Quantifying the influence of surface processes on subsurface geometry in deltaic environments

River deltas are densely populated and dynamically changing environments located at the boundary between land and sea. Population demands for water as well as rising sea levels are increasingly threatening aquifer water quality in deltaic regions. The rate at which aquifer contamination by salt water or other contaminants occurs is dictated, in part, by the arrangement of sediment within the subsurface. In this work, we examine the heterogeneity of the subsurface from a structural vantage to better understand how surface processes and geometry are linked to subsurface architecture. The numerical model, DeltaRCM, is applied to simulate delta evolution under a variety of input conditions. The resulting model outputs simulate 800 years during which the growing delta generates a subsurface volume that is over 40m deep. Surface channel properties and behavior, such as channel depths and channel planform decay rates are measured. Similarly, the structure of the sand bodies in the subsurface domain is evaluated. These different types of analyses, surface and subsurface, are ultimately compared to take a first-look at how channel properties in a deltaic environment may relate to subsurface structure and form.

Broadly, expectations about channel trends and subsurface structure from the field of geomorphology are supported. Channel depths decrease with distance from the inlet, and as the input sand proportion increases. Similarly, the channelized fraction of the delta surface increases with higher input sand fraction values. In the subsurface, different types of channel behavior on the surface correspond to different structures. The sand bodies are larger when the surface channels are shallower and more mobile. In addition, the spatial continuity within strike sections (sections taken perpendicular to the inlet channel) increases with channel depth.

Comparisons of the modeled subsurface with stochastically re-arranged replicates have confirmed the assertion that surface processes create unique subsurface structures. When the input proportion of sediment contains at least 40% sand by volume, the average size of the subsurface sand bodies follows a power-law relation with respect to surface channel depths and the average channelized fraction of the delta platform. The range of spatial entropy (disorder) also increases with channel depth. Within models, with increasing distance from the inlet both channel depths and spatial entropy ranges decrease. Changing the input sediment proportions over the course of the delta evolution provides mixed results. Some channel parameters like channel depth are indistinguishable from steady input cases, while others are influenced by the initial topographic setup. In the subsurface, variable sediment input proportions create vastly different sand body geometries depending on the rate of variation of the input sand proportion. When the input sand proportion is gradually increased, the average sand body size becomes very large; however when the sand input is abruptly increased, the mean sand body value is less than a steady sand input analog.