Piecing together the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna River delta: Use of sediment provenance to reconstruct the history and interaction of multiple fluvial systems during Holocene delta evolution

Research Article| November 01, 2014 Piecing together the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna River delta: Use of sediment provenance to reconstruct the history and interaction of multiple fluvial systems during Holocene delta evolution Steven L. Goodbred, Jr.; Steven L. Goodbred, Jr. † 1Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240, USA †E-mail: steven.goodbred@vanderbilt.edu. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Penny M. Paolo; Penny M. Paolo 2School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Mohammad Shahid Ullah; Mohammad Shahid Ullah 1Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Russell D. Pate; Russell D. Pate 1Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Sirajur R. Khan; Sirajur R. Khan 3Geological Survey of Bangladesh, Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Segunbagicha, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Steven A. Kuehl; Steven A. Kuehl 4Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Sunil K. Singh; Sunil K. Singh 5Geosciences Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380009, India Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Waliur Rahaman Waliur Rahaman 5Geosciences Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380009, India Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Steven L. Goodbred, Jr. † 1Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240, USA Penny M. Paolo 2School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, USA Mohammad Shahid Ullah 1Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240, USA Russell D. Pate 1Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240, USA Sirajur R. Khan 3Geological Survey of Bangladesh, Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Segunbagicha, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh Steven A. Kuehl 4Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062, USA Sunil K. Singh 5Geosciences Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380009, India Waliur Rahaman 5Geosciences Division, Physical Research Laboratory, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380009, India †E-mail: steven.goodbred@vanderbilt.edu. Publisher: Geological Society of America Revision Received: 18 Apr 2014 Accepted: 07 May 2014 Received: 17 Jul 2014 First Online: 08 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 © 2014 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (2014) 126 (11-12): 1495–1510. https://doi.org/10.1130/B30965.1 Article history Revision Received: 18 Apr 2014 Accepted: 07 May 2014 Received: 17 Jul 2014 First Online: 08 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Steven L. Goodbred, Penny M. Paolo, Mohammad Shahid Ullah, Russell D. Pate, Sirajur R. Khan, Steven A. Kuehl, Sunil K. Singh, Waliur Rahaman; Piecing together the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna River delta: Use of sediment provenance to reconstruct the history and interaction of multiple fluvial systems during Holocene delta evolution. GSA Bulletin 2014;; 126 (11-12): 1495–1510. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B30965.1 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 SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Three main rivers—the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna—coalesce in the Bengal basin to form the world's largest delta system, which serves as filter and gateway between the Himalayan collision and vast Bengal fan repository. New insights into the Holocene construction of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna delta, with a focus on river sedimentation, channel migration, and avulsion history, are presented here using the Sr geochemistry of bulk sediments as a provenance tracer. The sediment load of each river transmits a distinct Sr signature owing to differences in source rocks from the Himalaya, Tibet, and local regions, allowing for effective tracking of river channels and stratigraphic development within the delta. In the early Holocene, vigorous delta aggradation occurred under rapid sea-level rise and high river discharge and supported the construction of sand-dominated stratigraphy by laterally mobile, braided-stream channels. However, the vertically (i.e., temporally) uniform, but geographically distinct, Sr signatures from these deposits indicate that the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna fluvial systems remained isolated from one another and apparently constrained within their lowstand valleys. By the mid-Holocene, though, delta stratigraphy records spatially and temporally nonuniform Sr signatures that hallmark the onset of avulsions and unconstrained channel migration, like those that characterize the modern Ganges and Brahmaputra fluvial systems. Such mobility developed in the mid-Holocene despite declining discharge and sea-level rise, suggesting that earlier channel behavior had been strongly influenced by antecedent topography of the lowstand valleys. It is only after the delta had aggraded above the valley margins that the fluvial systems were able to avulse freely, resulting in numerous channel reorganizations from mid-Holocene to present. These channel-system behaviors and their role in delta evolution remain coarsely defined based only on this initial application of Sr-based provenance tools, but the approach is promising and suggests that a more complete understanding can be achieved with continued study. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.