2023 article

Sediment dynamics and geohazards in estuaries and deltas

Liu, X., Liu, J. P., & Wang, Y. P. (2023, January 16). FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE, Vol. 10.

By: X. Liu *, J. Liu n & Y. Wang *

author keywords: sediment dynamics; geotechnical and engineering characteristics; transport of suspended sediment; marine geohazards; estuaries and deltas
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
13. Climate Action (Web of Science)
14. Life Below Water (Web of Science; OpenAlex)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: February 27, 2023

Estuaries and deltas are the most complex areas of the earth’s dynamic system, where frequent interactions and transformation of energy and materials occur (Gao et al., 2014; Yang et al., 2020, Yang et al.). Human exploitation and utilization of the ocean are relatively concentrated in these areas because of the extremely fertile lands with abundant water and diverse vegetation. More than 600 million people live on or near estuaries and deltas, who occupy only 1% of the world’s land mass, and the productive intersection of river and ocean has allowed port cities to flourish (Syvitski and Saito, 2007; Higgins, 2016). Therefore, estuaries and deltas have both important ecological and environmental values and socio-economic significance (Giosan et al., 2014). However, most of the world’s estuaries and deltas are deteriorating at an accelerated rate (Syvitski et al., 2009; Bergillos et al., 2016). Under the combined effects of hydrodynamics, human activities and climate change, the sediments undergo a series of dynamic changes, such as consolidation, liquefaction, erosion, resuspension, and transportation, as well as the dynamic changes of sediment composition, structure, physical, chemical, and geotechnical engineering properties (Morton and Sallenger, 2003; Liu et al., 2017; Burchard et al., 2018; Xiong et al., 2018; Albatal et al., 2019; Yang et al., 2019; Čelić et al., 2019; Glover et al., 2021). These sediment dynamic changes would induce the morphological evolution of estuaries and deltas and a series of geological disasters, such as coastal erosion, submarine landslides, gravity flow, which seriously threaten the marine engineering activities (Liu et al.; Maloney et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2020). Generally speaking, sediment dynamics in estuaries and deltas and its derivative disasters are important aspects of marine geology and engineering studies and is one of the foci of international interest. In this Research Topic, we have gathered contributions from scientists working in diverse disciplines, from the geotechnical and engineering characteristics of sediments, OPEN ACCESS