Nutrient transport from the Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna River system to the Bay of Bengal: past and future trends
The Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna (GBM) river basin is a lifeline for the livelihoods and well-being of millions of inhabitants. It has been experiencing increasing nutrient emissions from anthropogenic activities since the 1970s. This paper describes total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) sources...
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| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adac7c |
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| author | Hamdy Elsayed Arthur Beusen Alexander Felix Bouwman |
| author_facet | Hamdy Elsayed Arthur Beusen Alexander Felix Bouwman |
| author_sort | Hamdy Elsayed |
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| description | The Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna (GBM) river basin is a lifeline for the livelihoods and well-being of millions of inhabitants. It has been experiencing increasing nutrient emissions from anthropogenic activities since the 1970s. This paper describes total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) sources and transport in the GBM basin at a 0.5-degree resolution for the past (1970–2019) and future (2020–2050) according to Shared Socioeconomic Pathways scenarios. Our results indicate a three-fold increase in the delivery and export of TN and a two-fold increase of TP in the GBM basin between 1970 and 2019. Elevated nutrient levels are driven by agriculture mainly, with sewage discharge important particularly in the large number of densely populated urban areas. Continuing current nutrient management practices in a business as usual scenario will increase the risk of eutrophication in the GBM basin and the Bay of Bengal. Implementing nutrient reduction strategies in a sustainable scenario will reduce TN and TP loads and concentrations, but nutrient imbalances remain strong with continued risk of harmful algal blooms. These findings call for integrating nutrient stoichiometry with balanced nutrient reduction strategies to mitigate nutrient pollution in the GBM River basin. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2f6c3dca1f374ea3a256f08473a0d571 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-2f6c3dca1f374ea3a256f08473a0d5712025-02-04T07:41:06ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262025-01-0120202405410.1088/1748-9326/adac7cNutrient transport from the Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna River system to the Bay of Bengal: past and future trendsHamdy Elsayed0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6550-2189Arthur Beusen1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0104-8615Alexander Felix Bouwman2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2045-1859Department of Earth Sciences-Geochemistry, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University , Princetonlaan 8a, Utrecht, 3584 CB, The Netherlands; Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Menoufia University , P.O. Box 1432, Shibin Elkom, Menoufia 32511, EgyptDepartment of Earth Sciences-Geochemistry, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University , Princetonlaan 8a, Utrecht, 3584 CB, The Netherlands; PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency , P.O. Box 30314, The Hague, 2500 GH, The NetherlandsDepartment of Earth Sciences-Geochemistry, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University , Princetonlaan 8a, Utrecht, 3584 CB, The NetherlandsThe Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna (GBM) river basin is a lifeline for the livelihoods and well-being of millions of inhabitants. It has been experiencing increasing nutrient emissions from anthropogenic activities since the 1970s. This paper describes total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) sources and transport in the GBM basin at a 0.5-degree resolution for the past (1970–2019) and future (2020–2050) according to Shared Socioeconomic Pathways scenarios. Our results indicate a three-fold increase in the delivery and export of TN and a two-fold increase of TP in the GBM basin between 1970 and 2019. Elevated nutrient levels are driven by agriculture mainly, with sewage discharge important particularly in the large number of densely populated urban areas. Continuing current nutrient management practices in a business as usual scenario will increase the risk of eutrophication in the GBM basin and the Bay of Bengal. Implementing nutrient reduction strategies in a sustainable scenario will reduce TN and TP loads and concentrations, but nutrient imbalances remain strong with continued risk of harmful algal blooms. These findings call for integrating nutrient stoichiometry with balanced nutrient reduction strategies to mitigate nutrient pollution in the GBM River basin.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adac7cagriculturegroundwaternutrient pollutionshared socio-economic pathways (SSPs)surface runoffwastewater |
| spellingShingle | Hamdy Elsayed Arthur Beusen Alexander Felix Bouwman Nutrient transport from the Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna River system to the Bay of Bengal: past and future trends Environmental Research Letters agriculture groundwater nutrient pollution shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs) surface runoff wastewater |
| title | Nutrient transport from the Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna River system to the Bay of Bengal: past and future trends |
| title_full | Nutrient transport from the Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna River system to the Bay of Bengal: past and future trends |
| title_fullStr | Nutrient transport from the Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna River system to the Bay of Bengal: past and future trends |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nutrient transport from the Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna River system to the Bay of Bengal: past and future trends |
| title_short | Nutrient transport from the Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna River system to the Bay of Bengal: past and future trends |
| title_sort | nutrient transport from the ganga brahmaputra meghna river system to the bay of bengal past and future trends |
| topic | agriculture groundwater nutrient pollution shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs) surface runoff wastewater |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adac7c |
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