While Louisiana owns 40% of the country's wetlands, it is responsible for roughly 90% of the continental United States' overall coastal marsh decline. Each year, an estimated 25-35 square miles of wetlands are lost, totaling over one million acres since the turn of the century. Each year, the Barataria and Terrebone Basins lose between 10 and 11 square miles of land, accounting for the majority of land loss. According to the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, if current land loss rates continue, nearly 640,000 additional acres, roughly the size of Rhode Island, would be submerged by 2050.
- One strategy for combating coastal erosion is to increase vegetation cover in Louisiana's wetlands. Plant roots assist in retaining soil and preventing it from eroding. By increasing the number of plants in wetlands, the soil can be made firmer and less prone to erosion. However, because saltwater intrusion is destroying a large number of these plants, preventing their death can assist slow the pace of coastal and wetland erosion.
- Planting Cypress tree. The Bald Cypress tree is the sort of Cypress tree that will aid in halting corrosion on the coastal area and is discussed in this article. It will be explored how to stop coastal erosion in south Louisiana by planting Cypress trees—planting cypress trees in a newly developed pod and feeding them wastewater. We're excited to put the cypress alongside the tupelos trees. The cypress trees are known to be hurricane resistant and their root system tightens the soil and may form a steady soil that is good at preventing erosion.
Hydrological alterations
Hydrological alterations
Hydrological alterations
The construction of dikes and flood control systems along the Mississippi River altered the river's hydrology, upsetting the balance of gained and lost land.
Coastal excavation
Hydrological alterations
Hydrological alterations
Coastal excavation is a very invasive operation that rapidly converts wetlands to open water. Through the development of navigation channels, water front property with finger canals, and marinas, land is removed directly.
Subsidence
Salt water intrusion
Salt water intrusion
Subsidence is the process by which the land surface elevation decreases or the land sinks. It arises naturally as a result of the settlement and compacting of soft river sediments.
However, human activities such as groundwater, oil, and natural gas extraction in a coastal area may result in subsidence. Subsidence can be gradual or quick, depending on the reason, and is typically a local or regional occurrence. Normally, river deltas grow in size through time as a result of sediment deposition.
Salt water intrusion
Salt water intrusion
Salt water intrusion
Both human actions and natural processes contribute to the establishment of conditions conducive to saltwater intrusion.
Dredging and excavation of navigation channels and oil field canals in wetlands creates open channels that allow saltwater to infiltrate deeply into freshwater or low-saline habitats. Salt marsh creatures and flora are distinct from those found in fresh marshes.
Hurricanes
For the residents of south Louisiana and other Gulf Coast regions, hurricanes are a way of life. From June through November, the public watches daily weather forecasts for updates on tropical storms building in the Caribbean or Atlantic Ocean.
Hurricanes are extremely powerful rotating storm systems that generate waves, strong currents, and storm surges that alter coastlines, destroy existing structures and infrastructure, and claim lives.
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. It was the most powerful storm in recorded history to make landfall in the United States. The Pontchartrain Basin lost 40 square miles in a single day, more than the previous decade had lost. Homeowners in portions of Slidell, Louisiana, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast were unable to locate their homes or possessions after being carried away by the 24-foot storm surge.
Hurricane Katrina's eye passed right over the Chandeleur Islands, wreaking havoc. This barrier island series is located just north of the present delta and west of Breton Sound (see figure). According to initial estimations, the Chandeleur islands lost around half of their land area. Five storms have made landfall on these islands in just over a decade. Grand Isle, another barrier island in southeast Louisiana, was also significantly impacted by Katrina's storm surge and strong winds. Along with eroding the coastline, the storm caused severe structural damage to the majority of the island's buildings.
While many barrier islands are attractive tourist sites and have been highly developed, they are fragile ecosystems that are continually changing. Barrier islands play a critical role in storm protection, shielding the mainland from wave action and storm surges.
Hurricane Ida
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Ida made landfall in Port Fourchon on August 29, 2021, bringing winds of up to 159 miles per hour and wreaking havoc on a number of coastal communities in south Louisiana, including Ironton, Pointe-au-Chien, Grand Bayou Village, and Houma. Hurricanes have long posed a threat to coastal populations, but the fast loss of Louisiana's marshes over the last century has rendered these towns increasingly vulnerable.
While coastal wetlands can act as a barrier when hurricane-generated storm surge advances inland, they can be harmed in the process. They occasionally recover. Occasionally, they are irretrievably lost.
Satellite data acquired just days after Ida indicates widespread wetlands destruction in the western part of the Barataria Basin near Larose, Louisiana.
It will take years to determine the full impact of Hurricane Ida's land damage. According to preliminary estimates based on USGS satellite images, 106 square miles of land have been lost. This amount, however, is likely to drop over time as satellite photography indicates which wetlands were able to recover from the storm's effects and which were permanently destroyed.
Mineral sediment from rivers has been proved time and time again to help generate more resilient wetlands that can assist protect communities and recover from storm damage.