Nile delta Flashcards

1
Q

Why is it low energy

A

The rate of fluvial deposition has exceeded the rate of marine deposition for over 3000 years

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2
Q

How has this changed

A

Due to the influence of both physical and human factors

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3
Q

How long is the Nile

A

6650 km

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4
Q

What is the catchment size

A

Greater than 3,000,000 km²

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5
Q

What is the average discharge

A

Less than 3000 m³ per second

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6
Q

Where is the source

A

Ethiopia

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7
Q

What is the annual average sediment yield for the Nile in Ethiopia

A

4.26 tons per hectare per year

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8
Q

What are the three different planes

A

The foreshore plain, frontal plain and Nile delta

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9
Q

What is the coastal plain

A

The coastal plane is on the northern part of the Delta and runs parallel to the Mediterranean coast line

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10
Q

What is the foreshore plain

A

Does elongated ridges, running near parallel to the present shoreline, it alternate with lagoons, salt marshes and alluvial deposits in the depression between them

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11
Q

What is the frontal plane

A

It is south of the foreshore plane, has scattered around eroded limestone outcrops and clay deposit

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12
Q

Description of the sandy zone

A

Composed of a variety of different formations such as sheets, dunes and hammocks

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13
Q

Where does it split into distributaries

A

Cairo, 160 km inland

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14
Q

How deep are the deposit

A

9 m Aswan, 9.6m at cairo

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15
Q

What is occurring at the front of the delta

A

Wave action in the Mediterranean redistribute the sediment and forms a series of curved barrier bars, which close of segments of the Mediterranean sea to form lagoons. The lagoons in then form a silt environment, it then becomes filled with fine sediment

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16
Q

What is the direction of sediment

A

 East

17
Q

Direction of the prevailing wind

A

Northwest

18
Q

What are two near shore features

A

Underwater sand bars and long crescentic bar

19
Q

Why are parallel sandbars found here

A

They are generated by the dominant eastward longshore drift of sediment

20
Q

Why are crescents bars found at Alexandria

A

Due to rip currents and negligible longshore drift

21
Q

What has affected the sediment budget

A

The building of the Aswan dam

22
Q

How’s the sediment budget been affected

A

Rapid reduction from 120,000,000 tons a year to only trace amounts today

23
Q

What changes have occurred as a result of the dam

A

Accelerated erosion and rates of coastal retreat as high as 1.48 m per year

24
Q

What are the factor has affected the sediment budget and how

A

Rising sea levels in the Mediterranean of 1.2 mm per year I’ve also contributed to hire erosion rates as deeper water produces large waves with higher amounts of energy and therefore they reach further inland