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Louisiana Coastal Zone Sediment Characterization; Comparison of Sediment Grain Sizes for Samples Collected in 2008 and 2015–2016 From the Western Chenier Plain to the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana—Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) Program

Open-File Report 2019-1132
Prepared in cooperation with the University of New Orleans and Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority
By: , , , , , and 
https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20191132

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Abstract

Repeated sampling and grain-size analysis of surficial sediments along the sandy shorelines of Louisiana is necessary to characterize coastal-zone sediment properties and evaluate sediment transport patterns within the nearshore environments. In 2008, and again in 2015 and 2016, sediment grab samples were collected along the shorelines of the western Chenier plain, the Isles Dernieres (Raccoon, Whiskey, Trinity and East Islands), the Lafourche delta (Timbalier Islands, Caminada Headland, and Grand Isle), the modern delta (Grand Terre Islands from Chaland Headland to Sandy Point), and the Chandeleur Islands (from Curlew Island to Hewes Point). The samples were collected as part of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) Program in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (USGS–SPCMSC) and the University of New Orleans Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Studies (UNO–PIES). Physical properties of the samples (sediment grain size and sorting) were measured and provided in data reports to CPRA. Additional samples collected by the USGS from around Breton Island in 2014 and 2015 supplemented the 2015–2016 BICM data to complete the coastwide dataset. This report compares the results of the 2008 and 2015–2016 sedimentologic analyses and documents changes in composition (percent sand) and mean sediment grain size between the two time periods. At most sample sites, differences in mean grain size varied by less than ±0.25 Φ. The largest changes occurred at sites located near tidal inlets or along rapidly eroding shorelines.

Suggested Citation

Bosse, S.T., Flocks, J.G., Bernier, J.C., Georgiou, I.Y., Kulp, M.A., and Brown, M., 2019, Louisiana Coastal Zone sediment characterization; comparison of sediment grain sizes for samples collected in 2008 and 2015–2016 from the western Chenier plain to the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana—Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) Program: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2019–1132, 17 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20191132.

ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)

Study Area

Table of Contents

  • Acknowledgments
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results and Discussion
  • References Cited
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Louisiana Coastal Zone sediment characterization; comparison of sediment grain sizes for samples collected in 2008 and 2015–2016 from the western Chenier plain to the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana—Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) Program
Series title Open-File Report
Series number 2019-1132
DOI 10.3133/ofr20191132
Year Published 2019
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Description vi, 17 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