OPINION

Rising seas mean deltas need more sand and mud

News, Marc Goichot, Published on 22/10/2019

» Doubtless it sounds crazy to anyone who has watched a sandcastle crumble as the tide washes in but the key to stopping the world's densely populated deltas from sinking beneath the waves is sand. Or rather sediment: the combination of gravel, sand, silt and clay that large rivers carry down to the sea and deposit on deltas. Sediment that constantly and naturally replenishes deltas, keeping them -- and all the people, fields, industries, cities and wildlife that rely on them -- above the water.