Changjiang River Delta

The Changjiang River Delta (CRD) in China is one of world’s largest mega-deltas, which is home to hundreds of millions of people. It is a river-tide mixed-energy, muddy and highly turbid, fluvio-deltaic composite system with strong hydro-morphodynamics varying at broad space and time scales. Riverine sediment load has declined by 75-90% in the recent decades compared to half-century ago, threatening delta safety in terms of coastal erosion, loss of intertidal habitats, and increasing flooding risk, particularly under the combined impacts of sea-level rise and land subsidence. Intensified human activities lead to narrower, deepened and growingly constrained deltaic channels, possibly resulting in further decreased sediment trapping efficiency and endangering delta safety. Management of the CRD needs to focus on using deltaic natural hydro-morphodynamic adaptation capacity and adopting ecosystem-friendly strategies for the sake of restoring resilience.