Point 5 (e) DELTA

1 Set in the context:

The place is a shore in which a river goes to, the image shows a delta in the river mouth, it is
surrounded by vegetation and by the colour of the river we can spouse it is transports
abundant water. We can know this because it has a brownish-greenish colour, which means
the water is transporting soil, so it has eroded it, also at the very end of the river we can see
that it has a white tone, most probably due to chalk or clay. To erode all materials it needs a
lot of energy and at the *end* of the river the water travels slowly so it cannot erode a lot,
which means it has abundant water because if not it would not be able to erode them.

This river has probably created an ecosystem around it, due to the vegetation that surrounds it
and the animals that live in the river and the animals which feed on the life the river has
created.

The climate looks like tropical because of the colour of the sea and the abundance of
vegetation.

2 identify the main elements:

-River: The river is the most important element and it is the element which erodes through the
land to create the delta and it also carries the water of the delta.

-Main streams: they are two big tributaries which also erode and may create small tributaries.

-Small tributaries: they carry small amounts of water so they don’t have a lot of energy to
erode, they are located very near the shore and may be flooded if the tides are high.

-The subaquatic delta: this part is produced inside the sea and is hard to see, but it consists on
small underwater currents which slightly erode the sand and create small channels of fresh
water that only go for about a meter.

3 Identify the processes, factors, conditions:

Processes:

-Erosion: The river erodes through the soil creating tributaries which form the delta

-Transport: the river transports a lot of substances (we can see them by the colour of
the water) which can also erode rocks

Deposition: The substances are deposited in the sea creating a sedimentary basin.

Factors:

Amount/intensity of precipitation:

Amount of water (don’t depend on precipitation , but on the tributaries that lead to
the river).
 Temperature: Climate change has the potential to significantly affect the Delta
ecosystem by raising air and water temperatures, changing the timing and volume of
flows into and through the Delta, increasing tidal inundation with sea level rise (SLR),
and increasing salinity intrusion into the Delta.

-Link with previous studies:

The deltas are great places for living nature, because of the fertile soil due to deposition and
the mix of fresh and salt water.