A comparison of factors controlling sedimentation rates and wetland loss in fluvial-deltaic systems, Texas Gulf coast
Geomorphology
By: W.A. White, R.A. Morton, and C. W. Holmes
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Abstract
Submergence of coastal marshes in areas where rates of relative sea-level rise exceed rates of marsh sedimentation, or vertical accretion, is a global problem that requires detailed examination of the principal processes that establish, maintain, and degrade these biologically productive environments. Using a simple 210Pb-dating model, we measured sedimentation rates in cores from the Trinity, Lavaca-Navidad, and Nueces bayhead fluvial-deltaic systems in Texas where more than 2000 ha of wetlands have been lost since the 1950s. Long-term average rates of fluvial-deltaic aggradation decrease southwestward from 0.514 ?? 0.008 cm year -1 in the Trinity, 0.328 ?? 0.022 cm year -1 in the Lavaca-Navidad, to 0.262 ?? 0.034 cm year -1 in the Nucces. The relative magnitudes of sedimentation and wetland loss correlate with several parameters that define the differing fluvial-deltaic settings, including size of coastal drainage basin, average annual rainfall, suspended sediment load, thickness of Holocene mud in the valley fill, and rates of relative sea-level rise. There is some evidence that upstream reservoirs have reduced wetland sedimentation rates, which are now about one-half the local rates of relative sea-level rise. The extant conditions indicate that fluvial-deltaic marshes in these valleys will continue to be lost as a result of submergence and erosion. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Suggested Citation
White, W., Morton, R., Holmes, C.W., 2002, A comparison of factors controlling sedimentation rates and wetland loss in fluvial-deltaic systems, Texas Gulf coast: Geomorphology, v. 44, no. 1-2, p. 47-66, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-555X(01)00140-4.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | A comparison of factors controlling sedimentation rates and wetland loss in fluvial-deltaic systems, Texas Gulf coast |
| Series title | Geomorphology |
| DOI | 10.1016/S0169-555X(01)00140-4 |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue | 1-2 |
| Year Published | 2002 |
| Language | English |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Geomorphology |
| First page | 47 |
| Last page | 66 |