Coastal development in southwestern Bangladesh: understanding the interplay between storms and sea level rise

Abstract

Sea-level rise and sediment supply have influenced coastal morphology and sedimentation on Bangladesh’s southwestern Ganges‐Brahmaputra‐Meghna (GBM) delta coast. Satellite images and geological core from the Haringhata coastal region were analyzed to explain the morphological changes and to understand the influences on deposits. The results derived from satellite images indicate that the southern coastline experienced a retreat that ranges between 2.3 and 2.9 km. In contrast, the eastern and western coastline advanced. The erosion and accretion ratio was 0.29 from 1977 to 1989, while the ratio was higher 2.90–4.77 from 1989 to 2020. Two sedimentary facies were identified using 130 cm thick successions. A parallel to wavy laminated bluish gray mud facies of deeper part was deposited in a marine-influenced environment. A planar to hummocky cross stratified, gray to grayish white silty sand facies of storm overwash deposits overlies the mud facies with sharp contacts. Unimodal to bimodal grain distributions of sandy sediments suggest two sources: sand derived from the beach and mud carried by adjacent tidal rivers and resuspended offshore sediment. Coastline dynamics and sedimentation of the area were influenced by inequality of accommodation and sediment supply ratio in the river mouth. This occurs due to sea-level rise and deficit in upstream water and sediment discharge. Morphological change along the southwestern GBM delta coast was not only caused by wave energy, but also by rising sea levels which shifted sediment accommodation space landward.