Halbur, Julia2013-11-122013-11-122013-07https://hdl.handle.net/11299/160125University of Minnesota M.S. thesis. July 2013. Major: Geological Sciences. Advisor: Dr. John Swenson. 1 computer file (PDF); iii, 49 pages.Avulsions are the dominant control on the movement of distributary channels on a delta surface. Once buried and preserved in the rock record, the sand-dominated channel bodies created on the delta surface provide excellent reservoirs for hydrocarbons and groundwater. Factors influencing the locations of these avulsions - such as variations in sediment supply and changes in eustatic sea level - have been considered in previous studies. This study uses modern deltas from around the world to correlate the ratio between the sediment supply being introduced to the system and the amount of wave energy acting along the edges of the system with the number and spatial distribution of avulsions on the delta surface. More relative wave energy leads to a fewer number of avulsions overall and moves the locations of the avulsion nodes up-delta while deltas with less relative wave energy produce more avulsions over the entire surface, specifically near the shoreline.en-USThesis or Dissertation