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2000
A delta is an important characteristic of coastal topographies, which consists of a low-lying area found at the mouth of a river. In particular, Asian large rivers form huge deltas from South through Southeast to East Asian regions. More than 60 % of world population lives in deltas and more than 80 % of worldfs total rice paddy areas are in Asia. Deltaic lowlands in Asia are important not only to human beings, but also in the study of sedimentology and global sediment flux. Southern Asia and Oceania contribute about 70-80 % of world sediment flux through rivers from land to the ocean. These huge sediments have formed large deltas in the Holocene and considered the present depocenter in the world.
The purpose of this workshop is to summarize current knowledge of deltas in East and Southeast Asian region, and to establish networks among Quaternary, Sedimentology and Geological Oceanography scientists for delta study in the this region. Recently Japanese scientists have several opportunities to promote international cooperation on delta study in Asia. The workshop will provide a forum for broader exchange of present knowledge and future tasks amongst scientists.
The Geological Survey of Japan is presently conducting delta programs since 1996 in cooperation with universities in Japan, supported by the Global Environmental Research Fund of the Environment Agency of Japan. This workshop is part of an interim report of these programs.
This workshop is held under the auspices of Active Geological Process Panel of the Geological Society of Japan, Research Group on Coastal Environment and Morphodynamics of the Association of Japanese Geographers, Sedimentological Society of Japan, IGCP Project 396 "Continental Shelves in the Quaternary", IGCP Project 437 "Coastal Environmental Change During Sea-Level Highstands", and IGBP-LOICZ Japan.
