Regional controls on geomorphology, hydrology, and ecosystem integrity in the Orinoco Delta, Venezuela Geomorphology, Volume 44, Issues 3-4, 1 May 2002, Pages 273-307
Andrew G. Warne, Robert H. Meade, William A. White, Edgar H. Guevara, James Gibeaut, Rebecca C. Smyth, Andres Aslan and Thomas Tremblay

Summary of Points:

· Interacting river discharge, tidal oscillation, and tropical rainfall across the 22,000 km² Orinoco delta plain support diverse fresh and brackish water ecosystems. To develop environmental baseline information for this largely unpopulated region, the study evaluated major coastal plain, shallow marine, and river systems of northeastern South America, which serves to identify principal sources and controls of water and sediment flow into, through, and out of the Orinoco Delta.

· Major factors controlling Orinoco Delta water and sediment dynamics include the pronounced annual flood discharge; the uneven distribution of water and sediment discharge across the delta plain; discharge of large volumes of water with low sediment concentrations through the Río Grande and Araguao distributaries; water and sediment dynamics associated with the Guayana littoral current along the northeastern South American coast; inflow of large volumes of Amazon sediment to the Orinoco coast; development of a fresh water plume seaward of Boca Grande; disruption of the Guayana Current by Trinidad, Boca de Serpientes, and Gulf of Paria; and the constriction at Boca de Serpientes.