The River Nile: Evolution and Environment

The Nile Basin drains about one-tenth of the African continent and contains the longest river channel system in the world. This chapter reviews the evolution of the river – with a particular focus on the Quaternary Period including the present-day hydrology and fluvial geomorphology. Fluctuations in the climate and hydrology of tropical Africa during the Quaternary exerted an important influence on the behaviour of the Nile sediment system. During the cold stages of the Pleistocene, low lake levels reflect a decrease in precipitation as the expanded ice sheets cooled the global oceans and monsoon intensity fell. The marine sedimentary record in the Eastern Mediterranean provides a valuable record of the long-term behaviour of the River Nile because long-term changes in the flux of water and sediment from various parts of the catchment have exerted an important influence on oceanographic and sedimentation dynamics. The chapter examines the contemporary suspended sediment budget of the delta complex.