Example of land loss in coastal Louisiana between 1932 and 2011; detail of Port Fourchon area
Coastal erosion in Louisiana is the process of steady depletion of wetlands along the state's coastline in marshes, swamps, and barrier islands, particularly affecting the alluvial basin surrounding the mouth of the Mississippi River. In the last century, coastal Louisiana has lost an estimated 4,833 square kilometers (1,866 sq mi) of land, approximately the size of Delaware's land area.[1] Coast wide rates of wetland change have varied from −83.5 square kilometers (−32.2 sq mi) to −28.01 square kilometers (−10.81 sq mi) annually, with peak loss rates occurring during the 1970's.[1] One consequence of coastal erosion is an increased vulnerability to hurricane storm surges, which affects the New Orleans metropolitan area and other communities in the region. The state has outlined a comprehensive master plan for coastal restoration and has begun to implement various restoration projects such as fresh water diversions, but certain zones will have to be prioritized and targeted for restoration efforts, as it is unlikely that all depleted wetlands can be rehabilitated.
The process of coastal erosion in Louisiana is the result of various factors, including sea level rise; ordinary subsidence of organic materials; deprivation of periodic sediment due to flooding prevention measures; tropical cyclones; oil and gas extraction and infrastructure; navigation infrastructure; and saltwater intrusion.[1] While land subsidence is dominated by Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA),[2][3] sediment compression is next factor further compounding the problem.[4] Sea level rise attributed to global warming, though not a root cause, is also considered a contributing factor and future concern.
^ abcCouvillion, B.R., Beck, Holly, Schoolmaster, Donald, and Fischer, Michelle, 2017, Land area change in coastal Louisiana 1932 to 2016: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3381, 16 p. pamphlet, https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3381. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^Wolstencroft, M.; Shen, Zh.; Törnqvist, T.; Milne, G.; Kulp, M.; 2014. Understanding subsidence in the Mississippi Delta region due to sediment, ice, and ocean loading. Insight from geophysical modelling" [in:] Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 119, 3838-3856, 31 Mar 2014; published online: 28 Apr 2014, http://www.tulane.edu/~tor/documents/JGR2014.pdf
^Törnqvist, T.; Wallace, D.; Storms J.; Wallinga, J.; van Dam, R.; Blaauw, M.; Derksen, M.;, Klerks, C.; Meijneken, C.; Snijders, E., 2008.
Mississippi Delta subsidence primarily caused by compaction of Holocene strata, [in:] Nature Geoscience 1, 173 - 176 (2008), Published online: 17 February 2008 | doi:10.1038/ngeo129 http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v1/n3/full/ngeo129.html
^Thomas, D. et al., 2016. The Dictionary of Physical Geography, Fourth Edition, Wiley Blackwell, p. 471
and 23 Related for: Coastal erosion in Louisiana information
CoastalerosioninLouisiana is the process of steady depletion of wetlands along the state's coastline in marshes, swamps, and barrier islands, particularly...
wild places in his state. Many of his later publications dwelt on this subject. Percy called attention to coastalerosioninLouisianain 1925. He maintained...
Chemicals company CoastalerosioninLouisiana Nigeria gully erosion crisis, since before 1980 Exide lead contamination at seven locations in the United States...
the conversion of coastal land to open water by natural processes and human activities. The term land loss includes coastalerosion. It is a much broader...
The wetlands of Louisiana are water-saturated coastal and swamp regions of southern Louisiana, often called 'Bayou'. The Louisianacoastal zone stretches...
Slow-onset hazards, such as erosion and gradual inundation, develop incrementally over extended periods. Since early civilization, coastal areas have attracted...
failures of levees due to erosion or other causes can be major disasters, such as the catastrophic 2005 levee failures in Greater New Orleans that occurred...
2010 the state lost 1,800 square miles due to rises in sea level and erosion. The LouisianaCoastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) spends...
miles (18 km) of shoreline. List of Louisiana Wildlife Management Areas CoastalerosioninLouisiana "Biloxi". Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries...
long-term coastalerosion or sea-level rise. It is this type coastal hazard, specifically around erosion and attributes surrounding erosion that this...
to accelerate coastalerosion and land loss. Federal, state, and local governments have ongoing projects to slow land loss inLouisiana, but if the sea...
greater today due to coastalerosion from human interference. Since the beginning of the 20th century, it has been estimated that Louisiana has lost 2,000 square...
such as coastalerosion and land subsidence increase the vulnerability of infrastructure. Geographies faced with these issues can utilize coastal management...
colloquially called swamp rats in the region. This invasive species from South America is accelerating erosion of the state's coastal wetlands, already one of...
into the ocean. The bayou wetlands of Bataria Bay, Louisiana experienced increased shoreline erosion as a direct result of the Deepwater horizon oil spill...
The Gulf Coastal Plain extends around the Gulf of Mexico in the Southern United States and eastern Mexico. This coastal plain reaches from the Florida...
is known inLouisiana as the "Cajun Prairie", Texas as "Coastal Prairie," and as the Tamaulipan pastizal (Spanish: Pastizal Tamaulipeco) in Mexico. The...
where it is used to prevent coastalerosion, with 980 linear km (609 mi) having been built in Texas and Louisiana alone in the thirty years to 2020. The...
Deltaic Plain, and have been considered a contributing factor incoastalerosioninLouisiana since at least 1925 to 1930, along with other factors such...
natural sources and sinks within a coastal system. Sediment sources can include river transport, sea cliff erosion and longshore drift into an area. Sediment...
fragile Louisiana wetlands (which would result in massive erosion) was proposed early on, and was officially approved by the federal government in mid-June...
lagoon of the Gulf of Mexico in southeastern Louisiana. Although early maps show it as a lake surrounded by land, coastalerosion has made it an arm of the...
in the east, on Louisiana's southeastern coast. It is part of the Gulf of Mexico and the Louisianacoastal plain, one of the largest areas of coastal...
Global Information
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
