Impact of humans on the flux of terrestrial sediment to the global coastal ocean |
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Authors: | Syvitski James P M Vörösmarty Charles J Kettner Albert J Green Pamela |
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Institution: | Environmental Computation and Imaging Facility, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0450, USA. james.syvitski@colorado.edu |
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Abstract: | Here we provide global estimates of the seasonal flux of sediment, on a river-by-river basis, under modern and prehuman conditions. Humans have simultaneously increased the sediment transport by global rivers through soil erosion (by 2.3 +/- 0.6 billion metric tons per year), yet reduced the flux of sediment reaching the world's coasts (by 1.4 +/- 0.3 billion metric tons per year) because of retention within reservoirs. Over 100 billion metric tons of sediment and 1 to 3 billion metric tons of carbon are now sequestered in reservoirs constructed largely within the past 50 years. African and Asian rivers carry a greatly reduced sediment load; Indonesian rivers deliver much more sediment to coastal areas. |
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