Paleoenvironmental anal ysis of the Suriname River and the coastal area, northeastern South A merica
The low-lying coastal plain of Suriname, which is impor tant to the country's population and economy, is becoming increasingl y vulnerable to sea level rise caused by climate change. Suriname's c oastline is naturally protected by a dynamic system of mangrove fores ts, hydrodynamic processes and sediment deposition. It is strongly in fluenced by the variation in discharge mud and silt from the Amazon R iver through the cycle of longshore migrating mud banks.
Earth scientist Kathleen Gersie investigated the role of sediments from the Amazon River, the Suriname River and other small rivers in the geomo rphological development of the Suriname coastal plain from the Paleog ene to the present. To answer the research questions, she used a comb ination of palynological and geochemical analyses, light microscopy, satellite imagery, and historical geomorphological and topographic ma ps.
The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, also known as the PET
M, was recorded in Paleogene sediments. The same is true of a major s
hift in the composition of mangrove forests between the Paleogene and
Neogene, independent of Amazonian influence. During the Pliocene-Ple
istocene, the development of coastal vegetation coincided with a tran
sition in sediment supply from local rivers originating from the Guia
na Shield to the supply of material originating from the Andes.
River terraces along the Suriname River reflect different guiding p
rocesses: terraces in the upper and middle flowing river section were
formed by a combination of tectonic uplift and climate-driven change
s in river flow and sediment supply, while terraces along the lower r
iver section were mainly determined by sea level fluctuations. The so
uth-north flowing rivers of Suriname have largely kept pace with coas
tal progradation, while anthropogenic factors, particularly the Afoba
ka dam, have significantly altered the hydrodynamics and morphology o
f the river channel.
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DESCRIPTION: The low-lying coastal plain of Suriname, which is importa nt to the country's population and economy, is becoming increasingly vulnerable to sea level rise caused by climate change. Suriname's coa stline is naturally protected by a dynamic system of mangrove forests , hydrodynamic processes and sediment deposition. It is strongly infl uenced by the variation in discharge mud and silt from the Amazon Riv er through the cycle of longshore migrating mud banks. Earth scientis t Kathleen Gersie investigated the role of sediments from the Amazon River, the Suriname River and other small rivers in the geomorphologi cal development of the Suriname coastal plain from the Paleogene to t he present. To answer the research questions, she used a combination of palynological and geochemical analyses, light microscopy, satellit e imagery, and historical geomorphological and topographic maps. The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, also known as the PETM, was recorde d in Paleogene sediments. The same is true of a major shift in the co mposition of mangrove forests between the Paleogene and Neogene, inde pendent of Amazonian influence. During the Pliocene-Pleistocene, the development of coastal vegetation coincided with a transition in sedi ment supply from local rivers originating from the Guiana Shield to t he supply of material originating from the Andes.