Sedimentation strategies provide effective but limited mitigation of relative sea-level rise in the Mekong delta

Frances Dunn; Philip Minderhoud

doi:10.1038/s43247-021-00331-3

Sedimentation strategies provide effective but limited mitigation of relative sea-level rise in the Mekong delta

Frances Dunn, Philip Minderhoud

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

The Mekong delta is experiencing rapid environmental change due to anthropogenic activities causing accelerated subsidence, sea-level rise and sediment starvation. Consequentially, the delta is rapidly losing elevation relative to sea level. Designating specific areas for sedimentation is a suggested strategy to encourage elevation-building with nature in deltas. We combined projections of extraction-induced subsidence, natural compaction and global sea-level rise with new projections of fluvial sediment delivery to evaluate the potential effectiveness of sedimentation strategies in the Mekong delta to 2050. Our results reveal that with current rates of subsidence and sediment starvation, fluvial sediments alone can only preserve elevation locally, even under optimistic assumptions, and organic sedimentation could potentially assume a larger role. While sedimentation strategies alone have limited effectiveness in the present context, combined with enhanced organic matter retention and interventions reducing anthropogenic-accelerated subsidence, they can considerably delay future relative sea-level rise, buying the delta crucial time to adapt.

Original language	English
Article number	2
Pages (from-to)	1-12
Journal	Communications Earth & Environment
Volume	3
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-021-00331-3
Publication status	Published - Dec 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by Utrecht University’s Water, Climate and Future Deltas research hub ( https://www.uu.nl/en/research/sustainability/research/water-climate-future-deltas ). Simon van Laarhoven is acknowledge for creating the map of Holocene soft clay thickness (Supplementary Fig. ) for the Mekong delta for masters research supervised by PSJM. PSJM received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 894476—InSPiRED—H2020-MSCA-IF-2019 and the Urbanizing Deltas of the World (UDW): ‘Rise and Fall’ research project (grant: W07.69.105) funded by the Dutch scientific organization (NWO-WOTRO), Deltares Research Institute and TNO Geological Survey of the Netherlands.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).

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Cite this

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abstract = "The Mekong delta is experiencing rapid environmental change due to anthropogenic activities causing accelerated subsidence, sea-level rise and sediment starvation. Consequentially, the delta is rapidly losing elevation relative to sea level. Designating specific areas for sedimentation is a suggested strategy to encourage elevation-building with nature in deltas. We combined projections of extraction-induced subsidence, natural compaction and global sea-level rise with new projections of fluvial sediment delivery to evaluate the potential effectiveness of sedimentation strategies in the Mekong delta to 2050. Our results reveal that with current rates of subsidence and sediment starvation, fluvial sediments alone can only preserve elevation locally, even under optimistic assumptions, and organic sedimentation could potentially assume a larger role. While sedimentation strategies alone have limited effectiveness in the present context, combined with enhanced organic matter retention and interventions reducing anthropogenic-accelerated subsidence, they can considerably delay future relative sea-level rise, buying the delta crucial time to adapt.",

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Sedimentation strategies provide effective but limited mitigation of relative sea-level rise in the Mekong delta

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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Elevation projections for the Mekong delta (Vietnam) under sedimentation strategies, subsidence, compaction, and sea-level rise

Feasibility of sedimentation strategies for the Mekong delta to counterbalance relative sea-level rise

Opportunities for Future Elevation Gain from Sedimentation in the Mekong Delta

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