@article{fdi:010052997,
  title = {{T}he {A}mazon-influenced muddy coast of {S}outh {A}merica : a review of mud-bank-shoreline interactions},
  author = {{A}nthony, {E}. {J}. and {G}ardel, {A}. and {G}ratiot, {N}icolas and {P}roisy, {C}hristophe and {A}llison, {M}. {A}. and {D}olique, {F}. and {F}romard, {F}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}he 1500 km-long coast of {S}outh {A}merica between the {A}mazon and the {O}rinoco river mouths is the world s muddiest. {T}his is due to the huge suspended-sediment discharge of the {A}mazon {R}iver (10(6) x 754 tons yr(-1) +/- 9%) part of which is transported alongshore as mud banks {M}ud-bank formation is controlled by the physical oceanography of the continental shelf seaward of the {A}mazon {R}iver mouth an initial seafloor storage area for much of the suspended sediment discharged from the river {I}n this area, rapid and sustained fluid-mud concentration and trapping are associated with fresh water-salt water interaction and estuarine front activity on the shelf due to the enormous {A}mazon water discharge (ca 173 000 m(3)s(-1) at {O}bidos 900 km upstream of the mouth) {F}luid mud is transported shoreward and then along the coasts of the {G}uianas by a complex interaction of wave and tidal forcing and wind-generated coastal currents {T}he mud banks which may number up to 15 or more at any time are up to 5 m thick, 10 to 60 km-long and 20 to 30 km-wide and each may contain the equivalent mass of the annual mud supply of the {A}mazon {A}s the banks migrate alongshore their interaction with waves results in complex and markedly fluctuating shorelines that are associated with space- and time-varying depositional bank phases and erosional {I}nter-bank phases {B}ank zones are protected from wave attack as a result of wave energy dampening by mud and undergo significant albeit temporary coastal accretion accompanied by rapid mangrove colonization {T}he dampening of waves in bank areas as they propagate onshore is accompanied by the shoreward recycling of mud commonly in the form of individual mud bars {T}hese bars progressively undergo desiccation and consolidation and thus constitute a major pathway for rapid and massive colonization by mangroves {E}rosion by waves propagating across relatively mud-deficient shoreface zones in inter-bank areas can lead to muddy shoreline retreat rates of tens of metres to several kilometres over a few months to a few years accompanied by massive removal of mangroves {N}otwithstanding the higher incident wave energy on inter-bank shores inter bank shorefaces are permanently muddy due to the pervasive influence of the {A}mazon muddy discharge {I}nter bank and transitional bank-to-inter-bank phases are associated with both periodic sandy chenier formation and extreme forms of rotation of rare headland-bound sandy beaches {T}he high mud supply from the {A}mazon has been the overarching geological control on the {Q}uaternary evolution of the northeastern {S}outh {A}merican coast having led to the growth of a muddy shelf clinoform at the mouth of the {A}mazon and more or less important progradation throughout this coast. {N}et progradation reflects an imbalance in favour of deposition during each mud-bank-inter-bank cycle {T}he high mud supply has presumably blanketed shelf sand deposited by smaller rivers during eustatic lowstand phases {T}he shelf clinoform structure at the mouth of the {A}mazon and the muddy coastal progradation throughout the coast of the {G}uianas and into {V}enezuela provide analogues of the geological record on muddy shorefaces (c) 2010 {E}lsevier {BV} {A}ll rights reserved},
  keywords = {{A}mazon ; mud banks ; muddy coast ; mangroves ; wave dissipation ; cheniers ; beach rotation ; {S}outh {A}merica},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{E}arth-{S}cience {R}eviews},
  volume = {103},
  numero = {3-4},
  pages = {99--121},
  ISSN = {0012-8252},
  year = {2010},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.earscirev.2010.09.008},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010052997},
}