The Coastline of Bangladesh?An Overview of Processes and Forms

by Dilip K. Barua, Land Reclamation Project, Bangladesh, India,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Coastal Zone '91

Abstract:

The paper describes the coastline of Bangladesh the inlet system, geometry, hydro-geo-morphological characteristics and the processes with which it is formed. The coastline has been identified as comprising of three major groups: the Ganges Tidal Plain in the west, the Meghna Deltaic Plain in the middle and the Chittagong Coastal Plain in the east. The Ganges Tidal Plain is an abandoned delta of the river Ganges and major parts of it are covered with a natural mangrove forest known as the sundarbans. The Meghna Deltaic Plain is an active deltaic region which draws almost the entire flux of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system. This plain has been identified as consisting of fluvial, fluviotidal and tidal units. The Chittagong Coastal Plain consists of a wave dominated sand coast and an estuarine mud coast. Zeta form bays and headlands are present along the Plain suggesting northerly transport of sediments. The overall dominant physical processes along the coastline are, in order of their significance, tidal pumping, fluvial fluxes, waves, sea level changes and episodic events such as cyclones and associated storm surges.

Subject Headings: Ocean waves | Coastal processes | Shores | Tides | Coastal plains | Developing countries | Sea level | Bangladesh | Asia

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