Coast of Louisiana sinking faster than expected

[Stormcenter]

More bad news. Louisiana sinking rapidly, Greenland ice caps melting rapidly, nothing good can come out from this mix. Unfortunately we have to throw into this mix the fact that we're in an extremely active period of cyclone activity. So more Katrinas and Ritas are likely. If I were the Louisiana's mayor, I would start asking for federal help to generate a plan of evacuations to move people to higher grounds or to out of state, or come up with an ingenious plan that would save SE Louisiana.

I don't think Louisiana has a mayor.

[cycloneye]

More bad news. Louisiana sinking rapidly, Greenland ice caps melting rapidly, nothing good can come out from this mix. Unfortunately we have to throw into this mix the fact that we're in an extremely active period of cyclone activity. So more Katrinas and Ritas are likely. If I were the Louisiana's mayor, I would start asking for federal help to generate a plan of evacuations to move people to higher grounds or to out of state, or come up with an ingenious plan that would save SE Louisiana.

I don't think Louisiana has a mayor.

Politic comments are not allowed.Please refrain from them.

[Stormcenter]

Coastal Louisiana Sinking

Read the above articule about this grave news for those who live in those areas.For the past few years this talk about the sinking of the Louisiana's coast has been out there but aparently now after Katrina more fears haved grown about a more rapid sinking.

Yes and California will sink into the Pacific after the next earthquake. I'm sorry but I believe that as much as I do when the oil companies say they are not making that much of a profit off of these outrageously high gasoline prices. Believe me SE La. will be around much longer than any of us posting on this board.

[MGC]

What political comments?....MGC

[DoctorHurricane2003]

cyc, there are no political comments. Calm down

[HURAKAN]

More bad news. Louisiana sinking rapidly, Greenland ice caps melting rapidly, nothing good can come out from this mix. Unfortunately we have to throw into this mix the fact that we're in an extremely active period of cyclone activity. So more Katrinas and Ritas are likely. If I were the Louisiana's mayor, I would start asking for federal help to generate a plan of evacuations to move people to higher grounds or to out of state, or come up with an ingenious plan that would save SE Louisiana.

I don't think Louisiana has a mayor.

For a better used of the word, governor.

[tailgater]

Coastal Louisiana Sinking

Read the above articule about this grave news for those who live in those areas.For the past few years this talk about the sinking of the Louisiana's coast has been out there but aparently now after Katrina more fears haved grown about a more rapid sinking.

Yes and California will sink into the Pacific after the next earthquake. I'm sorry but I believe that as much as I do when the oil companies say they are not making that much of a profit off of these outrageously high gasoline prices. Believe me SE La. will be around much longer than any of us posting on this board.

Agree totally. The sky's falling, the sky's falling. Media not telling the whole story.
Don't get me wrong I know marshland is disappearing at a alarming rate but to think that everything south of I 10 will be gone in 50 to 100 years is ludicrous. I guess we better evacuate the peninsula of Fla and the Delmar area if that were the case.

[TSmith274]

This has been a good discussion... I'm impressed.

[MGC]

Southern Louisiana has been sinking since it was first formed by the Mississippi River. The mouth of the Mississippi has been meandering throughout history. Currently the river is trying to change course and make the Atchafalaya River the new outlet to the GOM for the Mississippi River. The Corps of Engineers has erected an huge controle structure well up river of Baton Rouge to control the amount of flow the Atchafalaya receives from the Mississippi. The flood of 1973 nearly destroyed this control structure. Had that happened, the Mississippi would currently be building a new Delta in the Atchafalaya Bay. Of course, humanity has excellerated the natural rate of erosion through the erection of levees and the cutting of canals for shipping and oil exploration. The Mississippi is not as silty as it once was. The construction of dams and locks on the upper Mississippi has reduced the silt available to build deltas. South Louisiana does indeed face a daunting challenge in the not too distance future. New Orleans may simply be an island one day......MGC

[ROCK]

Another reason to move the city. Nature always finds away no matter how much money you throw at it.

[Audrey2Katrina]

Southern Louisiana has been sinking since it was first formed by the Mississippi River. The mouth of the Mississippi has been meandering throughout history. Currently the river is trying to change course and make the Atchafalaya River the new outlet to the GOM for the Mississippi River. The Corps of Engineers has erected an huge controle structure well up river of Baton Rouge to control the amount of flow the Atchafalaya receives from the Mississippi. The flood of 1973 nearly destroyed this control structure. Had that happened, the Mississippi would currently be building a new Delta in the Atchafalaya Bay. Of course, humanity has excellerated the natural rate of erosion through the erection of levees and the cutting of canals for shipping and oil exploration. The Mississippi is not as silty as it once was. The construction of dams and locks on the upper Mississippi has reduced the silt available to build deltas. South Louisiana does indeed face a daunting challenge in the not too distance future. New Orleans may simply be an island one day......MGC

I believe that structure to which you allude may be the Morganza spillway; and I remember well that flood in '73--first time in its history it HAD to be opened. Yup the Mississippi is definitely trying to change its course, as the actual delta stretches from the Atchafalaya basin, eastward to out St. Bernard Parish... the Chandeleur (sp?) Islands are remnants left from when the mouth actually went out in that direction.

A2K

[Audrey2Katrina]

Another reason to move the city. Nature always finds away no matter how much money you throw at it.

Personally I don't see it as a reason to move the city. Yes there are certain inevitabilities, including the movement of Los Angeles northward until it completely breaks away from CONUS. The fact that St. Bernard which once channeled the river, as did Lafourche Parish when the river was what is now bayou Lafourche, are both still here--we're talking geological time here, and with proper management (and that is certainly a big IF) the city could stay right where it is for quite some time yet.

A2K

[milankovitch]

http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6wq/ecopro/em/cwppra/

Since 1930 the state has lost 3.6% of it's land area to wetland loss. Wetland loss hasn't shown any signs of slowing and nothing is being done so why shouldn't it continue?

[Huckster]

I do believe that 1839 map is way too generous in its land coverage. Lake Pontchartrain was NOT that small in 1839, and Lake Maurepas existed in generally its same size also. That map looks like someone opened it up in paint and just filled in holes, including those two major lakes.

[BayouVenteux]

I do believe that 1839 map is way too generous in its land coverage. Lake Pontchartrain was NOT that small in 1839, and Lake Maurepas existed in generally its same size also. That map looks like someone opened it up in paint and just filled in holes, including those two major lakes.

Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken, but I believe I've read that there is actually more land today in the Atchafalaya Delta area (western part of the coastline depicted on those maps) than 150 years ago. Nature was already in the process of replacing the current Mississippi River Delta with a new one to the west when we started trying to engineer the flow and protect the adjacent lands we thought we were protecting.

[milankovitch]

I do believe that 1839 map is way too generous in its land coverage. Lake Pontchartrain was NOT that small in 1839, and Lake Maurepas existed in generally its same size also. That map looks like someone opened it up in paint and just filled in holes, including those two major lakes.

I thought so too but every old map (around 1850) I found on google looks a lot like the first map I posted. The 1839 map is from EPA I don't think they made it up. But if you can find something to the contrary put it up I could be wrong. The above is from 1850 it doesn't look that different from the EPA one.

[Huckster]

I do believe that 1839 map is way too generous in its land coverage. Lake Pontchartrain was NOT that small in 1839, and Lake Maurepas existed in generally its same size also. That map looks like someone opened it up in paint and just filled in holes, including those two major lakes.

I thought so too but every old map (around 1850) I found on google looks a lot like the first map I posted. The 1839 map is from EPA I don't think they made it up. But if you can find something to the contrary put it up I could be wrong. The above is from 1850 it doesn't look that different from the EPA one.

That first map does not come even close to realistically depicting the LA coastline. Things have not changed that much since ~1850. Anyway, here is another map supposedly from 1850 which seems to be much closer to what I'd expect as reality. Even so, a lot of land has been lost.



http://rare-maps.com/details.cfm?type=m ... key=350020

[Audrey2Katrina]

I do believe that 1839 map is way too generous in its land coverage. Lake Pontchartrain was NOT that small in 1839, and Lake Maurepas existed in generally its same size also. That map looks like someone opened it up in paint and just filled in holes, including those two major lakes.

I agree with you completely, the failure to show Lake Maurepas makes it immediately suspect IMO. While I didn't find one dated 1837, I sincerely doubt the entire lake suddenly appeared within 18 years, and this is a map that was obviously done by better cartographers and it's dated 1855.



A2K

[Audrey2Katrina]

There's no question that a lot of land has been lost; but the EPA map is clearly skewed to make the bad seem even worse than it already is--makes me doubt the credibility of the lower map as well. That said, something certainly DOES need to be done, or else the scenario of a vanishing SE Louisiana will eventually become a very real reality.

A2K

[jimbo]

one could get banned for stating the obvious answer to this concern.......and it has nothing to do with the hurricane seasons. bummer, cause it is one of the more unique places in the lower 48.