deltasystems- universityof colorado boulder（deltasystems——科罗拉多大学博尔德）（48页）.docVIP

Dynamics and Vulnerability of Delta Systems . Editors James P.M. Syvitski and Irina Overeem Contributing Authors Robert Brakenridge, John Day, Liviu Giosan, Mark Hannon, Phil Hill, Greg Hood, Ilan Kelman, Albert Kettner, Hartwig Kremer, Robert Nicholls, Chris Paola, Juan D. Restrepo, Yoshi Saito, Alex de Sherbinin, Charles Simenstad, Joep Storms, Charles VorosmarthyExecutive Summary Deltas form where rivers meet the ocean, and are naturally shaped by river, wave and tidal processes. Deltas are preferred locales of human habitation due to their high productivity, rich biodiversity, and easy transport along abundant waterways. Over 300 million people live in deltas, including many heavily populated megadeltas in Asia. Deltas are important ecologically and economically, and act as filters, repositories, and reactors for a suite of continental materials on their way to the coastal ocean. However, deltas are fragile geomorphic features that can change dramatically with modest modifications in the controlling environmental conditions. Intensive human development, population growth, and recent human-induced global changes are degrading deltas and often transforming them into hazardous coastal regions. Given current trends (shifts in climate, upstream changes in water quantity and quality, population pressure), many deltas are in danger of collapse within the 21st century. Future preservation of deltas will become increasingly difficult and costly. Restoration or maintenance will require developing integrated management strategies that incorporate extensive monitoring and complex numerical modeling as well as detailed consultation with people affecting and affected by deltas. To assess the state-of-the-art understanding of the changes in and vulnerability of delta systems, the following report was commissioned jointly by: 1) LOICZ, the IGBP (International Geosphere-Biosphere Program) and IHDP (International Human Dimensions Program) core project entitled Land Ocea