Plat e 1. The Ga nges-Bra hmap utra delt a wa s form ed by th e confluence of two great rivers, th e Ga nges an d th e Bra hmaputra .

Descend ing from th e Himal aya plat eau to a lowland upper delta
pla in, the ri ver s experience rap id lat eral migr at ion, which produces a pat ch work of flood pla ins of var ious ages. Gat hering run off from a combin ed ba sin of over 1.7 million km ", the high -gra dien t ,
br aid ed Brahm aputra (right ) and t he mea nderi ng Ga nges (left ) eac h deliver sedime nt-la den water to a delt aic plain in th e Bengal Basin .
 Journal of Coastal Research 826-836 Royal Palm Beach, Florida Summer 1998

Geologic Framework and Environmental Status of the

Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta
Mead A. Allison

Department of Oceanography
Texas A&M University
5007 Avenue U.
Galveston, TX 77551, U.S.A.
ABSTRACT _

.
ALLISON, M.A., 1998. Geologic Framework and Environmantal Status of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta. Journal
.tflllllll:. of Coastal Research, 14(3),826--836. Royal Palm Beach (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

f!13Jl
•
-a_a-
___
•
.. &.UJ
:......Ao..: ~.
The enormous delta of the Ganges-Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh, and surrounding areas ofIndia, is the lifeblood
for one of the largest populations on Earth. Decending from the Himalayan plateau to a lowland upper delta plain,
the rivers experience rapid lateral migration, producing a patchwork of flood plains of various ages. In the eastern
lower (tidal) delta plain, the rivers enter the sea through the Meghna estuary, a 100-km-wide zone of multiple dis-
tributary channels and migrating islands. Coalescingsubaqueous sand shoals in the river mouths form a delta front
clinoform that is prograding seaward over the topset beds of a muddy subaqueous delta on the continental shelf. West
of the river mouths, the lower delta plain is coveredby a mangrove forest (Sunderbans), drained by a network of river
distributary and secondary tidal channels and formed in an earlier phase of Holocene delta progradation. The Ganges-
Brahmaputra delta is under increasing environmental pressure today in response to the needs of a rapidly growing
and modernizing population.
ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: Bangladesh, India, delta plain, Meghana estuary, Holocene.

INTRODUCTION mentation of modern river control practices. Only since the

1960s has there been a significant impact on the delta from
The Ganges-Brahmaputra delta was formed by the conflu-
the construction of artificial levees, road embankments, and
ence of two of the world's great rivers. With headwaters at
tributary dams.
elevations above 5000 m, the Ganges and Brahmaputra Riv-
The Ganges-Brahmaputra discharges into the Bay of Ben-
ers are the 2 largest of the 8 south Asian rivers (others are
gal along a delta front of 380 km. High-velocity tidal currents
the Irrawaddy, Hungho, Mekong, Narmada, Indus, and Go-
and frequent tropical cyclones in the Bay are major factors
davari) draining the Himalayas that number among the top
in shaping the subaerial delta front and in sediment delivery
15 on earth in sediment discharge to the oceans (MILLIMAN
offshore. Sediment partitioning across the river-ocean inter-
and MEADE, 1983; MILLIMAN and SYVITSKI, 1992). Gather-
face has led to the formation of a subaqueous mud clinoform
ing runoff from a combined drainage basin of over 1. 7 million
on the continental shelf adjacent to the river mouths. On the
km-, the high-gradient, braided Brahmaputra and meander-
western edge of the delta, Swatch of No Ground submarine
ing Ganges each deliver sediment-laden water with distinct
canyon incises the shelf to within 40 km of the shoreline. The
grain size and mineralogical character to a deltaic plain in
submarine canyon is one of the few associated with major
the Bengal Basin (Figure 1). A sequence of up to 16 km of
rivers that is an active conduit for sediment delivery to the
fluvio-deltaic sediments have filled this basin since the Pa-
deep sea, trapping sediment migrating westward along the
leogene (PAUL and LIAN, 1975). Regional tectonic uplift and
subaqueous delta front. At the base of the submarine canyon
subsidence are ongoing in the basin, making the Ganges-
is the world's largest submarine fan (Bengal Fan) which cov-
Brahmaputra subject to relatively rapid (10 2 yr) channel
ers 3 million km2 of seafloor (CURRAY et al., 1982).
avulsions that have created a complex subaerial delta mor-
The objective of this paper is to provide a summary of the
phology. Virtually all of the nation of Bangladesh and sur-
state of knowledge regarding the natural environment (e.g.,
rounding areas of India are part of this fertile deltaic plain,
geologic framework, ecology, physical processes) of the Gan-
which supports a population of approximately 200 million
ges-Brahmaputra delta. A secondary objective is to identify
people in the 1990s. Although the delta has been extensively
some of the emerging issues that impact the natural environ-
impacted by human activity for hundreds of years-British
ment of the region in response to a burgeoning population
surveyor James Rennell observed earthen levees along the
and the attendant socioeconomic growth.
Ganges in 1764 (RENNELL, 1781)-the combination of river
channel mobility and the persistence of traditional agricul-
tural and rural settlement practices have retarded imple- PHYSICAL SETTING
The climate of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta in Bangla-
98146 received and accpeted in revision 25 May 1998. desh is dominated by the monsoon cycle. Monsoon season,
828 Allis on

88'E 89 ' 90 ' 91' 92 '

26' N-.--- - ....L.- - ...,---- .L-".-- - ---.h-:,....,....-- - '-- - - - --'- - - - , 26'N

SHILLONG PLATEAU

! --<-LL~ IL25 '

24' 24'

23' 23'

22' 22'

21' 21'

BBOE 89 ° 90° 91° 92 '

Figure 1. Map of the Ganges-Brah ma put ra delt a and a dja cent a rea s of the Bengal shelf (modified from Ku ehl et al., 1997 ). Line A-B is the geologic
cross -section in Figure 2.

which extends from late May to September, is the period es t ua ry lead s to flood dom in an ce in th e eastern tid al chan-
wh en 80% of the rainfall occurs and winds blow from the nels and ebb dominance in the wes tern (BARUA, 1990). Saline
Indian Ocean (e.g. south east to southwest ). Annual rainfa ll wa ter pen etrates as far up stream as the Pa dma conflue nce
in th e delta ranges from 125 ern in western Bangladesh to 100 km inla nd during th e dry seaso n, a nd tid es a re measur-
more than 300 em in the riv er mouth region , and mor e th an ab le up to t he Ga nges-Bra hma put ra conflue nce. The inla nd
500 em in the ext re me northeast borderi ng the Himal ayan lim it of saline influence follows an ir regular lin e wes t of the
plateau (BRAMMER, 1996 ). Everywhere in the delta a nn ual Meghna es t uary sea wa rd of t he 3 m eleva tion contour (Figu re
rain fall excee ds potential eva pot rans piration rates. Mean 1) and depend s on th e size an d se pa ration of th e 20+ dis-
dail y temperature ranges from about 18°C in the dr y season t ri butary channe ls that dis sect the Ga nges- Brahma putra del-
of contine nt al winds (Dece mbe r- Fe bruary ) to 30°C prior to ta front . An estimate of t he vector sum tida l a nd non-tidal
the onset of mon soon in April-May. Temperature extremes residual t ransp ort by BARUA et al. (1994) reveals generally
of 4°C a nd 43°C have been recorded in th e region , with a southwes t wa rd wa te r a nd sedime nt delivery on the subaque-
narrower range a long the coast (BRAMMER, 1996). ous delta during the dry season . Th eir measurem ents show
Tidal currents a re perhaps t he st rongest hydrodyn amic in- a strong influe nce of the Ganges-Brahmaputra outflow on th e
fluen ce on the su baerial delta fron t and suba que ous part of coastal circulation in August . Models of t he fresh wa ter plume
th e Ganges-Br ahmaput ra delta. Th e tid e is se midiurnal a nd during high discharge in June-Septemb er a lso show net ad-
approxim ately synchronous a long t he delta front. In tera ction vecti on toward the west of the Bay of Bengal circul ation gyre
of t he M2 a nd S2 major compone nts pr oduc es a distin ct daily (SHETYE et al., 1996 ).
in equality of succes sive ti des (EYSINK, 1983). Mean tidal a m- Th e northern Ba y of Bengal has a moderate wa ve clima te
plitude is a pproxima te ly 2.8 m on the east side of t he delta , with average wave heights of less than 0.5 m and 3-4 second
decrea sing to a ppro ximately 1.9 m on t he west (BITWA, 1987 ). wave peri ods. During t he monsoon seas on wave heights av -
Deformation of the tid e front ente ri ng the islands an d chan- erage 0.5- 1.0 m , with occas iona l waves up to 2 m with cor-
nels of the Meghna estuary pr odu ces tid al amplitudes ex- responding periods of 6 seconds. La rge r waves of up to 5 m
ceeding 4 m and tidal cur re nts up to 300 ern/sec in the river hav e been observed during cyclones (NEI, 1978). Tr opical cy-
mouth (BARUA, 1990). Differenc es in t he channel as pect ratio clones ca n affect coastal areas of t he delta in both th e pr e-
(water depth : wid th) an d ti da l assyme try in the river mouth monsoon (Ma rch-June) and post-monsoon (Se pte mber- De-

Journal of Coa st al Research, Vol. 14, No.3, 1998

 Ganges-Bra hma putra Delt a 829

A B
-----BAy OF BENGAL - - - - - Southern
I Chin Hills
I
I Swatch of Chittagong 1
Calcutta
~ ,
RECENT
: No Ground Canyon
I
Hills

10

<m. INDIAN
SHIELD

15

20 o
I

OCEANIC BASALT?

Figure 2. Regional cross- section of the Benga l Basin from line A-B in Figu re 1 (from Imam and Shaw (1985).

cember ) period (MURTY et al., 1986 ). A tot al of 77 of these (FAa, 1987 ). In the northeast , t he Sylhet subbasin is subsi d-
sto rms ma de landfall somew he re al ong the northern Bay of ing at rates up to 2.1 em/year beca use of down-t hru sting un -
Ben gal coast in the pr esent cent ury up to 1985 . Owin g to t he der the Shillong Massif (JOHNSON and ALAM, 1991). During
low elevation of the Ganges-Brahma putra delt aic plain , the t he monsoon season t his area is su bject to exte nsive rain-
resul ting storm surges can pen etrate as far as 100 km in la nd water (i .e. non-turbid) flooding . Although t he overall effect of
and have re sulte d in t he dea th of a n estimate d 4.5 mill ion regional tectonic su bsidence, int rab asin fault activity, a nd lo-
per sons in the period 1737- 1985 (EMERY an d AUBREY, 1989 ). cal compaction is not kn own , a sense of it s magn itude an d
conti nui ng nature is evident from observations of sinki ng
BENGAL BASIN buildings, bu ried fores ts, and active fault scarps in the delta
Collision between t he contine ntal masses of Indi a a nd Asia plain (MORGAN and McINTIRE, 1959; COATES et al., 1988;
began in the mid-Oligocene; the onset of major uplift of the COATES, 1990 ).
Himalayas and t he Indo-Burman ran ge to the east was un- A vast flat alluv ial plain , encompassing Bangladesh and
der way by t he mid-Miocen e (CURRAY et al., 1982). A su bsid- parts of the adjacent Indian states of West Bengal, Assam,
ing region along the front of the mountain belts, t he Hima- a nd Tripu ra , forms t he surface of the Bengal Basin. Th e plai n
layan fore dee p, beca me the repository for la rge volumes of is covere d almost entirely by Quaternary and Recent alluvi -
clastic sediments she d off t he r ising mountains. The Ben gal um of t he Ga nge s, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rive rs with
Basin evolved out of this area bord er ed by t he Preca mbrian Tert ia ry sediments exposed on the northern edge a nd in the
Shillong Massif a nd Ind ian Shie ld to the north and west, and Tripu r a Fold Belt to t he east (FAO, 1987). Overall relief is
the Neogen e Tripura Fold Belt to t he east (Figu re 1). A stable
slight with a gradua l seawa rd elevation drop from 90 m in
she lf on the west an d northwest side of the Basin bord ering
t he extreme northwest of Banglad esh to a coastal plai n ofless
t he Indi a n Shield contai ns a sequence of 1- 8 km of Permian-
t han 3 m south of 24° N latitude. In the northeast along the
Recen t clastics (IMAM a nd SHAW, 1985). To t he south a nd
axis of the Sylhet subbasin , t he 3 m elevation conto ur extends
east, tectonic acti vity continues in t he Bengal foredeep cen-
te red below the present Ga nges-Brahmaputra river mou t hs . more t han 150 km inla nd (Figu re 1). Two fault-bounded ter-
Up to 16 km of Tert iary and Qu aterna ry fluvio-deltaic sedi- races , the Ba rind a nd Madhupur (Figu re 1) , outcrop in the
ments have accumulated in the foredeep (Figu re 2). The two deltaic plain and a re elevated 3- 15 m above the Holocene
parts of the Basin are sepa rate d by a hinge zone ma rk ed by alluviu m. Both are composed of the Pl eistocene Ma dhupur
high gravity and magn etic anoma lies (SENGUPTA, 1966). Clay, a n older alluvial un it t hat has been uplifted and deepl y
The Bengal foredeep contains a number of sub-basins, dissected by streams (MORGAN and McINTIRE, 1959). The
st ructural troughs, a nd high s bound ed by basement-con- presence of t hese raised terraces on t he deltaic plai n is a first-
tro lle d lineaments that exhibit regional uplift and subsidence order control on t he Ga nges a nd Brah ma putra channel paths.

Journal of Coas tal Research , Vol. 14, No. 3, 1998

830 Allison

na dr ain s the Shillong a nd Tripura hill s in northeastern

350 Banglad esh a nd cont ribute s a n additio na l mean annual wa-
- Brahmaputra (at Bhadurabad) ter discha rge of 2040 m-/sec (COLEMAN, 1969).
lil 300 - - Ganges (at Hardinge Bridge)
SARIN et al. (1989, 1990 ) exa mine d major ion che mistry of
C
250
.E t he Ga nges and Br ahmaputra river s a nd calcula te d dissolved
(0
0 200 fluxes to the oceans. Their data show a n average concentra -
.......
150 ti on of dissolved compone nts of 178 mg/l in the Ga nges and
0 100 mg/l in t he Brahmaputra. Th e figu res a re rela tively high
<{ 100
0 compared to othe r major rivers -the Amazo n is about 5 to 50
....J 50
mg/l (GIBBS, 1972)-and are a resul t of che mica l denudation
o F~"'""i'=:;;;""'--=;:::'---,-""""---'----''----'--.:::..:r.::;;;;;;;;;....~ rates 2 to 3 times high er t han the world ave rage (36 tons
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan
km - 2 yr; Hu et al ., 1982 ). SARIN et al. (1989 ) attribute this
lil 50
;;-
-r-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . , to hi gh relief and heavy rainfall in th e catchment a rea. Gan-
(")
E 40 ges water carries more Na ", HC0 3 - an d Cl- th an Brahma-
o / pu tra water as a result of high concentrations of soil sa lts in
:s 30 / the lowland reach. Together, the dissolved flux of t he Ga nges-
UJ /
/ '\ Brah ma pu t ra (- 130 mill ion tons ) accounts for about 3% of
<.9 20 / \
0:: the annual globa l river ine source of dissolved ions to the
-c / \
ocea ns .
I 10 / \
o <,
C/)
is
- - - - - - - _/
/
O+---.--r--r---.---.-----,--.----r----,--r----r------j
<,
-- Estimates of the discharge rate for particula tes in t he riv-
ers vary by a facto r of two as a res ult of measuremen t differ -
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan ences a nd intera nnua l river va ria bility. At a pproxima te ly 50
Figure 3. Wat er a nd su spended se dime nt disc harge figur es for the Brah - km a bove t he conflue nce , the Brahmaput ra has a mean an-
ma put ra a nd Ga nges River s a bove t he Pa dm a conflue nce. Water dis- nu al sedime nt discharge of 387 to 650 million tons (FAO,
charge figur es a re 1969 to 1975 montly ave rages compiled by Emery and 1987b; HOSSAIN, 1992 ) and th e Ga nges ran ges from 196 to
Aub rey (1989 ). Sus pended sediment discha rge ra tes for the Brahmaputra 480 milli on tons (CBJ ET, 1991 ; HOSSAIN, 1992). Data for the
are 1958 to 1962 monthly ave rages ; t he Ga nge s ar e 1969 to 1970 month ly
averages compiled by Baru a , et al. (1994).
Meghna is more sca tte re d but COLEMAN (1969) reports a
maximum a nnua l mean of 20 milli on tons. Combined sedi-
ment discharge of most estima tes is a bout 1 bill ion tons a n-
nu all y, placing the Ga nges- Brahma putra in t he top three in
THE RIVERS the wor ld (e.g . Amazon, Hu an gh o; MILLIMAN a nd SYVITSKI,
1992). Sediment discharge figu res are mad e far up stream of
App roximately 85% of the surface runoff ente ring t he flu-
the river mouth to avoi d ti da l influ en ce. Recen t exa mination
vio-deltaic plain in Bangladesh is carried by three rivers: the
of down stream sedime nt discharge trends by BARUA et al. (in
Brahmaputra , Ga nges, and Meghna . Th e Br ahmaputra orig-
press ) suggest th a t at least 17% of t his sedime nt never reach-
ina tes in Tibet and flows eas twa rd along th e northern slope
of th e Him al ayas before t urn ing south through Assam a nd es the ocean an d is likely deposited on t he lowland flood plain
mer gin g with the Ga nges 250 km inla nd of th e Bay of Ben gal. by over ba nk flooding.
Th e Ga nges ri ses west of the Br ahmaputra along the Tibet- Most of t he sedime nt tran sported by the Ga nges-Bra hma -
India bord er and flows 2200 km southeastwa rd across Ind ia putra (80%) is silt and fine sa nd with little clay su pplied by
and Banglad esh . Whil e the Br ahmaputra catchment a rea is t he you ng catchment a rea (COLEMAN, 1969). Sus pended sed-
only h alf that of the Ganges (0.57 to 1.09 million km -), it s iment concent ratio ns are about 190-1 ,400 mg/l in the Ganges
mean a nnua l wa te r discharge exceeds t he Ga nges (19,600 to and 220- 1,600 mg/l in the Brahmaputra (BARUA, 1990). Bed
11,000 m-/sec: FAO , 1987b) because of the t remendous mon- ma ter ial is coarse r in t he br aided Brahmaputra channel with
soona l rainfall and snowmelt in the catchment . Both river s a med ian grain size of 0.22 mm , compa re d to 0.12 mm in t he
have an eno rm ous seasonal disch arge range; in th e Br ah- Ga nges (BARUA et al. , in pr ess ). Th e sa nd frac tion of the Gan-
maputra discharges have been measured from 2820 mv sec in ges a nd Brahmaputra river load is 31 to 78% qu artz, 15 to
mid-dry season (Febr uary- Ma rch ) to a n estimated 100,000 30% alka li a nd plagioclase feldsp ars, 5 to 30% micas, and 2
m-/sec during t he ext re me flood of 1988 (EGIS, 1997). The to 9% heavy min er als (BRAMMER, 1996). Mica percen tage is
Brahmaputra begin s to ri se a month before t he Ga nges in high er in Ga nges material and makes up as mu ch as 80% of
Ma rch-April in response to snowme lt in th e Him alayas, t he silt fractio n. SARIN et al. (1989) exa mined t he clay min-
reaching a peak discharge usu all y in late J uly-early August; eraI composition a nd found major differen ces bet ween th e
the Ga nges re aches it s peak in late August-early September lowland Gan ges a nd Brahma putra and their upland t ribu-
(Figu re 3). Annual Ga nges disch arge figures h ave decr eased t aries, wh ich t hey attribute d to differ en ces in the regional
since 1975 with the cons t ruction of the Farakka Barrage, geology of the lowland reach . Lowland Ga nges ave rages are
which is designed to divert water into distributaries in east- 42% smectite, 43% illite, 7% kaolin ite, a nd 8% chlorite; th e
ern Ind ia to augme nt low dry season flows. The combine d Brahmaputra ave rages 5, 61, 18, and 16%, respectively. The
Ganges-Br ahmaputra flow ea stwa rd for 120 km along the enrichment of smectite in t he Ga nges has been attrib uted to
Pad rna reach wher e they meet the Meghna River . Th e Megh- t he weathe ring of basaltic t ra ps in Ind ia by lowland tribu-

Journal of Coastal Resea rch , Vol. 14, No. 3, 1998

 Ga nges-Brahmaput ra Delta 83 1

Figu re 4. Character istic lowland flood pla in un der cult ivation nea r Ta ngail, Banglad esh . Fa rm plots ar e usuall y sma ll « 200 rn-) a nd work ed by hum an
labor and dr a ft a nima ls. The viaduct on th e road emba nkment in t he background (bus on viad uct for sca le) wa s th e only feature in t he ar ea a bove water
level in th e 1988 flood.

taries such as the Chamba k , Betwa, a nd Ken (SUBBA RAO, 40 km abov e the Ga nges confluence is the site of the J amuna
1964; SARIN et al., 1989 ). Br idge, sla ted for compl etion in 1998-1999. Th e Jamuna
Bridge will pr ovide the first road link to the isola te d north-
GANGES-BRAHMAPUTRA DELTA west of Banglad esh . The Gan ges in Bangladesh exhibits char-
acteri stics of a meander ing riv er with a few braid ed reaches.
Lowland Flood Plain Sin ce 1780, the riv er has occupied a nd a ba ndoned seve ral
Two main subae rial facies are form ed by delta prograda- large meander loops 70 km above the confluence a t Hardinge
tion : the saline-influenced lower delta pla in, and the gener- Bridge (COLEMAN, 1969 ). Cons t ru cte d ea rly in the century,
ally high er-elevation and freshwater upper delta plain . In the Hardinge Bridge rem ains the only road connection acro ss the
"Mississ ippi model" of delta evolution, th e upper delta plain Ganges in Bangladesh.
is a complex network of well and poorly drained swamps, Histo rical records indicate the Ganges-Brahmaputra is
fres hwate r marshes, and lakes. Th e h eavil y cultivated low- subject to periodic major avulsions in the lowland flood plain.
land flood plains of Bangladesh (Figu re 4) a re the equivalent Major Rennell's survey map s from the 1760's show the Br ah -
in th e Ganges-Brahmaputra delt a. Entering this 3 to 20 m maputra flowin g down a channel now known as the Old
elevation plain, the Ganges , Brahmaputra, and Meghna riv - Br ahmaputra (Figu re 1) east of th e Madhupur Tract, and
ers and their distributaries have left a Holocene alluvial st ra- joining t he Meghna sout heas t of Dhaka . Avul sion into the
tigraphy that averages 40 m in thickn ess (UMITSU, 1987 , pr esent J amuna channel west of th e Madhupur Tract seems
1993). Strata are composed of overbank and crevasse splay to hav e occurre d gradua lly over a 30 yr peri od following a
facies cut by coarse channel seque nces . severe ea rthqua ke in 1782 and a major flood in 1787 (BRAM-
Channel morphology of the Ga nges-Brah ma putra was ex- MER, 1996 ). Geomorphic evidence from ae ria l photo s suggests
a mined in detail by COLEMAN (1969 ). Th e Brahmaputra in th e Brahmaputra success ively occupi ed and abandoned at
Bangladesh , known as the Jamuna reach below the Old least three other channel belts to th e northeast of the Old
Brahmaputra offtake (Figu re 1), is a braided channel cha r- Brahmaputra cour se prior to th at time (COLEMAN, 1969 ).
acte riz ed by multiple thalwegs, numerous mid channel bars Th e Ga nges has been migrating toward th e northwest in the
exposed at low flow (e.g. ch a rs), and veget ated islands. Ch an- last 250 years, perhaps in resp onse to tect onic uplift in the
nel aggradation and cha r formation result from sediment west which has rai sed areas as mu ch as 6 m above present
loads that exceed the ca rrying cap acity of the wide and shal- flood levels (BRAMMER, 1996 ). Known as the moribund delta,
low channel. The channel belt is subje ct to rapid later al mi- this a re a sout h of the Gan ges is crossed by a number of old ,
gr ation (up to 800 m/yr ) and frequ ent, overl apping crevasses silt ed up distributaries (e.g . Hoogley, Gorai, Arial Khan) that
that build up a broad (100 to 1000 m wide) natural levee of remain conn ect ed to the Bay of Ben gal. Th e Padma reach is
silty sand on the channel margin s. Other stretch es of the also act ively migr atin g; in th e 1966 flood near Faridpur, the
channel belt are rel atively stable "node points," one such area channe l moved northward by 1.5 krn , excavating a 30 m deep

J ourn al of Coasta l Resea rch, Vol. 14, No. 3, 1998

832 Allison

channel (ISPAN, 1989). In Rennell's time, the Ganges and population living by subsistence farming. Per capita income
Brahmaputra had separate discharge points, with the Gan- averages about $150 per year. Bangladesh has 11.6 people
ges flowing south of the present Padma course and entering per hectare of arable land compared to 1.3 in the United
the Bay of Bengal west of Bhola Island (Figure 2). States (ISPAN, 1989). At present estimates of population
The upper delta plain of the Ganges-Brahmaputra has growth indicate that figure will increase to 38.5 by the time
been divided into 17-20 distinct flood plains (ALAM et al. the population reaches a stationary level in about 100 years
1990). The quantity and characteristics of sediment received (ISPAN, 1989). Introduction of modern high-yield rice hybrids,
in these flood plains varies considerably with flooding char- groundwater irrigation in the dry season, crop rotation, and
acteristics of individual rivers, flood plain elevation, the pres- food banking in recent years have averted widespread fam-
ence of offtakes, local subsidence induced by groundwater ine-the catastrophic famine of 1971 was the result of dis-
withdrawal and sediment compaction, tectonic uplift and sub- ruption of agriculture by the Independence War in Bangla-
sidence, and the presence of artificial embankments (ALLI- desh - but these advances have had environmental costs.
SON et al., 1998). Flooding occurs during the monsoon season Large-scale groundwater withdrawal for land irrigation and
with average floods inundating about 20% of Bangladesh, drinking water, for instance, is likely to accelerate land sub-
while the extreme flood of 1988 inundated 46% (ISPAN, 1989). sidence, and recently has been identified as a source of wide-
Much of the inundation, which in normal years can exceed 3 spread arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh, likely from Ar
m in low-lying areas, is rainwater (e.g. non-turbid) flooding. leached from aquifer sediments (K. ALAM, pers. comm.),
Heavy rainfall in the delta in May-September coincides with Increasing use of earthen and hardened artificial levees
high river levels caused by delivery of large volumes of water along river and distributary channels may have far-reaching
from upper catchment areas. High river levels elevate the consequences. Since the 1960's, a significant percentange of
water table and block drainage of rainwater. Turbid flooding arable land in the flood plains has been walled off from river
is limited to areas proximal to river channels and is delivered flooding by these embankments, and indirectly by the con-
to the flood plain by overbank flow and through secondary struction of raised roads. Virtually the entire west bank of
channel offtakes from the main channel. the J amuna, for example, is protected by a 5-6 meter high
ALLISON et al. (1998) presented the first quantitative sed- levee today. Bangladeshi culture has evolved many ingenious
iment accumulation rates in the lowland flood plain utilizing methods over hundreds of years, including raised villages, to
137CS geochronology. Their study of the east bank of the Ja- cope with the effects of monsoonal floods. In other river del-
muna flood plain (about 7% of the total lowland flood plain) tas, the denial of river water and sediment has resulted in
showed strong correlation with distance from the main river decreased soil fertility and the deleterious effects of reliance
channel and from secondary distributaries. Rates decreased on chemical fertilizers, as well as land subsidence that in-
from about 4 cm/yr adjacent to the natural levees to mm/yr creases saline intrusion and the damage caused by storm
in the distal flood plain. Satellite images suggest distal areas surges. Continued aggradation of high-load rivers, such as
only experience turbid water inundation during extreme the Ganges-Brahmaputra, raises bed level, creating an ex-
(1988-type) floods. GIS extrapolation of site data indicates an pensive and potentially dangerous situation. Embankments
average of 23 million tons of J amuna sediment is deposited will also influence many of the beneficial effects of the mon-
annually in the region; supporting the BARUA et al. (in press) soon, including the wet season fishery, which contributes
discharge study of downstream sediment discharge patterns over 70% of the Bangladeshi animal protein intake, and
that showed the lowland flood plains are a significant storage which is the second largest export after jute, itself a flood-
area for modern riverine sediment. A report on flood plain dependent crop (ISPAN, 1989). Fish stocks have declined in
sedimentation by ISPAN (1993) demonstrated that soil type the main Ganges channel in recent years as a result of flood
is closely allied to relative sediment accumulation rate. Older control and land use practices (NATARJAN, 1989). Political
flood plains receiving limited riverine sediment today, such tension has also arisen because all of the river's upland trib-
as along the Old Brahmaputra, for instance, have thick (>75 utaries lie outside Bangladesh and water supply to the delta
ern), organic-rich soils with original alluvial stratification de- plain is impacted by the tributary dams and water diversion
stroyed by biological mixing. Soils are less well-developed and projects intended for the benefit of other nations.
lower in organic content in "younger" flood plain areas prox-
imal to the river. Duration and depth of annual flooding also Lower Delta Plain
has an effect on flood plain soil development (ISPAN, 1993).
Grain size in the flood plain is dominantly in the silt range, It is convenient to consider the lower (tidal) delta plain as
with an overall decrease in mean grain size away from the two distinct regions, the Meghna estuary in eastern Bang-
channel (COLEMAN, 1969; ALLISON et al., 1998). Surface soils ladesh, which is the focus of modern Ganges-Brahmaputra
in inactive areas such as the Old Brahmaputra flood plain discharge, and the Sunderbans mangrove forest in western
can be enriched in clay-sized material due to elevation-con- Bangladesh and adjacent India (Figure 1). While the Holo-
trolled sediment redistribution (BRAMMER, 1996). Perma- cene evolution of this region remains poorly understood, all
nently flooded water bodies (e.g. hils) can be observed in low- available evidence indicates that maximum sea level trans-
lying distal flood plains, and probably form by tectonic and gression occurred at about 6,500 BP when the shoreline was
compaction-induced subsidence. 100 to 300 km inland of the present shoreline (VISHNU-MIT-
The lowland flood plain of Bangladesh is one of the most TRE and GUPTA, 1970; BRAMMER and BRINKMAN, 1977; UM-
densely populated regions on Earth, with the majority of the ITSU, 1987; BANARJEE and SEN, 1988; UMITSU, 1993). The

Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 14, No.3, 1998

 Ga nges- Brahmaputra Delt a 833

Figu re 5. Character istic ma ngrove forest in the Sunderbans . Note t he mangrove pneumatophores prot ru di ng a bove the sedim ent surface.

pal eo-sh orelin e follows a pproximately the pr esen t 3 m ele- lion person s wh o mak e their living pr imarily by agricult ure,
va tion contour (Figu re 1). Shore line pr ograd ation a nd basin fish ing, a nd, increasing ly, by she llfish aquicult ure. Living
infilling by th e Gan ges, Br ahmaputra , a nd Meg h na rivers nea r sea level, th is popul ation is ext re me ly vulnerabl e to ris-
su bseque nt to thi s time accounts for - 30,000 km 2 of gro wt h, ing sea levels a nd to storm surges associate d wit h t ropical
comprising 30% of th e modern delta pla in . cyclones: the cyclones of 1970 a nd 1991 eac h kill ed 300, 000-
As t he focus of freshwate r discharge a nd tidal energy, t he 400,000 persons. Th e gove rn me nt of Ba ngla des h is address-
Meghna estuary regio n is ext re me ly dyn amic, compose d of ing this iss ue by constr ucti ng a network of raised emergency
migr ating channels a nd islands of < 2 m a bove sea level. West she lte rs and by bu ild ing ea rthe n coastal embankments (e.g.
of about 90.5 ° E longitude, a way from th e act ive riv er dis- polders). Whil e sca ttered polders built by local landlord s
charge, isla nds ha ve coalesced to for m pen in sul as se parated (Zamin dars) have existed si nce at least the 17 th century, be-
by tidal channels. Th e isl ands and pen in sulas a re den sely ginning in 1965- 1966 wit h the Coas tal Emba nkme nt Proje ct
set tle d a nd culti va ted. Sediments are sa ndy silts t hat below (CE P) , t he governme nt has exte nde d and improved the polder
t he cultivate d horizon exhibit mm- scal e ti da l interl amina- sys te m in the eastern h alf of t he lower delta plain and inla nd
ti ons of silt and micaceous fine sand (BRAMMER, 1996). In a of t he Sunderba ns . Th e proj ect and its successors had the
compa ra tive st udy of hi storic al charts from t he 18 th to ea rly twi n goa ls of protection from cycloni c surges and reclamation
20th centuries with sate llite im agery, ALLISON (1998) dem - of ti da l wetlands for cultivation . Experim ental cross-da ms
ons trate d that th e Meghna es t uary regio n is undergoing net spa nning sma ll channe ls in the Meghna estuary and de-
land accre tion at an average rate of 7.0 k mvyr si nce 1792 signed to stim ula te land a ccre t ion were a lso tested in 1957
south of 22.9° N latitude (4.4 kmr/yr si nce 1840 ). A compre- an d 1964 by th e Land Reclam ation Poject (EYSINK, 1983 ).
hensive a na lys is of LANDSAT im agery by MARTIN and HART Within ten years of t he inc eption of t he CE P, problem s with
(1997) gave a figure of 16.4 km -/yr sout h of23.1°N for 1973- la nd flooding bega n as sluice ga tes in the polders were silte d
1996, wit h signi fica nt interannual variation : th e 1973-4 to up by bed aggradation of a djoini ng channe ls. Over one million
1979 period was marked by net erosion of 70 kmv yr, Over person s had been affected by 1997 with an es ti ma te d 114,000
th e last 200 yrs the Meghna est uary has evolve d by seaward hectares of year-round floodin g (S. AMIN, pers. comm .). Thi s
accretion of the islands a nd their suba que ous shoal exten- pr oblem is like ly exacerbated by land subsi dence induce d by
sions by up to 50 km, and gradua l welding of the land ward polder cutoff of tid al sedime nt su pply to these areas.
end to the ma inl and to form peninsulas (ALLISON, 1998). The Sundarba ns Nationa l Park an d a djace nt areas in India are
river mouth has a lso ste pped east wa rd during t his ti me by the largest mangr ove forest on Earth (Figure 5). Total area
silt ing up a nd aba ndoning channels. A digit ate pen insula of the forest today is a pproxi mate ly 5,993 km", of whi ch 29%
morphology is present across th e en ti re 380 km delta front is tidal channe ls . At the a dve nt of Bri ti sh rul e in t he 18'h
shoreline, suggesting areas to the west of the Meghna estuary century, t he forest was doubl e its presen t exte nt, bu t Zam-
were for med in a n older ph asets) of th is process. inda rs were allowe d to reclaim mu ch of t he northern area
Th e eas te rn lower delta pla in and a djace nt coas tal areas (AHMED, 1968). Th e Sunderba ns was first declared a re-
along the Chit tagong coas t have a popul ation of over 20 mil - served forest in 1875 as a refuge for th e Ben gal Tiger (Pa n-

Journal of Coasta l Research, Vol. 14, No.3, 1998

834 Allison

th era tigri s } and other endangered species. Over 60% of the ANDER et al., 1991) and Fly (HARRIS et al ., 1993). Topset beds
forest is composed of two mangrov e species, Sundri tHeritiera in less th an 30 m water depth dip gently (0.036°) a nd diverge
fam es ) a nd Gewa iExcoecaria agall ocha i, with a decreas e in offsh ore (KUEHL et al., 1997 ). Surface sed imen ts a re sa ndy
species diver sity in the mor e sa line southern region (ISLAM silts (2-6 phi mean diam et er ) th at landward of the 15 m iso-
and KHAN, 1988 ). Sediments in the forest are relatively or- bath a re tid ally laminated (KUEHL et al., 1989; SEGALL a nd
ganic-poor (e.g. non peaty) clayey to sandy silts exhibiting KUEHL, 1994). Discontinuous ephe mera l mud layer s 2 to 3 m
mm-scal e tid al lamination below th e biologically mixed ho- thi ck overlie the coarser-grained surface; SEGALLa nd KUEHL
riz on. Th e forest floor exhibits a microtopography of eleva - (1992) suggest th ese mud s may buildup during success ive
tion s from 0.9 to 2.1 m ab ove mean sea level (KATEBI a nd high discharge periods for th e 3 to 5 yea rs on ave rage be-
HABIB, 1989 ). Although the entire regio n is affecte d by t ides, tween cyclones. Historical cha rts show th at a lobate a pron
sa line pen etration va ries seas ona lly, reaching a maximum of has form ed from the coalescen ce of island shoa l exte nsi ons
100 km inla nd during the dry season. It is unknown to wh at off t he Meghna est uary mouth in 8 to 15 m water depths
exten t se dime nt is supplied to th e Sunderban s eit he r from (ALLISON, 1998 ). Progr adation of a coarse-gr ained subae rial
Ganges distributaries or from th e marine side, alt hough SE- delta front c1inoform over the suba queous mud c1inoform is a
GALL and KUEHL (1992 ) report high smectite clay concent ra- characteristic that is ab sen t in the clay-rich Amazon a nd Fly
ti ons at th e mouth of these distributaries th at they att ribute sys te ms .
to a Ganges origin. On th e middl e she lf (30-60 m ), more stee ply dipp ing (0.19°)
Th e Sunderban s is a managed forest wher e a n esti ma te d foreset beds form the thi ckest (40- 60 m) part of th e sub-
350 ,000 peopl e ea rn a livelihood as wood cutter s, fish erman , aqueous delta (KUEHL et al., 1997). Rapid sediment accu-
and honey ga the rers through a sys te m of auct ions an d li- mul ation (up to 9 cm/yr; KUEHL et aI., 1989 ) of fine to me-
cences (JALAL, 1989). The most serious environmental th reat dium silts (mea n grain size 7-8.5 ph i) is chara cte ris tic of t he
to th e forest today is increased saline intrusion . In th e 1930's , foreset region. Further offshore (> 60 m l, th e modern sedi-
sporadic mortality of Sundri trees was not ed by a pro cess me nt wedge th ins seaward into gently dipping (0.022°) bot-
known as "to p-dying" (KHAN et al., 1990 ). By 1970, t imber tomset muds over a n eros ional surface that is lik ely th e Pleis-
loss was es tima te d at 1.44 milli on m" and ha rvesting of Sun- tocen e lowstand surface (KUEHL et al ., 1997 ). Evidence of
dri wa s halted for a time (SHAFI, 1982). Although th e ulti- growt h faults, slumps , and mass wa sting nea r the head of
mate cause of top-dyin g of Sundri is a fun gal canka r tBotry- Swatch of No Ground subma rine canyon, whi ch incises the
oshaeria ribi s ), it is as sociated with incre ase d soil sa linity she lf to about th e 20 m isobat h, suggest that th e canyon is
(CHAFFEY et al., 1985 ) related to silt at ion of th e Gan ges dis- inter cepting deltaic sediment tran sported alongs hore to th e
tributaries that provide freshwater runoff to the Sunder ba ns. west, funnelling a frac tio n of this materi al to the deep sea
To wh at exte nt this process is natural , cau sed by shifti ng of (KUEHL et al., 1997 ). Studies of clay min eralogy on th e Bang-
the Ga nges discharge eas tward, or has been accelerate d by lad esh a nd Indi an she lves indi cate that the canyon acts as a
dry season wate r withdraw al up stream at t he Farrakka Bar- barrier to the t rans port of Ga nges-Brah ma putra sediment to
rage, rem ains a subje ct of debate. ALLISON (1998 ) docum ents the Indi an she lf (SEGALL a nd KUEHL, 1992 ).
net eros ion of the Sunderb an s shore line, increa sin g to the
west, wher e 3 to 4 km of retreat hav e occurred since 1840 . CONCLUSION
Th e alongs hore difference in eros ion rates su ggest th e west- In th e new mill enium, th e Ga nges -Bra hma pt ra delta faces
ern Sunderbans is sedim ent-starved , either by eastwa rd mi- a number of envi ronme ntal iss ues ste mmi ng from habitat
gr ation of the riv er mouths or by decr eased Ganges sedime nt modification a nd rap id popul ation growth. Among these a re
delivery via th e local distributaries. Whatever th e case, rising sea level and saline int rusi on , water rights, inl and and
shoreline erosion a nd sa line intrusion ma y also be compound- offsho re fish stocks, flood cont rol, soil fertility, wa te r-borne
ed by region al subsidence (tectonic a nd compaction ) pr ocess. pollutants, a nd river channel migr ation. A number of poorly
under stood geological processes need to be better st udied to
Continental Shelf allow informed decision-m ak ing on th ese environmenta l is-
sues . Among th ese are :
Th e Ben gal continental she lf seawa rd of th e Ga nges-B rah- (1) Th e qu antities a nd pr ocesses of ri ver sedime nt supply
maputra delta plain is a n imp ortant fish ery for Ban glad esh , to th e lowland flood plain, lower delta plain, a nd marine end-
with th e bulk of this fish and shrimp resource (75%) exploite d memb er .
by sma ll-scale, non-mechanized operations th at inv olve some (2) Th e character of riv er sediment supply to th e lowland
200 ,000 per sons (JALAL, 1989). Petroleum explora t ion is in flood plains and it s contributio n to soil fertility.
an embryo nic stage on the Bengal she lf at pre sent compa re d (3) Th e regional pattern and rates of tect onic a nd sediment
with ot he r deltas of the world , but is a potential economic compaction-induced subside nce a nd uplift in th e delt a plain .
boon of the future to Banglad esh a nd India. (4) Th e Holocen e evolutio n of th e delta plain- sub aqueou s
The subaqueous compon ent of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta si nce maximum sea level tra nsgression at 6,500 yRP.
delta resembl es other large river sys te ms ente ring a n ene r-
getic continental she lf environ ment. KUEHL et al. (1989) first LITERATURE CITED
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