Chao Phraya Delta Research Articles

Stratigraphy and Holocene evolution of the mud-dominated Chao Phraya delta, Thailand

The central plain of Thailand was formed over the last 8–7 kyr mainly by the deltaic processes of two major rivers, the Chao Phraya and the Mae Klong. The delta plain is the third largest delta plain in Southeast Asia after that of the Mekong and the Irrawaddy. On the basis of sedimentological and paleontological analyses of samples from three boreholes and an open-pit survey, the evolution of the delta was clarified with high-resolution 14C dating. After the maximum transgression at between 8 and 7 cal kyr BP, the delta system migrated southward into the paleo-Gulf of Ayutthaya. A large mud shoal (the Sananivate Mud Shoal) formed near the mouth of the paleo-gulf between 7 and 3 cal kyr BP and facilitated its infilling. As a result, the delta has prograded rapidly particularly during the last 2 kyr. Deltaic sediment volume for the last 7.5±0.5 kyr shows that the average rate of sedimentation was 23.1±3.6 million t/yr, which is nearly the same as the present total sediment discharge from both rivers. The comparatively wide delta plain relative to sediment discharge resulted from the stable sea level, the shallow paleo-gulf acting as a receiving basin, and effective sediment trapping because of the mud shoal.

The Present Situation and Problems of the Establishment of Water Users' Organizations in the Chao Phraya Delta

The Present Situation and Problems of the Establishment of Water Users' Organizations in the Chao Phraya Delta

Social and Economic Patterns of Landlord–Tenant Relationships in the Chao Phraya Delta, Thailand: An Historical Perspective

For a long time, the Central Plain of Thailand has been integrated within the market economy; the resulting tenancy has often been attributed to growing social differentiation. Landowner–tenant relations constitute a focal point that mirrors economic, social and political issues. This paper focuses on these relationships and their evolution during the twentieth century. The overall picture is more balanced than commonly assumed, especially for the last thirty years, during which time real rents are shown to have declined.

Water Management Practice in Upper Chao Phraya Delta, Thailand

Water Management Practice in Upper Chao Phraya Delta, Thailand

Late Quaternary geology of the Lower Central Plain, Thailand

The Lower Central Plain or Chao Phraya Plain, located in the upper Gulf of Thailand, has an average elevation of 2 m above the present mean sea level. It is a fault bounded basin developed in the Plio-Pleistocene epoch. Consequently, the basin has been filled with Quaternary sediment reaching a thickness of almost 2000 m, of which only the upper 300 m is known. The Pleistocene deposits of the Lower Central Plain represent a complex interplay of alluvial, fluvial and deltaic environments of the Chao Phraya River and its tributaries. The upper sequence of sand and stiff clay with iron-oxide concretions on the surface was deposited in a fluviatile environment subjected to a regressive period in the late Pleistocene. The term “Chao Phraya delta” is used to define the landform where the Chao Phraya River interacted with marine processes as the sea level changed during the Holocene transgression. These strata indicated that the Holocene sea reached its maximum height of 4 m above the present mean sea level around 6000 years B.P.; from then on sea level fluctuated until it reached its present level around 1500 years B.P. This complex sea level history has caused the progradation of tidal flat, and tide-dominated delta deposits, consisting of soft marine clay, that covered the Lower Central Plain to an average depth of 15 m in the Bangkok area. The soft marine clay or Bangkok clay is the most important unit in the stratigraphic sequence in terms of land subsidence in the Lower Central Plain. Evidence of coastal erosion is also considerable in the low tidal flat area on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River mouth and adjacent coast.

Les dissymétries d’usages d’un delta peuplement et aménagement du delta du Chao Phraya (Thaïlande)

The Chao Phraya Delta once had a specific ecological organisation. The disruption of the original symmetries dates back to the nineteenth century, when the state developed the portions left vacant by spontaneous colonisation. This appropriation has affected irrigation, the land factor and agricultural, urban and industrial dynamics.

Coastal Environmental Problems and Impacts of Climate Change in Thailand

Developing countries in the Asian and Pacific region are anticipated to face serious impacts of climate change, because of not only their geographic settings but also the high growth of population and economy. Many countries have tried to identify the specific impacts on them without success. The major reason for this is lack of data. Thailand is a country which accumulates relatively large amount of data including GIS database. This study aims at correlating the existing coastal problems with the impacts of climate change and sea-level rise, based on review of the impact studies and new analysis using the databases developed both in Thailand and in the world. Sea-level rise and climate change would significantly exacerbate existing coastal problems, such as coastal erosion and retreat of mangrove forest. In particular, mangrove forests in Thailand is the case, for they have already been experiencing strong pressures due to land subsidence and clearing for shrimp ponds. The threats of the storm surge and flooding are another concern in the Central Plain, the Chao Phraya Delta, where Bangkok is situated.

Paddy Farming and Water Management in Chao Phraya Delta of Thailand

Paddy Farming and Water Management in Chao Phraya Delta of Thailand

Water management in raised bed systems: a case study from the Chao Phraya delta, Thailand

Agricultural diversification is a major trend in Asian rice-based systems. In lowlands, however, soil and water conditions are mostly suitable for rice cultivation and the development of raised beds is often required to accommodate vegetables or fruit trees. Raised bed systems go together with specific techniques of water management, both at the polder level (between the plots and the canals) and at the plot level (bed irrigation). Details of this management in the Chao Phraya Delta are given for three different crops: mango, grapes and asparagus and differences are explained. The water balance over 1 year is specified, showing the impact of seepage and estimating water requirements. Water quality is shown to be a major issue.

Land and Water Resources Management for Crop Diversification in the Chao Phraya Delta, Thailand:

Land and Water Resources Management for Crop Diversification in the Chao Phraya Delta, Thailand:

Quaternary coastal morphology and deposition in Thailand

Abstract Thailand is part of the Asian continent that is generally considered to be tectonically stable compared to adjacent regions in southeastern Asia. However, studies of Quaternary stratigraphic sequences, depositional processes and coastal morphology of the Thailand coast, have provided evidence of continuing Cenozoic epeirogenic movement influencing coastal evolution. These movements have affected coastal and river depositional responses to climate and eustatic sea level change. The Quaternary marine formations are extensive along the coastal zone for a distance of about 1850 km in the Gulf of Thailand and occur sporadically along the 865 km west coast of the Thai Peninsula. On the Thai Peninsula, the emergence of the west coast has resulted in the formation of numerous islands, drowned valleys, short and narrow beaches and truncated headlands, in the high energy coastal erosion regime of the Andaman Sea. Steep-gradient, short rivers form floodplains of comparatively thin deposits of Quaternary sediments, and narrow bays backed by crescent shape sand ridges. This contrasts with the east coast where thick sequences of Quaternary fluvial and deltaic aggradational deposits, and Holocene progradational beaches, sand spits, tidal flats and lagoons, are indicative of tectonic subsidence with a coastal current transporting sediment into the region. Along the coastal Central Plain, the Chao Phraya delta is underlain by a thick Plio-Pleistocene deltaic and coastal marine sedimentary sequence. This has accumulated in a basin where the Quaternary tectonic environment is affected by epeirogenic uplift of the western highlands and tilting of the Central Plain. At the western Central Plains margin, rivers have formed distinct alluvial fans while the rest of the coastal plain has landscape features formed in the river delta-prograding coast environment that preceded the postglacial marine transgression.

Counter-Measures Against Water Resources Crisis in the Chao Phraya River Basin

There are two large reservoirs in the Chao Phraya River Basin, namely, the Bhumibol and the Sirikit. The Storage volume is 13.5 and 9.5 [×109m3], respectively. Up to 1980, the priority was given to hydro-power generation and nowadays to paddy field irrigation of the Chao Phraya Delta. Water crisis in the Chao Phraya River Basin have been occurring continuously in 1990's and water storage levels of both reservoirs are low. The main reasons are the decrease of inflows and the increase of consumption disobeying the planned operation rule. To solve the problem, we introduce, apart from the measures that Thai Government is taking, the rule that restricts irrigation area according to reservoir storage available at the beginning of cropping season.

Water Management Problems during the Dry Season and their Countermeasures in the Chao Phraya Delta, Thailand

Water Management Problems during the Dry Season and their Countermeasures in the Chao Phraya Delta, Thailand

Holocene highstand shoreline of the Chao Phraya delta, Thailand

The Holocene highstand shoreline of the Chao Phraya delta is deciphered using the combined techniques of geomophology, palynology, stratigraphy, and C-14 dating of the basal peat. The results of such studies have indicated that at the height of Holocene transgression the sea covered most of the present Chao Phraya delta to as far as north of Ayuthaya city around 6500–7300 yr B.P. The paleoenvironment of the low-lying areas of Holocene sea was generally similar to that of the modern tidal-deltaic environments.

Agricultural Development of a Tropical Delta: A Study of the Chao Phraya Delta. By Yoshikazu Takaya. Translated by Peter Hawkes. Monographs for the Center of Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1987. Pp. xxviii, 269. Figures, Tables, Plates, Index.

Agricultural Development of a Tropical Delta: A Study of the Chao Phraya Delta. By Yoshikazu Takaya. Translated by Peter Hawkes. Monographs for the Center of Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1987. Pp. xxviii, 269. Figures, Tables, Plates, Index.

Agricultural Development of a Tropical Delta: A Study of the Chao Phraya Delta. By Yoshikazu Takaya. Translated by Peter Hawkes. Monographs of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1987. xviii, 269 pp. $30.00 (cloth); $22.00 (paper).

Agricultural Development of a Tropical Delta: A Study of the Chao Phraya Delta. By Yoshikazu Takaya. Translated by Peter Hawkes. Monographs of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1987. xviii, 269 pp. 22.00 (paper). - Volume 47 Issue 3

Agricultural Development of a Tropical Delta: A Study of the Chao Phraya Delta. By Yoshikazu Takaya. Translated by Peter Hawkes. Monographs of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1987. xviii, 269 pp. $30.00 (cloth); $22.00 (paper).

Agricultural Development of a Tropical Delta: A Study of the Chao Phraya Delta. By Yoshikazu Takaya. Translated by Peter Hawkes. Monographs of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1987. xviii, 269 pp. $30.00 (cloth); $22.00 (paper).

Agricultural Development of a Tropical Delta: A Study of the Chao Phraya Delta

Agricultural Development of a Tropical Delta: A Study of the Chao Phraya Delta

Farming Technology in the Deep Flooding Area of the Chao Phraya Delta

Farming Technology in the Deep Flooding Area of the Chao Phraya Delta

The Reclamation of the Chao Phraya Delta

The Reclamation of the Chao Phraya Delta