Author(s): Alejandro Tejedor

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Keywords: River deltas; Channel networks; Effective resolution

Abstract: River deltas exhibit intricate channel networks whose structure governs flux partitioning, sediment routing, and morphological evolution. We develop a global database of delta channel networks (DCNs) for 50 of the world’s largest river deltas, extracted semi-automatically from Landsat-derived Global Surface Water data using the Python package RivGraph. Each DCN is represented as a directed graph whose nodes correspond to junctions and bifurcations and whose edges encode channel connectivity and flow direction. To enable robust comparison across systems with heterogeneous channel sizes, we introduce an effective resolution framework based on a hierarchical, flux-based filtering of network structure. This method identifies the subset of channels that exert dominant control on flux distribution across the delta top, providing a consistent basis for global-scale comparative analysis. We characterize DCNs using graph-theoretic, geometric, and flux-related metrics to explore large-scale patterns and first-order controls on delta morphology. Dimensionality reduction of the resulting metric space is used to identify groups of deltas with shared structural characteristics. The database and analytical framework constitute a stepping stone for global delta classification and for advancing process-aware modelling of deltaic systems.

DOI:

Year: 2026