Open AccessWetlands loss in Louisiana
Author(s) -
Showstack Randy
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2003eo220003
Subject(s) - marsh , wetland , sink (geography) , square (algebra) , geography , coastal plain , archaeology , oceanography , geology , hydrology (agriculture) , ecology , cartography , paleontology , geometry , mathematics , geotechnical engineering , biology
One third of coastal Louisiana could sink beneath the Gulf of Mexico by 2050, if no new restoration efforts take place, the U.S. Geological Survey announced on 20 May. The state could lose about 1800 square km of coastal land on top of its earlier losses. Louisiana already has lost about 4920 square km of coastal land, mostly marshland, during the 20th century. The state has the distinction of being the location of about 90% of total coastal marshland that has been lost to date in the continental U.S.