World-Wide Delivery of River Sediment to the Oceans
Abstract
New data and new estimates from old data show that rivers with large sediment loads (annual discharges greater than about tons) contribute about tons of suspended sediment to the ocean yearly. Extrapolating available data for all drainage basins, the total suspended sediment delivered by all rivers to the oceans is about tons annually; bedload and flood discharges may account for an additional tons. About 70% of this total is derived from southern Asia and the larger islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, where sediment yields are much greater than for other drainage basins.
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The shale model was run repeatedly to span the present-day global distribution of erosion rates across the continental surface and the results weighted by the observed fractional areal contributions of these different erosion rates to obtain a global oxidative weathering flux.
“The shale model was run repeatedly to span the present-day global distribution of erosion rates across the continental surface44 and the results weighted by the observed fractional areal contributions of these different erosion rates to obtain a global oxidative weathering flux.”
From Atmospheric oxygen regulation at low Proterozoic levels by incomplete oxidative weathering of sedimentary organic carbon (2017) · cites this paper as [44]
A sensitivity analysis examined how the oxygen dependence of global organic carbon oxidation varied with removing the contribution to global sediment discharge rates of the highest-uplift regions (oceanic islands), or those plus the next highest uplift regions (SE Asia and the Himalayas), and with increasing shale oxygen diffusivity (n*=1.5), designed to establish a lower limit at which this O2-
“In a sensitivity analysis (Fig. 7) we examined how the oxygen dependence of global organic carbon oxidation varied with removing the contribution to global sediment discharge rates44 of regions with the highest uplift (oceanic islands), or those plus the next highest uplift regions (SE Asia and the Himalayas), and with increasing shale oxygen diffusivity (n*=1.5).”
From Atmospheric oxygen regulation at low Proterozoic levels by incomplete oxidative weathering of sedimentary organic carbon (2017) · cites this paper as [44]
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- Authors
- Milliman, J. D., & Meade, R. H.
- ORCID
- Meade, Robert H.
- Venue
- The Journal of Geology
- Publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- Published
- 1983-01
- Volume
- 91
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 1-21
- ISSN
- 0022-1376 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-5269
- OpenAlex
- W2041158780
- Cited by
- 3,749
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 69 · 2025: 95 · 2024: 107 · 2023: 132 · 2022: 146 · 2021: 182 · 2020: 187 · 2019: 157 · 2018: 160 · 2017: 150 · 2016: 174 · 2015: 141 · 2014: 138 · 2013: 135 · 2012: 115
- FWCI
- 72.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Journal of Geology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil erosion and sediment transport
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Earth-Surface Processes › Geological formations and processes
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes
- Keywords
- suspended sediment, bedload transport, flood discharge, watershed, sediment yield, South Asia, Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean
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