Flexural isostatic response of continental-scale deltas to climatically driven sea level changes

Abstract

The interplay between climate-forced sea level change, erosional and depositional processes, and flexural isostasy in deep time on passive margin deltas remains poorly understood. We performed a series of conceptual simulations to investigate flexural isostatic responses to high-frequency fluctuations in water and sediment load associated with climatically driven sea level changes. We model a large drainage basin that discharges to a continental margin and produces a large deltaic depocenter, then prescribe synthetic and climatic-driven sea level curves of different frequencies to assess flexural response. Results show that flexural isostatic responses are bidirectional over 100-1000kyr timescales and are in sync with the magnitude, frequency, and direction of sea level fluctuations and that isostatic adjustments play an important role in driving along-strike and cross-shelf river mouth migration and sediment accumulation. Our findings demonstrate that climate-forced sea level changes produce a feedback mechanism that results in self-sustaining creation of accommodation into which sediment is deposited and plays a major role in delta morphology and stratigraphic architecture.