GFZ German research centre for geo sciences

Sediment Dynamics in the Mekong Delta

28.08.2014: The Mekong Delta is on of the biggest and most productive river deltas on earth.  Up to now, its sedimentation dynamics and nutrient inputs have not been quantified, what essentially complicates the discussion of various impacts on the sediment dynamics in the Mekong Delta.

28.08.2014: The Mekong Delta is on of the biggest and most productive river deltas on earth. The annual flooding and the associated input of sediments and nutrients are key factors for a highly productive agri- and aquaculture, forming the livelihood of billions of people in Cambodia and Vietnam. Up to now, the sedimentation dynamics and nutrient inputs have not been quantified, what essentially complicates the discussion of various impacts on the sediment dynamics in the Mekong Delta.

Hence, scientists at the GFZ  and of the Southern Institute of Water Resources Research in Ho Chi Minh conducted a large field campaign to investigate the sedimentation and their spatial variability in the Mekong Delta. On that basis, a large scale hydrodynamic model was developed and calibrated to simulate sediment load and sedimentation. With the model results annual sedimentation rates have been quantified with respect to three flood-periods of different characteristics. The results indicate, that sedimentation shows a high spatial variability and that the key factor to variability is human regulation and interference. On basis of the simulation results an optimization for sedimentation on the floodplains used for agriculture could be suggested.

N. V. Manh, N. V. Dung, N. N. Hung, B. Merz, and H. Apel: „Large-scale suspended sediment transport and sediment deposition in the Mekong Delta“,Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 3033-3053, 2014, doi:10.5194/hess-18-3033-2014

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