Articles | Volume 382
https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-382-149-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-382-149-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Pre-conference publication
| 
22 Apr 2020
Pre-conference publication |
| 22 Apr 2020
| 22 Apr 2020
Late Holocene differential subsidence and relative sea level rise in the Tabasco Delta, Mexico
Kees Nooren
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department op Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Kim M. Cohen
Department op Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Deltares Research Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Jaap H. Nienhuis
Department op Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Wim Z. Hoek
Department op Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Related authors
Kees Nooren, Wim Z. Hoek, Brian J. Dermody, Didier Galop, Sarah Metcalfe, Gerald Islebe, and Hans Middelkoop
Clim. Past, 14, 1253–1273, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1253-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1253-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We present two new palaeoclimatic records for the central Maya lowlands, adding valuable new insights to the impact of climate change on the development of Maya civilisation. Lake Tuspan's diatom record is indicative of precipitation changes at a local scale, while a beach ridge elevation record from the world's largest late Holocene beach ridge plain provides a regional picture.
Kees Nooren, Wim Z. Hoek, Tim Winkels, Annika Huizinga, Hans Van der Plicht, Remke L. Van Dam, Sytze Van Heteren, Manfred J. Van Bergen, Maarten A. Prins, Tony Reimann, Jakob Wallinga, Kim M. Cohen, Philip Minderhoud, and Hans Middelkoop
Earth Surf. Dynam., 5, 529–556, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-529-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-529-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We demonstrate that the world's largest beach-ridge plain in southern Mexico was formed under an ample long-term fluvial sediment supply. The beach-ridge elevation is strongly influenced by aeolian accretion during the time when the ridge is located next to the beach. The beach-ridge elevation is negatively correlated with the progradation rate, which we relate to the variability in sediment supply to the coastal zone, reflecting decadal-scale precipitation changes within the river catchment.
Jaap H. Nienhuis, Jana R. Cox, Joey O'Dell, Douglas A. Edmonds, and Paolo Scussolini
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 4087–4101, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-4087-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-4087-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Humans build levees to protect themselves against floods. We need to know where they are to correctly predict flooding, for example from sea level rise. Here we have looked through documents to find levees, and checked that they exist using satellite imagery. We developed a global levee map, available at www.opendelve.eu, and we found that 24 % of people in deltas are protected by levees.
Kim M. Cohen, Víctor Cartelle, Robert Barnett, Freek S. Busschers, and Natasha L. M. Barlow
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 2895–2937, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2895-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2895-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We describe a geological sea-level dataset for the Last Interglacial period (peaking ~125 000 years ago). From 80 known sites in and around the North Sea and English Channel (from below coastal plains, from along terraced parts of coastlines, from offshore), we provide and document 146 data points (35 entries in the Netherlands, 10 in Belgium, 23 in Germany, 17 in Denmark, 36 in Britain and the Channel Isles, 25 in France) that are also viewable at https://warmcoasts.eu/world-atlas.html.
Víctor Cartelle, Natasha L. M. Barlow, David M. Hodgson, Freek S. Busschers, Kim M. Cohen, Bart M. L. Meijninger, and Wessel P. van Kesteren
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1399–1421, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1399-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1399-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Reconstructing the growth and decay of past ice sheets is critical to understand relationships between global climate and sea-level change. We take advantage of large wind-farm datasets in the southern North Sea to investigate buried landscapes left by ice sheet advance and retreat occurring about 160 000 years ago. We demonstrate the utility of offshore wind-farm data in refining palaeo-ice sheet margin limits and providing insight into the processes influencing marginal ice sheet dynamics.
for subsidence in coastal Louisiana
Jaap H. Nienhuis, Torbjörn E. Törnqvist, and Gilles Erkens
Proc. IAHS, 382, 333–337, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-382-333-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-382-333-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Decreased distance from the marsh to the marsh edge can lower groundwater tables and increase soil stresses that lead to subsidence. We explore the possibility that the canals that have been dug in the wetlands in coastal Louisiana have decreased marsh edge distances and therefore have contributed to subsidence.
Esther Stouthamer, Gilles Erkens, Kim Cohen, Dries Hegger, Peter Driessen, Hans Peter Weikard, Mariet Hefting, Ramon Hanssen, Peter Fokker, Jan van den Akker, Frank Groothuijse, and Marleen van Rijswick
Proc. IAHS, 382, 815–819, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-382-815-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-382-815-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Ongoing subsidence is a complex problem for the Netherlands. Old strategies for coping have limits. In the Dutch National Scientific Research Program on Land Subsidence (2020–2025), we will develop an integrative approach to achieve feasible, legitimate and sustainable solutions for managing the negative societal effects of land subsidence, connecting fundamental research on subsidence processes to socio-economic impact of subsidence and to governance and legal framework design.
Geert-Jan Vis, Erik van Linden, Ronald van Balen, and Kim Cohen
Proc. IAHS, 382, 201–205, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-382-201-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/piahs-382-201-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In the coal mining districts of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, we identified 662 previously unidentified depressions at the land surface using laser elevation measurements from an aircraft. The timing of their formation based on historical maps and landowner reports, suggest that they mostly formed during the period 1920–1970, the peak of mining activity. Based on their position, density and age, we link the formation of depressions to the coal-mining activities in the region.
Jaap H. Nienhuis and Jorge Lorenzo-Trueba
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 4013–4030, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-4013-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-4013-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The response of barrier islands to sea level rise depends on their ability to move landward through the transport of sediment from the beach to the back barrier. The BRIE model simulates these processes and the resulting landward movement of barrier islands. The novelty of the BRIE model is the incorporation of tidal inlets (gaps between barrier islands) that can transport sediment landward and therefore help keep barrier islands above sea level.
Rebecca L. Caldwell, Douglas A. Edmonds, Sarah Baumgardner, Chris Paola, Samapriya Roy, and Jaap H. Nienhuis
Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 773–787, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-773-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-773-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
River deltas are valuable resources that support biodiversity and human habitation. Despite this we do not have a global census of deltas nor do we know the conditions that promote their formation. We surveyed 5399 river mouths greater than 50 m wide and found that 2174 (40 %) create a delta. The conditions that lead to delta formation are high sediment input and low wave and tide conditions. These results can be used to understand how deltas will adapt to environmental changes.
Jasper H. J. Candel, Maarten G. Kleinhans, Bart Makaske, Wim Z. Hoek, Cindy Quik, and Jakob Wallinga
Earth Surf. Dynam., 6, 723–741, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-723-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-723-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
In this study we show how the Overijsselse Vecht river changed from a laterally stable to a meandering river ca. 500 years ago. We developed a methodology to reconstruct the historical discharge and found that the change in river style was caused by an increase in peak discharges. This increase was likely caused by the Little Ice Age and land use changes in the catchment (peat reclamation and exploitation). This study shows how river style changes as a result of discharge regime changes.
Kees Nooren, Wim Z. Hoek, Brian J. Dermody, Didier Galop, Sarah Metcalfe, Gerald Islebe, and Hans Middelkoop
Clim. Past, 14, 1253–1273, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1253-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1253-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We present two new palaeoclimatic records for the central Maya lowlands, adding valuable new insights to the impact of climate change on the development of Maya civilisation. Lake Tuspan's diatom record is indicative of precipitation changes at a local scale, while a beach ridge elevation record from the world's largest late Holocene beach ridge plain provides a regional picture.
Jaap H. Nienhuis, Andrew D. Ashton, Albert J. Kettner, and Liviu Giosan
Earth Surf. Dynam., 5, 585–603, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-585-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-585-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The Ebro Delta in Spain has a distinctive coastline shape, the origin of which has been debated. Here we show with two simple models, one of the Ebro River and one of its delta, that is it possible to reproduce this distinctive shape under constant sediment supply, wave climate, and sea-level conditions. We also find that the majority of the delta grew in the last 2000 years, when a great increase in sediment supply from the Ebro River allowed it to accelerate its growth.
Kees Nooren, Wim Z. Hoek, Tim Winkels, Annika Huizinga, Hans Van der Plicht, Remke L. Van Dam, Sytze Van Heteren, Manfred J. Van Bergen, Maarten A. Prins, Tony Reimann, Jakob Wallinga, Kim M. Cohen, Philip Minderhoud, and Hans Middelkoop
Earth Surf. Dynam., 5, 529–556, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-529-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-529-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
We demonstrate that the world's largest beach-ridge plain in southern Mexico was formed under an ample long-term fluvial sediment supply. The beach-ridge elevation is strongly influenced by aeolian accretion during the time when the ridge is located next to the beach. The beach-ridge elevation is negatively correlated with the progradation rate, which we relate to the variability in sediment supply to the coastal zone, reflecting decadal-scale precipitation changes within the river catchment.
Cited articles
Brain, M. J.: Compaction, Handbook of Sea-Level Research, 452–469, 2015.
Chawla, A., Spindler, D. M., and Tolman, H. L.: Validation of a thirty year wave
hindcast using the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis winds, Ocean Model.,
70, 189–206, 2013.
De Groot, T. A. M. and De Gans, W.: Facies variations and sea-level-rise
response in the lowermost Rhine/Meuse area during the last 15000 years (the
Netherlands), Meded. Rijks Geol. Dienst, 57, 229–250, 1996.
Hijma, M. P., Cohen, K. M., Hoffmann, G., Van der Spek, A. J. F., and Stouthamer, E.: From river valley to estuary: the evolution of the
Rhine mouth in the early to middle Holocene (western Netherlands,
Rhine-Meuse delta), Neth. J. Geosci., 88, 13–53, 2009.
INEGI: Geoidal Gravimétrico Mexicano GGM10, available at: https://www.inegi.org.mx/temas/geoide/ (last access: September 2019), 2010.
Jankowski, K. L., Törnqvist, T. E., and Fernandes, A. M.: Vulnerability of
Louisiana's coastal wetlands to present-day rates of relative sea-level
rise, Nat. Commun., 8, 1–7, 2017.
Koster, K., Cohen, K. M., Stafleu, J., and Stouthamer, E.: Using
14C-dated peat beds for reconstructing subsidence by compression in the
Holland coastal plain of the Netherlands, J. Coastal Res., 34,
1035–1045, 2018.
Leandro, R., Landau, H., Nitschke, M., Glocker, M., Seeger, S., Chen, X.,
Deking, A., BenTahar, M., Zhang, F., Ferguson, K., Stolz, R., Talbot, N.,
Lu, G., Allison, T., Brandl, M., Gomez, V., Cao, W., and Ki, A.: RTX Positioning: The Next Generation of cm-accurate
Real-Time GNSS Positioning, Trimble Terrasat GmbH, Germany, 17 pp., 2011.
Minderhoud, P. S. J., Coumou, L., Erban, L. E., Middelkoop, H., Stouthamer, E., and Addink, E. A.: The relation between land use and subsidence in
the Vietnamese Mekong delta, Sci. Total Environ., 634, 715–726,
2018.
Nienhuis, J. H., Ashton, A. D., and Giosan, L.: What makes a delta wave-dominated?,
Geology, 43, 511–515, 2015.
Nienhuis, J. H., Ashton, A. D., and Giosan, L.: Littoral steering of deltaic
channels, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 453, 204–214, 2016.
Nooren, K., Hoek, W. Z., Winkels, T., Huizinga, A., Van der Plicht, H., Van Dam, R. L., Van Heteren, S., Van Bergen, M. J., Prins, M. A., Reimann, T., Wallinga, J., Cohen, K. M., Minderhoud, P., and Middelkoop, H.: The Usumacinta-Grijalva beach-ridge plain in southern
Mexico: a high-resolution archive of river discharge and precipitation,
Earth Surf. Dynam., 5, 529–556, 2017.
Padilla y Sánchez, R. J.: Evolución geológica del sureste
mexicano desde el Mesozoico al presente en el contexto regional del Golfo de
México, B. Soc. Geol. Mex. Tomo LIX, 1, 19–42, 2007.
Shennan, I., Long, A. J., and Horton, B. P. (Eds.): Handbook of sea-level
research, John Wiley & Sons, 581 pp., 2015.
Törnqvist, T., E., Wallace, D. J., Storms, J. E., A., Wallinga, J., Van Dam, R. L., Blaauw, M., Derksen, M. S., Klerks, C. J. W., Meijneken, C., and Snijders, E. M. A.: Mississippi Delta subsidence primarily caused by
compaction of Holocene strata, Nat. Geosci., 1, 173–176, 2008.
Zumberge, J. F., Heflin, M. B., Jefferson, D. C., Watkins, M. M., and Webb, F. H.: Precise point positioning for the efficient and
robust analysis of GPS data from large networks, J. Geophys. Res., 102,
5005–5017, 1997.
Short summary
Coastal subsidence owing to compaction of Holocene strata affects large delta plains such as the Tabasco delta in southern Mexico (Gulf coast). Collected field-data allows for quantification of differential subsidence over several time windows and reconstruction of relative sea-level rise back to 5000 years ago. Observed differential subsidence of 1–1.5 m is mainly caused by compaction of buried strata in response to the accumulating overburden of the prograding beach-ridge complex.
Coastal subsidence owing to compaction of Holocene strata affects large delta plains such as the...
