Articles | Volume 9, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-953-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-953-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Dynamics of salt intrusion in the Mekong Delta: results of field observations and integrated coastal–inland modelling
Sepehr Eslami
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geoscience, Utrecht University, Utrecht, 3584 CB, the Netherlands
Marine and Coastal Systems Unit, Deltares, Delft, 2629 HV, the Netherlands
Piet Hoekstra
Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geoscience, Utrecht University, Utrecht, 3584 CB, the Netherlands
Herman W. J. Kernkamp
Software Department, Deltares, Delft, 2629 HV, the Netherlands
Nam Nguyen Trung
Southern Institute for Water Resources Planning (SIWRP), Ho Chi Minh City, Ward 3 72710, Vietnam
Dung Do Duc
Southern Institute for Water Resources Planning (SIWRP), Ho Chi Minh City, Ward 3 72710, Vietnam
Hung Nguyen Nghia
Southern Institute of Water Resources Research (SIWRR), Ho Chi Minh City, 656 Võ Văn Ki\^{e}̣t, District 5, Vietnam
Tho Tran Quang
Southern Institute for Water Resources Planning (SIWRP), Ho Chi Minh City, Ward 3 72710, Vietnam
Arthur van Dam
Software Department, Deltares, Delft, 2629 HV, the Netherlands
Stephen E. Darby
Geography and Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
Daniel R. Parsons
Department of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK
Grigorios Vasilopoulos
Department of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK
Lisanne Braat
Department of Geology and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, CA 91125, USA
Maarten van der Vegt
Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geoscience, Utrecht University, Utrecht, 3584 CB, the Netherlands
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Cited
38 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Extent of Saltwater Intrusion and the Freshwater Exploitability in the Coastal Vietnamese Mekong Delta. A Case Study in Ham Luong estuary P. Bich Thuc et al.
- Groundwater Vulnerability Indicator Assessment of Karst Island Water Resources: Enhancement of the Freshwater Lens Assessment Protocol R. DiFilippo et al.
- Integrated analytical framework for soil salinization assessment in the Yellow River Delta coastline: Spatiotemporal dynamics, future trends, and driving mechanisms (2003–2023) Q. Zhou et al.
- Organization of Fish Assemblage in the Mekong Delta as a Potential Indicator of Saltwater Intrusion M. Malin et al.
- Key aspects of seawater intrusion in the Dniester River during storm surges Y. Tuchkovenkо et al.
- Assessment of Salinity Intrusion Risks on Agricultural Land Use Changes in Ben Tre Province, Mekong Delta (2014–2023) L. Thanh Hoa & N. Thuy
- Land Subsidence in the Mekong Delta Derived From Advanced Persistent Scatterer Interferometry With an Infrastructural Reference Network N. Dörr et al.
- Freshwater–salinity regime shifts in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: multi-decadal trends and emerging risks (2000–2024) H. Minh et al.
- Assessing Groundwater Potential Using Artificial Intelligence and Earth Observation to Support Sustainable Agriculture in Vietnam’s Deltas A. Do et al.
- “Local people want to keep their sand”: Variations in community perceptions and everyday resistance to sand mining across the Red River, Vietnam H. Runeckles et al.
- Land use change in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: Long-term impacts of drought and salinity intrusion using satellite and monitoring data D. Binh et al.
- Modeling saltwater intrusion risk in the presence of uncertainty D. Tran et al.
- Hydrodynamic Impacts of Tributary Sluice Gate Operations on Salinity Intrusion in the Tien River, Vietnamese Mekong Delta Q. Chau et al.
- Practical paths to halt elevation loss in Vietnamese Mekong Delta E. Park et al.
- How consistent are adaptation strategies with ongoing climatic and environmental changes in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: A systematic review T. Vo et al.
- Effects of Upstream Activities of Tigris-Euphrates River Basin on Water and Soil Resources of Shatt Al-Arab Border River A. Montazeri et al.
- Sea-Level Rise and Saltwater Intrusion: Economic Estimates of Impacts of Nature-Based Mitigation Policies Under Uncertainty D. Tran & K. Le
- Effect of monsoonal rainfall and tides on salinity intrusion and mixing dynamics in a macrotidal estuary N. Hlaing et al.
- Surface water salinity modeling for the Mekong Delta of Vietnam using hourly salinity observed data, remote sensing, and machine learning models Q. Bui et al.
- Sand-mining-driven reduction in Tonle Sap Lake’s critical flood pulse L. Quan et al.
- Organisation of Fish Assemblage in the Mekong Delta as a Potential Indicator of Salt Water Intrusion M. Malin et al.
- Use of Sentinel-1 to monitor the evolution of rice production in the Vietnam Mekong Delta over the last decade T. Nguyen-Thi et al.
- Hydrogeochemical characterization and machine learning-driven prediction of groundwater salinity intrusion risk in southwestern coastal Bangladesh S. Tasneem et al.
- Dynamics of salt intrusion in complex estuarine networks: an idealised model applied to the Rhine–Meuse Delta B. Biemond et al.
- Effects of upstream activities of Tigris-Euphrates River Basin on water and soil resources of Shatt al-Arab Border River A. Montazeri et al.
- Vertical leaching of paleo-saltwater in a coastal aquifer–aquitard system of the Pearl River Delta S. Yu et al.
- Extent of saltwater intrusion and freshwater exploitability in the coastal Vietnamese Mekong Delta assessed by gauging records and numerical simulations D. Duc Tran et al.
- Investigating tidal river dynamics in a longitudinally varying channel geometry G. Gusti et al.
- Elevation uncertainties in the Mekong Delta quantified using a transferable approach K. Seeger & P. Minderhoud
- Effect of planning policies on land use dynamics and livelihood opportunities under global environmental change: Evidence from the Mekong Delta T. Berchoux et al.
- Impact of Reduced Fluvial Sediment Supply on Saltwater Intrusion in the Yangtze Estuary C. Zhu et al.
- Linking freshwater hydrology to global food security in the Mekong Basin J. Holway et al.
- Combined effects of river discharge regulation and estuarine morphological evolution on salinity dynamics in Yangtze Estuary, China L. Zhao et al.
- Mitigating salinity intrusion in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: a hydrodynamic modelling study of temporary flow regulation scenarios Q. Chau et al.
- Machine learning prediction of saltwater intrusion to support coastal water resource management J. Shen et al.
- Seawater intrusion in river delta systems. Inter-annual dynamics and drivers of salinity variations in the southern Mekong Delta, Vietnam J. Bauer et al.
- Spatial extrapolation in soil salinity and future land cover using hybrid machine learning and land change modeler: case study in the Mekong Delta and the Red River Delta H. Nguyen et al.
- Exploring salt wedge dynamics and nature-inspired mitigation measures in the lower Mississippi River A. Khalifa et al.
38 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Extent of Saltwater Intrusion and the Freshwater Exploitability in the Coastal Vietnamese Mekong Delta. A Case Study in Ham Luong estuary P. Bich Thuc et al.
- Groundwater Vulnerability Indicator Assessment of Karst Island Water Resources: Enhancement of the Freshwater Lens Assessment Protocol R. DiFilippo et al.
- Integrated analytical framework for soil salinization assessment in the Yellow River Delta coastline: Spatiotemporal dynamics, future trends, and driving mechanisms (2003–2023) Q. Zhou et al.
- Organization of Fish Assemblage in the Mekong Delta as a Potential Indicator of Saltwater Intrusion M. Malin et al.
- Key aspects of seawater intrusion in the Dniester River during storm surges Y. Tuchkovenkо et al.
- Assessment of Salinity Intrusion Risks on Agricultural Land Use Changes in Ben Tre Province, Mekong Delta (2014–2023) L. Thanh Hoa & N. Thuy
- Land Subsidence in the Mekong Delta Derived From Advanced Persistent Scatterer Interferometry With an Infrastructural Reference Network N. Dörr et al.
- Freshwater–salinity regime shifts in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: multi-decadal trends and emerging risks (2000–2024) H. Minh et al.
- Assessing Groundwater Potential Using Artificial Intelligence and Earth Observation to Support Sustainable Agriculture in Vietnam’s Deltas A. Do et al.
- “Local people want to keep their sand”: Variations in community perceptions and everyday resistance to sand mining across the Red River, Vietnam H. Runeckles et al.
- Land use change in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: Long-term impacts of drought and salinity intrusion using satellite and monitoring data D. Binh et al.
- Modeling saltwater intrusion risk in the presence of uncertainty D. Tran et al.
- Hydrodynamic Impacts of Tributary Sluice Gate Operations on Salinity Intrusion in the Tien River, Vietnamese Mekong Delta Q. Chau et al.
- Practical paths to halt elevation loss in Vietnamese Mekong Delta E. Park et al.
- How consistent are adaptation strategies with ongoing climatic and environmental changes in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: A systematic review T. Vo et al.
- Effects of Upstream Activities of Tigris-Euphrates River Basin on Water and Soil Resources of Shatt Al-Arab Border River A. Montazeri et al.
- Sea-Level Rise and Saltwater Intrusion: Economic Estimates of Impacts of Nature-Based Mitigation Policies Under Uncertainty D. Tran & K. Le
- Effect of monsoonal rainfall and tides on salinity intrusion and mixing dynamics in a macrotidal estuary N. Hlaing et al.
- Surface water salinity modeling for the Mekong Delta of Vietnam using hourly salinity observed data, remote sensing, and machine learning models Q. Bui et al.
- Sand-mining-driven reduction in Tonle Sap Lake’s critical flood pulse L. Quan et al.
- Organisation of Fish Assemblage in the Mekong Delta as a Potential Indicator of Salt Water Intrusion M. Malin et al.
- Use of Sentinel-1 to monitor the evolution of rice production in the Vietnam Mekong Delta over the last decade T. Nguyen-Thi et al.
- Hydrogeochemical characterization and machine learning-driven prediction of groundwater salinity intrusion risk in southwestern coastal Bangladesh S. Tasneem et al.
- Dynamics of salt intrusion in complex estuarine networks: an idealised model applied to the Rhine–Meuse Delta B. Biemond et al.
- Effects of upstream activities of Tigris-Euphrates River Basin on water and soil resources of Shatt al-Arab Border River A. Montazeri et al.
- Vertical leaching of paleo-saltwater in a coastal aquifer–aquitard system of the Pearl River Delta S. Yu et al.
- Extent of saltwater intrusion and freshwater exploitability in the coastal Vietnamese Mekong Delta assessed by gauging records and numerical simulations D. Duc Tran et al.
- Investigating tidal river dynamics in a longitudinally varying channel geometry G. Gusti et al.
- Elevation uncertainties in the Mekong Delta quantified using a transferable approach K. Seeger & P. Minderhoud
- Effect of planning policies on land use dynamics and livelihood opportunities under global environmental change: Evidence from the Mekong Delta T. Berchoux et al.
- Impact of Reduced Fluvial Sediment Supply on Saltwater Intrusion in the Yangtze Estuary C. Zhu et al.
- Linking freshwater hydrology to global food security in the Mekong Basin J. Holway et al.
- Combined effects of river discharge regulation and estuarine morphological evolution on salinity dynamics in Yangtze Estuary, China L. Zhao et al.
- Mitigating salinity intrusion in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: a hydrodynamic modelling study of temporary flow regulation scenarios Q. Chau et al.
- Machine learning prediction of saltwater intrusion to support coastal water resource management J. Shen et al.
- Seawater intrusion in river delta systems. Inter-annual dynamics and drivers of salinity variations in the southern Mekong Delta, Vietnam J. Bauer et al.
- Spatial extrapolation in soil salinity and future land cover using hybrid machine learning and land change modeler: case study in the Mekong Delta and the Red River Delta H. Nguyen et al.
- Exploring salt wedge dynamics and nature-inspired mitigation measures in the lower Mississippi River A. Khalifa et al.
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 28 Apr 2026
Short summary
Increased salt intrusion jeopardizes freshwater supply to the Mekong Delta, and the current trends are often inaccurately associated with sea level rise. Using observations and models, we show that salinity is highly sensitive to ocean surge, tides, water demand, and upstream discharge. We show that anthropogenic riverbed incision has significantly amplified salt intrusion, exemplifying the importance of preserving sediment budget and riverbed levels to protect deltas against salt intrusion.
Increased salt intrusion jeopardizes freshwater supply to the Mekong Delta, and the current...