Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Vertical Accretion and Relative Sea Level Rise in the Ebro Delta Wetlands (Catalonia, Spain)

  • Article
  • Published:
Wetlands Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Ebro Delta in Catalonia, Spain is an ecologically and commercially important wetland system under threat from sea level rise and marsh subsidence. Our principal hypothesis was that a brackish marsh that receives inorganic sediments and fresh water amendments from the Ebro River would exhibit significantly higher rates of soil accretion, resulting in a greater resistance to subsidence and sea level rise compared to isolated salt marsh habitats with no river subsidy. Marsh sites representative of the wetland ecosystems found in the Ebro Delta were selected based on plant community type, porewater salinity, and landscape position. The results supported the research hypothesis, suggesting that a brackish marsh that receives river subsidies exhibited a significantly higher (F 3,4 = 31.6, P < 0.01) rate of vertical accretion compared to more hydrologically-isolated salt marsh systems. Accretion data showed that only the riverine-influenced brackish marsh site met the minimum predicted rate of relative sea level rise (RSLR range of 5–8 mm yr−1) for the Ebro Delta. This research provides the first quantitative record of marsh subsidence and accretion dynamics in the Ebro Delta using Surface Elevation Tables (SET), marker horizons, and 210Pb techniques, and also illustrates the importance of sediment and fresh water subsidies in deltaic environments.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baumann RH, Day JW Jr, Miller CA (1984) Mississippi deltaic wetland survival: sedimentation versus coastal submergence. Science 224:1095

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blum MD, Roberts HH (2009) Drowning of the Mississippi Delta due to insufficient sediment supply and global sea level rise. Nature Geoscience 2:488–491

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Boumans RMJ, Day JW Jr (1993) High precision measurements of sediment elevation in shallow coastal areas using a Sedimentation-Erosion Table. Estuaries 16(2):375–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bricker-Urso S, Nixon SW, Cochran JK, Hirschberg DJ, Hunt C (1989) Accretion rates and sediment accumulation in Rhode Island salt marshes. Estuaries 12(4):300–317

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bryant JC, Chabreck RH (1998) Effects of impoundment on vertical accretion of coastal marsh. Estuaries 21(3):416–422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cahoon DR, Turner RE (1989) Accretion and canal impacts in a rapidly subsiding wetland. II. Feldspar marker horizon technique. Estuaries 12:260–268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cahoon DR, Reed DJ, Day JW Jr (1995) Estimating shallow subsidence in microtidal salt marshes of the southeastern United States: Kaye and Barghoorn revisited. Marine Geology 128:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cahoon DR, Lynch JC, Hensel P, Boumans R, Perez BC, Segura B, Day JW (2002) High-precision measurements of wetland sediment elevation: I. Recent improvements to the sedimentation-erosion table. Journal of Sedimentary Research 72:730–733

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carbognin L, Tosi L (2002) Interaction between climate changes, eustacy and land subsidence in the North Adriatic Region, Italy. Marine Ecology 23(Supplement 1):38–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cardoch L, Day JW, Ibáñez C (2002) Net primary productivity as an indicator of sustainability in the Ebro and Mississippi deltas. Ecological Applications 12(4):1044–1055

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curcó A, Ibáñez C, Day JW, Prat N (2002) Net primary production and decomposition of salt marshes of the Ebre Delta (Catalonia, Spain). Estuaries 25(3):309–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day JW, Pont D, Hensel P, Ibáñez C (1995) Impacts of sea level rise on deltas in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean: the importance of pulsing events to sustainability. Estuaries 18(4):636–647

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Day JW, Scarton F, Rismondo A, Are D (1998) Rapid deterioration of a salt marsh in Venice lagoon. Journal of Coastal Research 14(2):583–590

    Google Scholar 

  • Day J, Rybczyk J, Scarton F, Rismondo A, Are D, Cecconi G (1999) Soil accretionary dynamics, sea level rise and the survival of wetlands in Venice Lagoon: a field and modeling approach. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 49:607–628

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day JW Jr, Boesch DF, Clairain EJ, Kemp P, Laska SB, Mitsch WJ, Orth K, Mashriqui H, Reed DJ, Shabman L, Simenstad CA, Streever BJ, Twilley RR, Watson CC, Wells JT, Whigham DT (2007) Restoration of the Mississippi Delta: lessons from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Science 315:1679–1684

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Day JW, Hall CA, Yáñez-Arancibia A, Pimentel D, Ibáñez C, Mitsch WJ (2009) Ecology in times of scarcity. BioScience 59(4):321–331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeLaune RD, Jugsujinda A, Peterson JW, Patrick WH (2003) Impact of Mississippi River freshwater reintroduction on enhancing marsh accretionary processes in a Louisiana estuary. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 58:653–662

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dokka RK (2006) Modern-day tectonic subsidence in coastal Louisiana. Geology 34:281–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dupuis L (1969) Dosage des carbonats dans les fractions granulométriques de quelques sols calcaires et dolomitiques. Annuaires Agronomiques 20(1):61–88

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Edgington DN, Klump JV, Robbins JA, Kusner YS, Pampura VD, Sandimirov IV (1991) Sedimentation rates, residence times and radionuclide inventories in Lake Baikal from 137Cs and 210Pb in sediment cores. Nature 350:601–604

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ericson JP, Vörösmarty CJ, Dingman SL, Ward LG, Meybeck M (2006) Effective sea level rise and deltas: causes of change and human dimension implications. Global and Planetary Change 50:63–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FitzGerald DM, Fenster MS, Argow BA, Buynevich IV (2008) Coastal impacts due to sea level rise. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 36:601–647

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hensel PF, Day JW, Pont D (1999) Wetland accretion and elevation change in the Rhône River Delta, France: the importance of riverine pulsing. Journal of Coastal Research 15:668–681

    Google Scholar 

  • Ibáñez C, Prat N (2003) The environmental impact of the Spanish Hydrological Plan on the lower Ebro river and delta. Water Resources Development 19(3):485–500

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ibáñez C, Prat N, Canicio A (1996a) Changes in the hydrology and sediment transport produced by large dams on the lower Ebro river and its estuary. Regulated Rivers 12(1):51–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ibáñez C, Canicio A, Curcó A, Day JW, Prat N (1996b) Evaluation of vertical accretion and subsidence rates. MEDDELT Final Report, Ebre Delta Plain Working Group. University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

  • Ibáñez C, Canicio A, Day JW (1997) Morphologic development, relative sea level rise and sustainable management of water and sediment in the Ebre Delta, Spain. Journal of Coastal Conservation 3:191–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2007) Climate Change 2007. Synthesis Report: Contribution of working groups I, II, and III to the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Pachauri RK, Reisinger A (eds) IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland. pp 104

  • Kirwan ML, Murray AB (2007) A coupled geomorphic and ecological model of tidal marsh evolution. PNAS USA 104(15):6118–6122

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • La Peyre MK, Gossman B, Piazza BP (2009) Short- and long-term response of deteriorating brackish marshes and open-water ponds to sediment enhancement by thin-layer dredge disposal. Estuaries and Coasts 32:390–402

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Morris JT, Sundareshwar PV, Nietch CT, Kjerfve B, Cahoon DR (2002) Responses of coastal wetlands to rising sea level. Ecology 83(10):2869–2877

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mudd SM, Howell SM, Morris JT (2009) Impact of dynamic feedbacks between sedimentation, sea level rise, and biomass production on near-surface marsh stratigraphy and carbon accumulation. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 82:377–389

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Neubauer SC (2008) Contributions of mineral and organic components to tidal freshwater marsh accretion. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 78:78–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Page AL, Miller RH, Keeney DR (eds) (1982) Methods of soil analysis: chemical and microbiological properties. University of Madison, Agronomy, U.S.A., 1159 pp

  • Pfeffer WT, Harper JT, O’Neel S (2008) Kinematic constraints on glacier contributions to 21st century sea level rise. Science 321:1340–1343

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pont D, Day JW, Hensel P, Franquet E, Torre F, Rioual P, Ibàñez C, Coulet E (2002) Response scenarios for the deltaic plain on the Rhône in the face of an acceleration in the rate of sea level rise with special attention to Salicornia-type environments. Estuaries 25(3):337–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prat N, Ibáñez C (1995) Effects of water transfers projected in the Spanish National Hydrological Plan on the ecology of the lower river Ebro and its delta. Water Science and Technology 31(8):79–86

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Radakovitch O, Charmasson S, Arnaud M, Bouisset P (1999) 210Pb and Caesium accumulation in the Rhône Delta sediments. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 48:77–92

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rahmsdorf S (2007) A semi-empirical approach to projecting sea level rise. Science 315:368–370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reyes E, Martin JF, Day JW, Kemp GP, Mashriqui H (2004) River forcing at work: ecological modeling of prograding and regressive deltas. Wetlands Ecology and Management 12:103–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rovira A, Ibáñez C (2007) Sediment management options for the lower Ebro River and its delta. Journal of Soils and Sediments 7(5):285–295

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Syvitski JPM, Kettner AJ, Overeem I, Hutton EWH, Hannon MT, Brakenridge GR, Day J, Vörösmarty C, Saito Y, Giosan L, Nicholls RJ (2009) Sinking deltas due to human activities. Nature Geoscience 2:681–686

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Törnqvist TE, Wallace DJ, Storms JEA, Wallinga J, van Dam RL, Blaauw M, Derksen MS, Klerks CJW, Meijneken C, Snijders EMA (2008) Mississippi Delta subsidence primarily caused by compaction of Holocene strata. Nature Geoscience 1:173–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. IRTA, Aquatic Ecosystems Program, Carretera Poble Nou km 5.5, 43540, St. Carles de la Ràpita, Catalonia, Spain

    Carles Ibáñez & Peter James Sharpe

  2. Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, School of the Coast & Environment, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA

    John W. Day

  3. Comite Resources, Inc, 11643 Port Hudson Pride Road, Zachary, LA, 70803, USA

    Jason N. Day

  4. Departament d’Ecologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 645, 08028, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Narcís Prat

Authors
  1. Carles Ibáñez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Peter James Sharpe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. John W. Day
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jason N. Day
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Narcís Prat
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carles Ibáñez.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ibáñez, C., Sharpe, P.J., Day, J.W. et al. Vertical Accretion and Relative Sea Level Rise in the Ebro Delta Wetlands (Catalonia, Spain). Wetlands 30, 979–988 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-010-0092-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-010-0092-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation