Late Quaternary sequence stratigraphy and modern sedimentary processes of the northeastern shelf off the Mekong River Delta

Thanh Nguyen Trung; Dung Bui Viet; Nghi Tran; J. Paul Liu; A. Nittrouer Charles; J. David DeMaster; Thanh Nguyen Cong; Dung Nguyen Kim; Long Hoang Van; Nga Ngo Thanh; Lap Tran Trong; Thuy An Thi

doi:10.15625/2615-9783/24715

Author affiliations

Authors

Nguyen Trung Thanh Institute of Earth Sciences, VAST, Hanoi, Vietnam
Bui Viet Dung Institute of Earth Sciences, VAST, Hanoi, Vietnam
Tran Nghi Vietnam Geological Association, Hanoi, Vietnam
J. Paul Liu North Carolina State University, USA
Charles A. Nittrouer School of Oceanography, University of Washington, USA
David J. DeMaster North Carolina State University, USA
Nguyen Cong Thanh 1-Department of Oceanology, Meteorology and Hydrology, University of Science, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; 2-Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Nguyen Kim Dung Institute of Earth Sciences, VAST, Hanoi, Vietnam
Hoang Van Long Vietnam Geological Association, Hanoi, Vietnam
Ngo Thanh Nga Institute of Earth Sciences, VAST, Hanoi, Vietnam
Tran Trong Lap Institute of Earth Sciences, VAST, Hanoi, Vietnam
An Thi Thuy Institute of Earth Sciences, VAST, Hanoi, Vietnam

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15625/2615-9783/24715

Keywords:

Sea-level change, Late Quaternary, sequence stratigraphy, sediment transport, sediment accumulation rate

Abstract

Research on Late Quaternary sequence stratigraphy of the northeastern shelf off the Mekong River Delta provides critical insights into the evolution of depositional systems in response to global sea-level changes. The integration of sediment stratigraphic frameworks with observations of recent sediment accumulation and transport helps predict the future development of the Mekong River Delta. In this study, seismic and sediment data collected from six cruises (2004−2015) on the inner-middle shelf were processed and interpreted. Two depositional sequences were identified from high-resolution seismic data, designated SQ1 and SQ2. The depositional sequence SQ2 consists of a transgressive systems tract (TST2) and a regressive systems tract (RST2) identified on the middle shelf. The depositional sequence SQ1, overlying SQ2, comprises a transgressive systems tract (TST1) and a highstand systems tract (HST1), developed during the post-LGM transgression after ~19.6 ka. Analysis of SQ1 and SQ2 shows that regressive sediments prevail over transgressive sediments throughout a full fourth-order sea-level cycle (120 ka). Under modern conditions of high relative sea-level rise, spatial variability in sediment accumulation rates from the subaqueous Mekong River Delta to the middle shelf is controlled by hydrodynamic forcing, continental shelf gradient, and variations in sediment transport distance from river mouths: < 2 cm/y on the topset; ~1 to > 10 cm/y on the foreset, with an overall tendency to decrease downslope; < 0.5 cm/y on the bottomset-middle shelf. Sediment accumulation rates are relatively low on the middle shelf. Furthermore, the distribution and characteristics of seabed surface sediments indicate that suspended sediment transport across the middle shelf from west to east along the paleo-Dong Nai River, under the influence of the southwest monsoon, reaches the deep sea. Regulation of sequence stratigraphy and modern sediment processes indicates that the present subaqueous Mekong River Delta has reached the limit of seaward progradation and is gradually shifting to retrogradation.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Binh D.V., Kantoush S., Sumi T., 2020. Changes to long-term discharge and sediment loads in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta caused by upstream dams. Geomorphology, 353, 107011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2019.107011.

Bui V.D., Schimanski A., Stattegger K., Phach P.V., Tiep N.T., Hai N.T., Thanh N.T., Thanh P.T., 2009. Sandwaves on the Southeast Vietnam shelf recorded by high-resolution seismic profiles: Formation and mechanism. Frontiers of Earth Science, 3, 9–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-009-0002-z.

Bui V.D., Schimanski A., Stattegger K., Phach P.V., Thanh N.T., 2013. Late Pleistocene-Holocene seismic stratigraphy of the Southeast Vietnam shelf. Global and Planetary Change, 110, 156–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2013.09.010.

Bui V.D., Stattegger K., Kieu N.V., Thanh N.T., Thong B.X., Vu P.N.H., Man H.Q., Trang P.H., 2019. Sediment discharge and storage over the last deglacial highstand period on the central Vietnam shelf off Nha Trang. Geological Quarterly, 63, 395–406. https://doi.org/10.7306/gq.1475.

Carr A.S., Bateman M.D., Roberts D.L., Murray-Wallace C.V., Jacobs Z., Holmes P.J., 2010. The last interglacial sea-level high stand on the southern Cape coastline of South Africa. Quat. Res., 73, 351–363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2009.08.006.

Catuneanu O., Galloway W.E., Kendall C.G., St C., Miall A.D., Posamentier H.W., Strasser A., Tucker M.E., 2011. Sequence Stratigraphy: Methodology and Nomenclature. Newsl. Stratigr, 44(3), 173–245. https://doi.org/10.1127/0078-0421/2011/0011.

Church J.A., White N.J., 2011. Sea-level rise from the Late 19th to the Early 21st Century. Surveys in Geophysics, 32, 585–602. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-011-9119-1.

Clark P.U., Dyke A.S., Shakun J.D., Carlson A.E., Clark J., Wohlfarth B., Mitrovica J.X., Hostetler S.W., McCabe A.M., 2009. The Last Glacial Maximum. Science, 325, 710–714. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1172873.

DeMaster D.J., Liu J.P., Eidam E.F., Nittrouer C.A., Nguyen T.T., 2017. Determining rates of sediment accumulation on the Mekong shelf: Timescales, steady-state assumptions, and radiochemical tracers. Cont. Shelf Res., 147, 182–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2017.06.011.

Eidam E.F., Nittrouer C.A., Ogston A.S., Liu J.P., DeMaster D.V., Nguyen T.T., Nguyen T.N., 2017. Dynamic controls on shallow clinoform geometry: Mekong Delta. Vietnam. Continental Shelf Research, 147, 165–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2017.06.001.

Gugliotta M., Saito Y., Nguyen V.L., Ta T.K.O., Nakashima R., Tamura T., Uehara K., Katsuki K., Yamamoto S., 2017. Process regime, salinity, morphological, and sedimentary trends along the fluvial to marine transition zone of the mixed-energy Mekong River delta. Vietnam. Continental Shelf Research, 147, 7–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2017.03.001.

Gugliotta M., Saito Y., Nguyen V.L., Ta T.K.O., Tamura T., 2018. Sediment distribution and depositional processes along the fluvial to marine transition zone of the Mekong River delta. Vietnam. Sedimentology, 66, 146–164. https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.12489.

Hanebuth T.J.J., Stattegger K., Grootes P.M., 2000. Rapid flooding of the Sunda Shelf: A late-glacial sea-level record. Science, 288, 1033–1035. Doi: 10.1126/science.288.5468.1033.

Hanebuth T.J.J., Stattegger K., Bojanowski A., 2009. Termination of the Last Glacial Maximum sea-level lowstand: The Sunda-Shelf data revisited. Global Planet. Change, 66, 76–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2008.03.011.

Hanebuth T.J.J., Voris H.K., Yokoyama Y., Saito Y., Okuno J., 2011. Formation and fate of sedimentary depocentres on Southeast Asia's Sunda Shelf over the past sea-level cycle and biogeographic implications. Earth Sci. Rev., 104, 92–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2010.09.006.

Hay C.C., Morrow E., Kopp R.E., Mitrovica J.X., 2015. Probabilistic reanalysis of twentieth-century sea-level rise. Nature, 517, 481–484. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14093.

Hein H., Hein B., Pohlmann T., 2013. Recent sediment dynamics in the region of Mekong water influence. Glob Planet Change, 110, 183–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2013.09.008.

Folk R.L., 1954. The distinction between grain size and mineral composition in sedimentary-rock nomenclature. Journal of Geology, 62, 344–359. https://doi.org/10.1086/626171.

Lambeck K., Chappell J., 2001. Sea level change through the Last Glacial Cycle. Science, 292, 679–686. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1059549.

Liu J.P., DeMaster D.J., Nittrouer C.A., Eidam E.F., Nguyen T.T., 2017. A seismic study of the Mekong subaqueous delta: Proximal versus distal sediment accumulation. Cont. Shelf Res., 147, 197–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2017.07.009.

Masson-Delmotte V., Zhai P., Pirani A., Connors S.L., Péan C., Berger S., Caud N., Chen Y., Goldfarb L., Gomis M.I., Huang M., Leitzell K., Lonnoy E., Matthews J.B.R., Maycock T.K., Waterfield T., Yelekci O., Yu R., Zhou B. (Eds.), 2021. Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SummaryVolume.pdf?.

Marchesiello P., Nguyen N.M., Gratiot N., Loisel H., Anthony E.J., Dinh C.S., Nguyen T., Almar R., Kestenare E., 2019. Erosion of the coastal Mekong delta: Assessing natural against man induced processes. Cont Shelf Res, 181, 72–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2019.05.004.

Matsumoto J., 1997. Seasonal transition of summer rainy season over Indochina and adjacent monsoon region. Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, 14, 231–245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-997-0022-0.

Mau L.D., Cong N.C., Tuan N.V., 2017. Some circulation features during south-west monsoon in southern Vietnam’s waters. Journal of Marine Science and Technology 17(3), 263–270. https://doi.org/10.15625/1859-3097/17/3/10828.

McLachlan R.L., Ogston A.S., Allison M.A., 2017. Implications of tidally-varying bed stress and intermittent estuarine stratification on fine-sediment dynamics through the Mekong's tidal River to estuarine reach. Cont. Shelf Res., 147, 27–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2017.07.014.

Meselhe E., Roelvink D., Wackerman C., Xing F., Thanh V.Q., 2017. Modeling the process response of coastal and deltaic systems to human and global changes: Focus on the Mekong system. Oceanography, 30(3), 84–97. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2017.317.

Milliman J.D., Farnsworth K.L., 2011. River Discharge to the Coastal Ocean: A Global Synthesis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511781247.

Milliman J.D., Meade R.H., 1983. Worldwide delivery of river sediments to the ocean. J. Geol., 91, 1–21.

Milliman J.D., Syvitski J.P.M., 1992. Geomorphic/tectonic control of sediment discharge to the ocean: the importance of small mountainous rivers. J. Geol., 100, 525–544. https://doi.org/10.1086/629606.

Minderhoud P.S.J., Erkens G., Pham V.H., Bui V.T., Erban L., Kooi H., Stouthamer E., 2017. Impacts of 25 years of groundwater extraction on subsidence in the Mekong delta, Vietnam. Environment Research Letters, 12, 064006. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7146.

Minderhoud P.S.J., Coumou L., Erbanc L.E., Middelkoopa H., Stouthamera E., Addink E.A., 2018. The relation between land use and subsidence in the Vietnamese Mekong delta. Science of Total Environment, 634(1), 715–726. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.372.

Morley C.K., 2012. Late Cretaceous-Early Palaeogene tectonic development of SE Asia. Earth-Science Reviews, 115(1–2), 37–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2012.08.002.

Nittrouer C.A., DeMaster D.J., Eidam E.F., Nguyen T.T., Liu J.P., Ogston A.S., and Phung P.V., 2017. The Mekong continental shelf: The primary sink for deltaic sediment particles and their passengers. Oceanography, 30(3), 60–70. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2017.314.

Nguyen C.T., Schwarzer K., Ricklefs K., 2023. Water-level changes and subsidence rates along the Saigon-Dong Nai River Estuary and the East Sea coastline of the Mekong Delta. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci., 283, 108259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2023.108259.

Nguyen T.T.N., Némery J., Gratiot N., Strady E., Tran V.Q., Nguyen A.T., Aimé J., Peyne A., 2019. Nutrient dynamics and eutrophication assessment in the tropical river system of Saigon - Dongnai (Southern Vietnam). Science of The Total Environment, 653, 370–383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.319.

Nguyen V.L., Ta T.K.O., Saito Y., 2010. Early Holocene initiation of the Mekong River delta, Vietnam, and the response to Holocene sea-level changes detected from DT1 core analyses. Sedimentary Geology, 230, 146–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2010.07.006.

Nowacki D.J., Ogston A.S., Nittrouer C.A., Fricke A.T., Van P.D.T., 2015. Sediment dynamics in the lower Mekong River: transition from tidal River to estuary. J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 120, 6363–6383. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JC010754.

Pan T., Murray-Wallace C.V., Dosseto A., Bourman R.P., 2018. The last interglacial (MIS 5e) sea level highstand from a tectonically stable far-field setting, Yorke Peninsula, southern Australia. Mar. Geol., 398, 126–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2018.01.012.

Posamentier H.W., Allen G.P., 1999. Siliciclastic sequence stratigraphy: concepts and applications. SEPM Concepts in Sedimentology and Paleontology, 7, 210. https://sepm.org/files/brposamentier.ak8vxjen10zkhtzg.pdf.

Quy N.V., Tri T.V., Can N.V., Thang T.T., Ty N.H., Minh N.B., Thien P., Bao N.X., Khuc D.V., Thuc D.D., Toan N.Q., Hoa.T.T., 2007. Geological Map of Viet Nam (Scale 1:1.000.000). Department of Geology and Minerals of Viet Nam, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environments.

Rohling E.J., Fenton M., Jorissen F.J., Bertrand P., Ganssen G., Gaulet J.P., 1998. Magnitude of sea-level lowstands of the past 500000 years. Nature, 394, 162–165. https://doi.org/10.1038/28134.

Schmidt W.J., Hoang B.H., Handschy J.W., Hai V.T., Cuong T.X., Tung N.T., 2019. Tectonic evolution and regional setting of the Cuu Long Basin, Vietnam. Tectonophysics, 757, 36–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2019.03.001.

Stattegger K., Tjallingii R., Saito Y., Michelli M., Thanh N.T., Wetzel A., 2013. Mid to late Holocene sea-level reconstruction of Southeast Vietnam using beachrock and beach-ridge deposits. Global Planet. Change, 110, 214–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2013.08.014.

Ta T.K.O., Nguyen V.L., Tateishi M., Kobayashi I., Saito Y., Nakamura T., 2002a. Sediment facies and Late Holocene progradation of the Mekong River Delta in Bentre Province, southern Vietnam: an example of evolution from a tide-dominated to a tide- and wave-dominated delta. Sed. Geol., 152, 313–325. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0037-0738(02)00098-2.

Ta T.K.O., Nguyen V.L., Tateishi M., Kobayashi I., Tanabe S., Saito Y., 2002b. Holocene delta evolution and sediment discharge of the Mekong River, southern Vietnam. Quat. Sci. Rev., 21, 1807–1819. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-3791(02)00007-0.

Tanabe S., Saito Y., Lan V.Q., Hanebuth T.J.J., Lan N.Q., Kitamura A., 2006. Holocene evolution of the Song Hong (Red River) delta system, northern Vietnam. Sed. Geol., 187, 29–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2005.12.004.

Thanh N.T., Stattegger K., Unverricht D., Nittrouer C.A., Phach V.P., Liu P., DeMaster D.J., Dung B.V., Anh L.D. Dong M.D., 2017. Surface sediment grain-size distribution and sediment transport in the subaqueous Mekong Delta. Vietnam Journal of Earth Sciences, 39, 193–209. https://doi.org/10.15625/0866-7187/39/3/10266.

Thanh N.T., Cuong D.H., Stattegger K., Bui V.D., Yang S., Chi N.T.K., Tung N.X., Tinh N.V., Nga N.T., 2021. Depositional sequences of the Mekong river delta and adjacent shelf over the past 140 kyr, southern Vietnam. J. Asian Earth Sci., 206, 104634. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2020.104634.

Thanh N.T., Owen M.J., Mackintosh G.K.L., Dung B.V., Stattegger K., Cuong D.H., Andersen Th.J., Tich V.V., Posth N.R., Fruergaard M., Nga N.T., Dung T.T., Hien P.T., 2023. Sequence stratigraphy and sedimentary processes since the last glacial maximum in Nha Phu Bay and adjacent shelf, central Vietnam. Journal of Sea Research, 192, 102352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2023.102352.

Thanh N.T., Dung B.V., Diep N.V., Vu P.N.H., Thanh N.C., Khoan D.D., Nga N.T., Hien P.T., Anh L.D., 2026. Post-Last Glacial Maximum seismic stratigraphy and sediment dynamics of the southernmost Central Vietnam shelf. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 96, 104879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2026.104879.

Tjallingii R., Stattegger K., Wetzel A., Phach P.V., 2010. Infilling and flooding of the Mekong River incised valley during deglacial sea-level rise. Quat. Sci. Rev., 29, 1432–1444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.02.022.

Tjallingii R., Stattegger K., Stocchi P., Saito Y., 2014. Rapid flooding of the southern Vietnam shelf during the early to mid-Holocene. J. Quat. Sci., 29, 581–588. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.2731.

Unverricht D., Szczuciński W., Stattegger, K., Jagodziński R., Le X.T., Kwong L.L.W., 2013. Modern sedimentation and morphology of the subaqueous Mekong Delta, Southern Vietnam. Global Planet. Change, 110, 223–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2012.12.009.

Vail P.R., 1987. Seismic stratigraphy interpretation procedure. In: Bally, A.W. (Ed), Atlas of Seismic Stratigraphy 27. American Association of Petroleum Geologist Studies in Geology, 1–10. https://sepmstrata.org/page.aspx?&pageid=46&3.

Van Wagoner J.C., Posamentier H.W., Mitchum R.M., Vail P.R., Sarg P.R., Louit J.F., Hardenbol J., 1988. An overview of the fundamental of sequence stratigraphy and key definitions. An Integrated Approach, SEPM Special Publication, 42, 39–45. https://doi.org/10.2110/pec.88.01.0039.

Waelbroeck C., Labeyrie L., Michel E., 2002. Sea level and deep water temperature changes derived from benthonic foraminifera isotopic records. Quat. Sci. Rev., 21, 295–305. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-3791(01)00101-9.

Walsh J.P., Nittrouer C.A.,Palinkas C.M., Ogston A.S., Sternberg R.M., Brunskill G.J., 2004 "Clinoform mechanics in the Gulf of Papua, New Guinea", Continental Shelf Research, 24, 2487–2510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2004.07.019.

Wolanski E., Ngoc Huan N., Trong Dao L., Huu Nhan N., Ngoc Thuy N., 1996. Fine sediment dynamics in the Mekong River estuary, Vietnam. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci., 43(5), 565–582. https://doi.org/10.1006/ecss.1996.0088.

Xue Z., Liu P.J., DeMaster D., Nguyen V.L., Ta T.K.O., 2010. Late Holocene evolution of the Mekong Subaqueous Delta, Southern Vietnam. Marine Geology, 269(1–2), 46–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2009.12.005.

Xue Z., He R., Liu J.P., Warner J.C., 2012. Modeling transport and deposition of the Mekong River sediment. Continental Shelf Research, 37, 66–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2012.02.010.

Xue Z., Liu J.P., DeMaster D., Leithold E.L., Wan S., Ge Q., Nguyen V.L., Ta T.K.O., 2014. Sedimentary processes on the Mekong subaqueous delta: Clay mineral and geochemical analysis. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 79, 520–528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2012.07.012.