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Trends and causes of historical wetland loss in coastal Louisiana

Fact Sheet 2013-3017
By:
https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20133017

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Abstract

Wetland losses in the northern Gulf Coast region of the United States are so extensive that they represent critical concerns to government environmental agencies and natural resource managers. In Louisiana, almost 3,000 square kilometers (km2) of low-lying wetlands converted to open water between 1956 and 2004, and billions of dollars in State and Federal funding have been allocated for coastal restoration projects intended to compensate for some of those wetland losses. Recent research at the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) focused on understanding the physical processes and human activities that contributed to historical wetland loss in coastal Louisiana and the spatial and temporal trends of that loss. The physical processes (land-surface subsidence and sediment erosion) responsible for historical wetland loss were quantified by comparing marsh-surface elevations, water depths, and vertical displacements of stratigraphic contacts at 10 study areas in the Mississippi River delta plain and 6 sites at Sabine National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR) in the western chenier plain. The timing and extent of land loss at the study areas was determined by comparing historical maps, aerial photographs, and satellite imagery; the temporal and spatial trends of those losses were compared with historical subsidence rates and hydrocarbon production trends.

Study Area

Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Trends and causes of historical wetland loss in coastal Louisiana
Series title Fact Sheet
Series number 2013-3017
DOI 10.3133/fs20133017
Year Published 2013
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Description 4 p.
Country United States
State Louisiana
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details