Measurements of the Balance of Subsidence and Sedimentation in the Coastal Zone of Bangladesh

Abstract:

In the face of rising sea levels, the balance of land subsidence, sea level rise and sedimentation is critical for low-lying deltaic regions. Deltas commonly experience subsidence due to compaction of their thick sediment accumulations and other processes. Many are susceptible to growth faulting and seaward collapse of the sediment pile on detachment layers (salt and/or shales) leading to even greater subsidence. We present evidence for moderate subsidence rates and continuing active sedimentation at the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta in Bangladesh. Subsidence rates are based on continuous GPS, including three new coastal stations established in 2012, hourly tide gauge data for 1977–2012 at 16 sites, two historical sites with ages of 300 years (salt-making kilns) and 400 years (Hindu temple), and sedimentation accumulation rates of near-sea-level deposits from hand-drilled tube wells. Results so far suggest that most sites are subsiding at 3–4 mm/y, although some higher rates are recorded. Updated estimates for subsidence will be presented. Two sets of vertical optical strainmeters record sediment compaction and inform its variation with depth. Sedimentation estimates based on sedimentation plots, marker horizons, and surface elevation tables (SETs) suggest that accumulation rates in natural areas near the coast currently compensate for relative subsidence, whereas human-modified areas farther inland receive insufficient sediment and are at risk. We hypothesize that the moderate subsidence rate of the delta is due to buttressing of the margin by the continental rise. The slope-rise break is shallow at 1 km water depth due to the high sediment supply feeding the Bengal Fan. Thus the thick wedge of continental rise sediments rise higher than the top of the weak overpressured sediments in the delta that could act as a décollement surface. This prevents the seaward collapse of the delta and associated higher rates of subsidence.