Thread: River Deltas

Hi,
Just a quick question...

I've had a hard time figuring out the concept on how river deltas affects us and the nature, both beneficially or to our loss.
It would be great if someone could give examples of river deltas affecting the nature as this has struggled my mind for quite a while now..

Examples of questions that I'm having a hard time answering are:
How does the River delta affect the nature around it as well as us humans? What are the effects on its surrounding habitant?

Thanks if you could respond to this as i certainly cannot..

I'm not sure what you mean but "affect the nature."

Entire ecosystems are built upon river deltas.

Man often used them because they are flat and have rich sediments for crops as well at being good for transportation because they are along river highways.

We haven't recognized their value until recent years, even the US haven't done a good job preserving them. The recent disasters is Louisiana illustrate this all too well. I hate it every time liberal media tries to portray the area as some kind of unblemished preserve when the reality is canalization for navigation, the inland waterway, invasive species (e.g. nutria rats) and other abuses have badly damaged the entire delta.

there's also the bit about reduced run-off from the nile as a result of the aswan dam which makes the nile delta vulnerable to erosion

I am not sure to understand fully the question when you are talking about river deltas affecting the nature
In addition, this is more a question for ecology / social sciences than geology. But whatever...
About how it affects humans, this is pretty understandable. Deltas are intermediate zones. They are places with a lot of biodiversity both from salty / brackish water and from fresh waters. A lot of the marine life is using deltas as nursery. Birds are eating these small seafood/fishes. Humans are eating anything....
Deltas have been used as refuges for human persecuted. Deltas are a bit like swamps, they play the role of purification plant. Then, if we want to look at paleo-deltas, in a pure geological point of view, they are often offering reservoir rocks for oil or gas.