X},
	author = {Grall, C. and Steckler, M.S. and Pickering, J.L. and Goodbred, S. and Sincavage, R. and Paola, C. and Akhter, S.H. and Spiess, V.}
}
@article {2624,
	title = {A base-level stratigraphic approach to determining Holocene subsidence of the Ganges-Meghna-Brahmaputra Delta plain},
	journal = {EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS},
	volume = {499},
	year = {2018},
	month = {10/01/2018},
	pages = {23-36},
	chapter = {23},
	abstract = {Relative sea level history, which is the result of the combined effects of land subsidence, sediment supply and absolute sea level history may be reconstructed from preserved sediment thicknesses. However, variations in the preserved sediment thicknesses between different sedimentary environments strongly limit the accuracy of this type of
geological approach, particularly in fluvial channelized systems, such as delta plains. To address this, we apply three different and independent stratigraphic approaches to the case of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta (GBMD). Our approach has been made possible by a broad dataset of geological archives we have collected, which includes more than 400 hand-drilled stratigraphic wells, 198 radiocarbon ages, and river seismic reflection data (255 km of high-resolution multichannel seismic images). The seaward gradient of accommodation and the limit of the subsiding delta plain are estimated, assuming that the delta is near or at the base-level, which is considered to be the relative sea-level. First, a statistical analysis of the variability of preserved sediment thicknesses is used to derive the average pattern of accommodation from the Holocene isopach.
Secondly, the preserved sediment thicknesses are analyzed by geomorphotectonic domains to estimate an average pattern of accommodation. Thirdly, the burial history of the seismically imaged last glacial incision of the Brahmaputra River is reconstructed. Results suggest that the variability of preserved sediment thicknesses can be up to 35\% in a delta plain between river channel and flood plain deposits for the same relative sea-level history. Taking this variability into consideration, the Holocene relative sea-level history of the GBMD and the most likely pattern of subsidence are determined. Results provide evidence of moderate Holocene subsidence over the delta, gently increasing seaward from <0.2 mm/yr landward of the Hinge Zone, which can be considered as the northern limit of the subsiding delta plain, to 2 {\textpm} 0.7 mm/yr in the middle fluvial delta to 4 {\textpm} 1.4 mm/yr in the lower tidal delta. This enables us to construct the first millennial-scale map of subsidence pattern on the GBMD in which uncertainties on subsidence rates are provided. This map may aid in evaluating the negative impact that human modification may have on subsidence and relative sea level in the GBMD, and thereby help to determine better sustainable coastal management practices for the GBMD and other large delta plains.},
	keywords = {base level stratigraphic method, delta plain, Ganges{\textendash}Brahmaputra{\textendash}Meghna Delta, indicative meaning of sea level index, relative sea level, subsidence},
	issn = {0012-821X},
	author = {Grall, C and Steckler, MS and Pickering, JL and Goodbred, S}
}
@article {2274,
	title = {Sea-level rise on eastern China{\textquoteright}s Yangtze delta},
	journal = {Journal of Coastal Research},
	volume = {14},
	year = {1998},
	note = {Yt592Times Cited:46
Cited References Count:27
},
	month = {Win},
	pages = {360-366},
	abstract = {The Yangtze delta is a densely populated, low-lying region highly vulnerable to flooding, high tides and typhoons. All previous studies indicated that relative sea level was higher from similar to 7500-4000 yrs. BP, then lowered and stabilized at about present msl during the past 3000 yrs. To the contrary, we find that sea level has been rising relative to the southern Yangtze delta plain based on new sea-level data derived from dated peats, reassessment of earlier sea-level curves and measurement of delta plain subsidence and analysis of prehistoric habitat bases from similar to 7000 to 3000 yrs. BP. Consequences of this relative rise include difficulty in expelling water from the low-lying delta plain to the coast and associated flood damage. Emplacement of the 3-Gorges Dam on the Yangtze will control flooding of the Yangtze river but decrease sediment accumulation on the delta plain that, in turn, is likely to accelerate saline inundation of this vital breadbasket.},
	keywords = {delta flooding, Holocene, neolithic sites, peat, radiocarbon dates, relative sea level, sea-level curve, subsidence, taihu lake, yangtze delta},
	isbn = {0749-0208},
	author = {Chen, Z. Y. and Stanley, D. J.}
}
@article {2292,
	title = {Dynamic changes of the Holocene Mississippi River delta plain: The delta cycle},
	journal = {Journal of Coastal Research},
	volume = {13},
	year = {1997},
	note = {Xq326Times Cited:167
Cited References Count:74
},
	month = {Sum},
	pages = {605-627},
	abstract = {Previous geologic research on Holocene Mississippi River deltaic deposits has verified that the present delta plain and associated nearshore barrier islands and submarine shoals are either direct or indirect products of cyclic delta-building events that have operated on a variety of temporal and spatial scales. A major depositional element of the modern delta plain is the delta complex, of which there are six: (1) Maringouin, (2) Teche, (3) St. Bernard, (4) Lafourche, (5) Balize, and (6) Atchafalaya. Major delta-building events have occurred at a frequency of one every 1-2 kyr. Deposits associated with the six major delta complexes are fundamental constructional units of the delta plain, which collectively covers an area of similar to 30,000 km(2). Sedimentary deposits associated with these delta-building events range in thickness from about 10 to 100 m. Their construction is modulated by stream capture, which develops a new delta complex by way of a new river course. Delta complexes may be comprised of one or more delta lobes. As a product of this delta switching, the depositional architecture of the delta plain consists of laterally offset and stacked delta lobes. Within delta lobes are subdeltas and even smaller crevasse-splays. These smaller scale deltas sedimentologically and geomorphically mimic their larger delta lobe counterparts, but they are considerably thinner, cover less area, and have a shorter period of development and abandonment. Subdeltas are usually < 10 m thick and may fill shallow bays that cover over 300 km(2). They build and deteriorate on time-scales of 150-200 years. Crevasse-splays or overbank splays are < 5 m thick, cover only a few square kilometers, and are abandoned after several decades of active growth.Each delta evolves through a rapid regressional phase as water and sediment are captured from an antecedent river course. If highstand conditions persist long enough, deltas may prograde to the outer shelf to form wedges of deltaic sediment much thicker than their inner shelf counterparts. The delta-building process starts with the filling of interior lakes (lacustrine deltas), which is followed by bayhead delta-building at the coast, and finally by progradation across the marine shelf(shelf delta). Delta complexes and delta lobes, as well as their smaller counterparts, experience three phases of growth and abandonment: (1) rapid growth with increasing-to-stable discharge, (2) relative stability during initial stages of waning discharge, when sediment input balances the collective effects of subsidence, and (3) abandonment, followed by rapid subsidence-driven subaerial delta deterioration. In the rapid growth stage, formerly eroding-subsiding coastal environments experience delta plain accretion and coastal progradation from renewed sediment input. On the abandonment side of the cycle, marine processes overwhelm fluvial processes and rework the delta perimeter. Forced by the combined processes of subsidence, the delta surface undergoes progressive submergence. Transgressive sand bodies created by wave reworking of the delta evolve from headland beaches and spits, to barrier islands, and finally to submarine shoals as the abandonment phase is completed.
},
	keywords = {barrier, delta cycle, lacustrine deltas, progradation, shoreline change, subsidence},
	isbn = {0749-0208},
	url = {http://www.jstor.org/stable/4298659},
	author = {Roberts, H. H.}
}
