Author(s): Juan C. Restrepo; Kerstin Schrottke; Camille Trainiandrés Orejarena; Juan C. Ortiz; Aldemar Higgins; Luis Otero; Leonardo Marriaga
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Sediment regime; Deltaic processes; Morphological changes; Delta evolution; Magdalena River
Abstract: The Magdalena River in northwestern South America provides the largest supply of freshwater (205. 1 km3yr-1) and the greatest amount of suspended sediment (142. 6 x106t yr-1) to the Caribbean Sea. The river mouth has been intervened since 1930 to allow shipping into the port of Barranquilla. In the last two decades, the watershed also has undergone severe human interventions. Furthermore, in 2000, a shift in its hydrological patterns appeared. The response of the Magdalena delta to these stressors remains unclear. Therefore, data of streamflow, suspended sediment and riverbed dynamics from 1990 to 2000 were analysed in this study to estimate changes in the suspended sediment transport regime and related processes as well as erosional/depositional patterns in critical zones of the delta. It can be shown, that the streamflow increased at a higher rate than suspended sediment transport, promoting changes in the sediment transport regime between the 1990s and the 2000s. These changes led to erosion of the mouth/frontal bar and outlet zones and modified the erosional/accretionary balance in the prodelta, in the early 2000s. Erosional/sedimentary cycles were controlled by the magnitude of fluvial discharges and river bed scouring in the river outlet, whilst effluent diffusion and sediment dispersion were dominants in the delta front. High freshwater discharges, as buoyancy inputs, promoted the transfer of sediments from the river channel to the outer prodelta through the upper layers of the water column. The total sediment accumulation in the delta corresponded to< 5%of the annual mean SSL of the Magdalena River. In general, the morphology of the delta remained relatively stable; it experienced a slow progradational state. Higher sedimentation rates (≤1430 mm yr-1) appeared in the deeper zones.
Year: 2015