Tidal Flats Wetland System of the Estuarine Coast in the Lower Ganga Delta Under Climatic Stress
摘要
A range of muddy, low-gradient intertidal, and supratidal depositional surfaces in the Lower Ganga Delta, separated by estuaries, tidal rivers, and tidal creeks, represent the most critical halophytic forest lands with interactions between forms, processes, materials, and evolution. The tidal flat depositional environments are classified as intertidal flat, supratidal flat, subtidal exposure flat, and shore fringe tidal flat of the coastal marine environment, with increasing wave exposures from the low tide water level to the high tide water level in the tide-dominated deltaic coasts. This study has considered eight major tidal flats of different physical settings from the western part (Hugli Estuary) to the eastern part (Ichhamati–Raimangal Estuary) of the Indian Sundarbans to explore the diversities in tidal flat wetland systems and their temporal changes under climate stress impacts using geospatial techniques and field monitoring methods in the regional settings over the decades of the current century (2006–2022). The study reveals vegetation dynamics, wetland dynamics, and changing energy-driven surge waters into the system with increasing rates of erosion, external inputs of sediments, and saltpan formations under climate change impacts.