Importance of flood-plain sedimentation for river sediment budgets and terrigenous input to the oceans: Insights from the Brahmaputra-Jamuna River

Research Article| February 01, 1998 Importance of flood-plain sedimentation for river sediment budgets and terrigenous input to the oceans: Insights from the Brahmaputra-Jamuna River M. A. Allison; M. A. Allison 1Department of Oceanography, Texas A S. A. Kuehl 1Department of Oceanography, Texas A T. C. Martin 2Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar A. Hassan A. Hassan 3Environment and Geographic Information Support Project for Water Sector Planning (EGIS), House 49, Road 27, Dhaka, Bangladesh Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (1998) 26 (2): 175–178. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1998)0262.3.CO;2 Article history first online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation M. A. Allison, S. A. Kuehl, T. C. Martin, A. Hassan; Importance of flood-plain sedimentation for river sediment budgets and terrigenous input to the oceans: Insights from the Brahmaputra-Jamuna River. Geology 1998;; 26 (2): 175–178. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1998)0262.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Recent authors have suggested that a significant proportion of the worldwide terrigenous sediment budget is trapped landward of the river-ocean boundary in high-load, tectonically active basins. To test this idea, modern flood-plain sediment accumulation rates were determined along a 110 km reach of the Brahmaputra (locally Jamuna) River using 137Cs geochronology of sediment cores and geographic information system (GIS) extrapolation to adjacent areas. 137Cs accumulation rates decrease exponentially away from the channel, from >4 cm/yr on the natural levees to <1 cm/yr within a few tens of kilometers basinward. Important controls on sedimentation in this area include proximity to distributary channels, local topography, and interannual variability of the flood pulse. Model results indicate that an average of 23 m.t./yr of sediment are sequestered in this section of the flood plain. Extrapolated basinwide, as much as 39%–71% of the river sediment budget may be trapped landward of the Ganges-Brahmaputra mouth. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.