This session will highlight the latest advances in understanding the various controls on sediment and nutrient fluxes from source to sea. The ultimate delivery of sediments and nutrients to the ocean is significantly modulated by the retention of sediment within the world’s river deltas. Deltas are the key in the transfer of sediments from source to sea, but they are also complex and dynamic landforms that warrant particular attention because they support such a high proportion of the global population. Natural processes in rivers, deltas and oceans are increasingly being modified by human activities, threatening these environments. To deal with these changing conditions and to ensure a sustainable future for rivers and the deltas and oceans that they feed, we need to better understand both recognized and unrecognized driving processes of change, predict their impacts and, based on this knowledge, optimize management solutions. This requires a multi-disciplinary approach, integrating physical, biological, chemical and social sciences.