Coastal Lowlands: Geology and Geotechnology

365 Pages·1989·18.35 MB·English

by  James M. Coleman, H. H. Roberts (auth.), W. J. M. van der Linden, S. A. P. L. Cloetingh, J. P. K. Kaasschieter, W. J. E. van de Graaff, J. Vandenberghe, J. A. M. van der Gun (eds.)

Coastal Lowlands
geology and geotechnology
Coastal Lowlands
Geology and Geotechnology
Proceedings of the Symposium on Coastal Lowlands
organized by
The Royal Geological and Mining Society of the Netherlands (KNGMG),
The Hague, 23-27 May 1987
Edited by
W.J.M. van der Linden
Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
S.A.P.L. Cloetingh
Institute of Earth Sciences, Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
J.P. K. Kaasschieter
Nijverdal, The Netherlands
W.J.E. van de Graaff
KSEPL, Rijswijk (ZH), The Netherlands
J. Vandenberghe
Institute of Earth Sciences, Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
J.A.M. van der Gun
TNO-DGV, Institute of Applied Geoscience, Delft, The Netherlands
Springer-Science+Business Media, B.V.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Coa,tal lowlands.
l. Geology--Netherlands--Congresses. 2. Coa,tal
enginecr·ing--Netherlands--Congrcsses. 3. Engineering
geology--Netherlands--Congresses. 4. Coastal engineer-
ing--Congresses. I. Linden, W. J. M. van der (Willem
Jan Marie), 1931- II. Nederlands Geologisch
Mijnbouwkundig Genootschap.
QE273.C63 1989 554.92 88-27361
ISBN 978-90-481-403 8-1 ISBN 978-94-017-1064-0 ( eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-1064-0
All Rights Reserved
© 1989 by Springer Science+B usiness Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1989
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1989
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner.
Preface
Coastal Lowlands by virtue of their position across the boundary of land and sea belong to the earth's most
dynamic systems. This is true in the physical, i.e. geological and biological, as much as in the cultural and
social sense. Although the nearness to the sea was and still is fraught with danger coastal lowlands have
always attracted human interest, providing challenging opportunity, holding the promise of profitable
enterprise. Coastal lowlands, especially where rivers enter the region, are the cradles of great civilisations
and there, of old, populations reached highest densities. As an example, Dutch history is a tale of human
struggle and endeavour with and against the sea. Dutch 'low landers' wrestled their land from the sea, in turn
the sea forged a nation of independent fishermen, navigators, farmers and traders who built their towns and
ships at the borders of the North and Zuyder Seas.
As lowlands subside and sea level rises, apparently these days at an increasing rate, concern about this
environment world-wide is also rising. It certainly was appropriate and timely for the Royal Geological and
Mining Society of the Netherlands when celebrating its 75th birthday to organize and call together a
symposium, focussing attention on the geology and geotechnology of coastal lowlands; geology to better
understand their formation and evolution, geotechnology to better manage and harvest resources as much as
protect a unique and crucial environment.
We are indebted to H.E. Rondeel who carefully managed the financial side of this volume. F.B.J.
Barends, H. deBoorder, S. Flint, R. Hillen, G.A.M. Kruse, P.M. Maurenbrecher, J. Oerlemans, 0. van de
Plassche, I. Shennan, D.J. Stewart, B.B.W. Thorborg and J.J. de Vries assisted with the editing of
manuscripts.
Publication of these Proceedings has been made possible through contributions of the following sponsors:
The Netherland's Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of
Transport and Public Works, The Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences, The Royal Geological and
Mining Society of the Netherlands (KNGMG), AKZO Zout Chemie and De Nederlandse Olie en Gas
Exploratie en Productie Associatie (NOGEPA).
Utrecht, Summer 1988
The Editors
Contents
Preface V
Coleman, J.M. & H.H. Roberts: Deltaic coastal wetlands 1
Martini, I.P.: The Hudson Bay Lowland: major geologic features and assets 25
Sha Li Ping: Cyclic morphologic changes of the ebb-tidal delta, Texel Inlet, The Netherlands 35
Kooi, H., Cloetingh, S. & G. Remmelts: Intraplate stresses and the stratigraphic evolution of the
North Sea Central Graben 49
Herngreen, G .F.W. & Th.E. Wong: Revision of the 'Late Jurassic' stratigraphy of the Dutch Central
North Sea Graben 73
Zagwijn, W.H.: The Netherlands during the Tertiary and the Quaternary: A case history of Coastal
Lowland evolution 107
Kurfurst, P .J. & S .R. Dallimore: Geological and geotechnical conditions of the Beaufort Sea coastal
zone, Arctic Canada 121
Bauduin, C.M.H. & C.J.B. Moes: Time dependent groundwater flow under river embankments 131
Hoekstra, P.: The development of two major Indonesian river deltas: morphology and sedimentary
aspects of the Solo and Porong deltas, East Java 143
Hoekstra, P.: Hydrodynamic and depositional processes of the Solo and Porong deltas, East Java,
Indonesia 161
El Sohby, M.A., Mazen, S.O., Abou-Shook, M. & Bahr, M.A.: Coastal development of Nile Delta 175
Knox, G .J. & E.M. Omatsola: Development of the Cenozoic Niger Delta in terms of the 'Escalator
Regression' model and impact on hydrocarbon distribution 181
Doust, H.: The Niger Delta: hydrocarbon potential of a major Tertiary delta province 203
Streif, H.: Barrier islands, tidal flats, and coastal marshes resulting from a relative rise of sea level in
East Frisia on the German North Sea coast 213
Davis, Jr, R.A.: Morphodynamics of the West-Central Florida barrier system: the delicate balance
between wave- and tide-domination 225
Eisma, D., G.W. Berger, Chen Wei-Yue & Shen Jian: Pb-210 as a tracer for sediment transport and
deposition in the Dutch-German Waddensea 237
Van Geer, F.C.: Transfer/noise modelling in groundwater management: an example 255
Van Bracht, M.J.: An organisation scheme for the operation and management of the ground water
level monitoring network in the Netherlands 261
Claessen, F.A.M.: Study to forecast and to prevent damage resulting from reclamation of the
Markerwaard polder 267
Claessen, F.A.M.: Geohydrological effects of the reclamation of the Markerwaard polder 273
Claessen, F.A.M., Van Bruchem, A.J., Hannink, G., Hulsbergen, J.G. & E.F.J. De Mulder:
Secondary effects of the reclamation of the Markerwaard polder 283
Hannink, G.: The Markerwaard reclamation project: geotechnical topics 293
Satijn, H.M.C.: The Markerwaard project: countermeasures to prevent detrimental effects, a feasi-
bility study 301
Kumapley, N .K.: The geology and geotechnology of the Keta basin with particular reference to coastal
protection 311
Maurenbrecher, P.M. & M. Vander Harst: The geotechnics of the Coastal Lowlands of the United
Arab Emirates 321
Hartevelt, J .J .A.: Geodata management system, a computerized data base for geotechnical engineer-
ing 337
VIII
Koning, A.: Some thoughts on hydrocarbon exploration in the Paris Basin 349
De Meijer, R.J., Put, L.W., Schuiling, R.D., De Reus, J.H. &1. Wiersma: Natural radioactive heavy
minerals in sediments along the Dutch coast 355
You-Liang, R.: Evaluation of Landsat imagery for Coastal-Lowland uranium exploration 363
Geologie en Mijnbouw 68: 1-24 (1989)
© Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Deltaic coastal wetlands
James M. Coleman & H.H. Roberts
School of Geoscience, Coastal Studies Institute, Louisiana State University,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.A.
Received 15 October 1987; accepted in revised form 29 January 1988
Key words: Deltas, coastal wetlands, landloss, subsidence, sealevel
Abstract
Modern-day deltas exist in a wide variety of settings. Despite the various environmental contrasts, all
actively prograding deltas have at least one common attribute: a river supplies clastic sediment to the coast
and inner shelf more rapidly than it can be removed by marine processes. The most important processes
controlling the geometry and landforms in deltas are climate, water and sediment discharge and its
variability, river mouth processes, nearshore wave power, tides and tidal regime, nearshore currents, shelf
slope, tectonics of the receiving basin, and receiving basin geometry.
Many present-day deltas are experiencing relatively large coastallandloss; this results from the complex
interaction of many physical, chemical, and biological processes that operate in the natural environment and,
in more recent times, the processes induced by man's utilization of this environment. All of these processes
operate at different scales and magnitudes, in both time and space; some are amenable to manipulation by
man, while others are essentially out of his control. Natural processes include sea level changes, subsidence
and compaction, changes in deltaic sites of deposition, catastrophic events such as hurricanes, and biological-
ly-induced factors. Man-induced factors include dams and levees, canal dredging, and fluid withdrawal.
Introduction siderably in relative intensity on a global scale,
delta plain landforms span nearly the entire spec-
Since ancient times, river delta lowlands have been trum of coastal features and include distributary
of fundamental importance to civilization. Owing channels, river mouth bars, interdistributary bays,
to their early significance as agricultural lands, del- tidal flats, tidal ridges, beaches, dunes, dune fields,
tas received considerable attention from scholars swamps, marshes, and evaporite flats.
such as Homer, Herodotus, Plato, and Aristotle. River systems have been in existence throughout
The term delta was first applied by the Greek histo- geologic times; the only major prerequisites are a
rian Herodotus, approximately 450 B.C., to the partially elevated land mass, a depositional basin,
triangular alluvial deposits at the mouth of the Nile rainfall, and chemical and physical degradation
River. In broader terms, deltas can be defined as processes. River size and overall morphologies,
those deposits, both subaerial and subaqueous, de- however, have varied through time and are de-
rived from riverborne sediments and dispersed by pendent on tectonic episodes, size of continents,
distributary channels. Because the different pro- basinal tectonics, climate, severity of weathering
cesses which control delta development vary con- processes, sea level changes, and similar global
2
processes. Today's modern river systems occur in a
wide variety of geologic settings with associated
environmental processes. A knowledge of these
variations is helpful in defining present trends in
coastal regions, as well as attempting to predict
future trends in these important wetlands. Cole-
man (1976) showed, in a study of numerous mod-
ern worldwide deltas, that only a few major pro-
cesses are responsible for the rna j or variations seen
in modern deltas. These processes are: climate, ..
water and sediment discharge and its variability, E
"'
sediment type, river mouth processes, nearshore
wave power, tides and tidal regime, nearshore cur-
rents, shelf slope, and tectonics and geometry of
receiving basin. This paper is a review of the var-
iations displayed by modern day river systems and
a discussion of the processes responsible for land-
loss as illustrated by the Mississippi River coastal
wetlands.
Delta attributes
Fig. 1. Drainage basin areas of selected major river systems.
Previous research has shown that deltaic facies as-
sociations are a function of numerous process var-
iables. Attempts to incorporate some or all of these plained. Figure 1 shows the drainage basin area of
process variables into models for discriminating some 34 major world river systems. Note that these
delta types have resulted in at least three classifica- river systems span the climatic zones and represent
tion themes. Fisher et al. (1969) proposed high deposition in a wide variety of depositional set-
constructive and high destructive delta types based tings. Today's basin drainage areas span nearly
on relative intensity of fluvial and marine process- three orders of magnitude, from less than 1 X
es. Coleman & Wright (1971) and Wright et al. 104 km2 to greater than 4 x 106 km2• Figure 2 il-
(1974), using a broad range of parameters, quanti- lustrates the delta plain area of modern world del-
fied the process variables, then used statistical tas and shows a variation of approximately three
techniques to cluster deltas into discrete groupings. orders of magnitude. Plotting only these two par-
More recently, Elliott (1978) proposed a classifica- ameters gives the result shown in Figure 3, that is,
tion scheme based on the earlier work of Galloway as the drainage basin area increases, so does the
(1975) wherein deltas were plotted on a ternary delta plain area. However, there is a very wide
diagram to define general fields of fluvial, wave, variation in delta size for any given size of a drain-
and tide dominance. The most significant aspect of age basin. Plotting of any two parameters shows
these studies is the recognition of the role of phys- similar results, general trends, but wide variation
ical processes in producing specific and predictable within those trends, illustrating that deltaic facies
responses. display variability because of numerous interacting
Examination of a few major attributes of modern parameters. For example, the San Francisco delta
world river systems indicates that although a large of Brazil is relatively small for the size of its drain-
number of variations exists, there are generalized age basin; this delta is characterized by extremely
trends and most exceptions can be logically ex- high wave action, and most of the fine-grained
3
10•
AZON
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105 MEKONG GA•NG ES I
YANGTZE KIANG
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ti-11!Js /voLGA MISSIS SIPPI
1
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EBRO
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104 105 107
Drainage basin area (Km2)
Fig. 2. Delta plain areas of selected major river systems (in- Fig. 3. Plot of drainage basin area against delta plain area.
cludes the subaqueous delta). Sloping line is line of best fit.
sediment delivered to the basin is advected sea-
ward by wave action and marine currents, while
sands are concentrated at the shoreline as well as
transported landward by eolian transgressive pro-
cesses. In contrast, the Mekong delta of Vietnam is
relatively large for the size of its drainage basin.
The delta is rather stable (little subsidence) and is
significantly influenced by tidal processes, which
tend to laterally spread the deltaic facies associ-
ations. Q
Figure 4 illustrates river system discharge (m3/
sec) for several modern world deltas. Once again,
there is nearly a three-fold magnitude in discharge
among the rivers analyzed. Plotting discharge
against delta area (Fig. 5) indicates that as dis-
charge increases, delta area increases. Variations
exist, but in the larger discharge river systems, this
variation becomes minimal; it is the smaller dis-
charge rivers which tend to show the highest var-
iation primarily because of sediment load and sedi-
ment characteristics. Fig. 4. Fluid discharge of selected major river systems.
4
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105 ~
/
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~
·r.- MISSISS!PJI
P~RANA: IRAWADY i ~
-.. 104 BURDEKIN !9- MAJ~ENZIE tOLGA LENA