9322601 Mead Description: This project supports a planning visit by two U.S. scientists to Bangladesh to refine a collaborative research program, involving scientists from Europe, Bangladesh and the United States. The objective is to study the sedimentation and subsidence in the delta plain formed by the Ganges-Brahmaputra- Meghna rivers on modern (100 years) time scale, and since the glaciation (Holocene). This vast floodplain may be the sink for 40-80% of the sediment discharged from this river system, which is the world's largest. An understanding of the overall sediment budget for this system has local as well as global relevance. Quantifying and mapping sedimentation and subsidence patterns is a prerequisite to implementing flood control engineering in Bangladesh where 35-40% of the country is flooded annually. Scope: Extensive scientific and logistic planning is required to integrate this study with an existing joint Bangladesh-European study of river hydrodynamics and morphology. The visit will allow that coordination through meetings with Bangladesh scientists and government officials, and through field examination of potential sampling sites. ***
