Coastal erosion is a growing problem along the Gulf Coast. Louisiana is one of the coastal states most affected by coastal erosion. Ninety percent of wetland loss in the nation occurs in Louisiana, losing 25-35 square miles per year. At that rate, Louisiana will lose 640,000 more acres by 2050. Many factors contribute to this land loss, such as rising sea levels, subsidence, hurricane storm surge, cold fronts, and human interference. Cold fronts and hurricanes can both have detrimental consequences on the coast of Louisiana (Zhang 2004) (Restore or Retreat 2012). This research shows whether cold fronts or hurricanes have a larger effect on coastal erosion. The researcher will describe how historical and current satellite imagery help in determining the changes in the Louisiana coast. Based on previous research, the researcher believes that hurricanes have more of an effect on coastal erosion than cold fronts due to the high winds and storm surge. Louisiana’s coast is considered a “working coast.” This means that it is home to infrastructure such as pipelines, highways, and ports that have great significance to the national economy. Coastal erosion wears away at these industries causing a …show more content…
downfall in production. The estimated cost of the Louisiana coast is around $150 billion. Therefore, the constant bettering the coastline receives will eventually have a negative effect on the economy. (1.1) The southeast Louisiana coastline receives the most damage as a result of coastal erosion.
This is a result from the new levee system. This system prevents the natural ways of sediment re-depositing along the riverbank and wetlands. The levees lead the sediment to deposit off the continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico. (15) This adds to the loss of wetlands along the coast. Wetlands are important to the economy in more than one way. They serve as homes for fish which fishermen catch then sell and they protect the mainland from getting the full effect of storm surge during a hurricane. “Every 2.7 miles of wetlands absorbs one foot of storm surge” (1.2). Without wetlands and barrier islands working as a barrier, the mainland could experience even more damage during
hurricanes. Natural events are not the only things that lead to coastal land loss. Oil and gas construction has sped up the land loss in wetlands. Hurricanes are large tropical storms that “form over tropical and subtropical ocean surfaces where heat accumulates during summer and early autumn” (4.1). The formation of these storms requires certain conditions that are hard to come by; therefore they are hard to develop fully. These conditions are: sea surface temperatures, high evaporation rates, and upper air flow. Sea surface temperatures required for proper development of hurricanes are greater than or equal to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature means that the sea and air is warm enough for better development of storms. Too low of a temperature can result in poor or no development. Having a high evaporation rate also is important for storm development. The higher the evaporation rates, the more powerful the storm will be. The evaporation is stored as latent energy then released as heat therefore making the atmosphere more unstable. Upper air flow at around 25,000 to 50,000 feet must be present to allow tropical air to rise around the center to provide fuel for the storm. (4) Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico only amount to 31% of the North Atlantic hurricanes. Hurricanes have many different names such as typhoons and tropical cyclones. They all are the same storms that have just formed in different parts of the world. They all do the same type of damage. Any storm can turn into a hurricane with the right conditions. The progression leading up to a hurricane is as follows: invest, tropical depression, tropical storm, and finally a hurricane. Those are in order of weakest to strongest. Cold fronts are large masses of cold air with occasionally severe storms leading it. Cold fronts occur when a cold air mass pushes onto a warm air mass. This causes gusty winds, a drop in temperature and pressure, and heavy rain with occasional hail, thunder and lightning.
North Sea to the east. Part of the Naze is made up of a hill, which
I live in Houma, Louisiana so I have tons of experience with the bayou region of South Louisiana. Everywhere I look in Houma there is a bayou, which is a good and bad thing. With a bayou comes many great things such as Egrets, Spanish Moss, etc. The bad thing about seeing many bayous is that it is a constant reminder that one day, Houma might be a part of the Gulf of Mexico. Also my dad’s side of the family is from Chauvin and Golden Meadow which is not too far from where the real damage of eroding wetlands is. I go down to Chauvin sometimes to visit my Nanny and her husband. I always see houses on stilts because of possible flooding that could come if a hurricane passes through. One of the issues that Mike Tidwell caught my interest was that the wildlife in bayous will one day be diminished into smaller numbers. That is because the eroding land causes brown shrimp, crabs, and other seafood to die out. Many residents in South Louisiana make a living off of seafood so to have most of that industry die out will hurt the economy of South Louisiana. I just found this issue very interesting.
Over the past 100 years the Louisiana coastline has suffered greatly from biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic factors. The abiotic factors include things such as hurricanes or overnutrition that influence the surrounding biota. The biotic factors that contribute to coastal erosion are things like the immigration invasive species and the emigration or extinction of local flora and fauna that help preserve the wetlands. Additionally, there are anthropogenic factors such as pollution that can have strong negative influences on the abiotic and biotic factors of the wetlands. Each one of these factors cause ecological disturbances to the wetlands at a frequency and intensity that is unmanageable for the local flora and fauna. There are currently certain measures that are being taken into consideration to slow or stop the erosion of the Louisiana coastline.
Nature designed Florida to be one large marine ecosystem. Florida is one big sand peninsula located below the 40th longitudinal North American line. Three bodies of salt water (Gulf of Mexico, Strait of Florida and Atlantic Ocean) surround three out of four directions of Florida. Man-made canals, natural lakes, rivers and estuaries are confined within the State of Florida’s physical boundaries. All of these form an interlocking system of waterways that impact the interconnected marine environment (marine ecosystem). All of Florida’s waterways are connected back to the surrounding bodies of water while passing through Florida’s sub-tropical and temperate zones and impact the delicate marine ecosystem balance. Man and nature are causing a negative impact to this region like never before. Hurricanes, lack of green initiatives, garbage, pollution and the stripping of natural resources for population growth are decimating Florida’s natural ecosystems.
One reason for this erosion is the oil and natural gas business. This industry has built many wellheads out in the Gulf, which transport the mined resources back to the coast through extensive underwater pipeline canals and navigational channels. The intrusive nature of this system requires the removal of land from the delta. An oil and gas industry-funded study found that this industry has removed one-third of the delta-land loss. Another human-induced risk factor was the US Army Corps of Engineer...
By August 28, evacuations were underway across the region. That day, the National Weather Service predicted that after the storm hit, “most of the [Gulf Coast] area will be uninhabitable for weeks…perhaps longer.” New Orleans was at particular risk. Though about half the city actually lies above sea level, its average elevation is about six feet below sea level–and it is completely surrounded by water. Over the course of the 20th century, the Army Corps of Engineers had built a system of levees and seawalls to keep the city from flooding. The levees along the Mississippi River were strong and sturdy, but the ones built to hold back Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Borgne and the waterlogged swamps and marshes to the city’s east and west were much less reliable. Even before the storm, officials worried that those levees, jerry-built atop sandy, porous, erodible soil, might not withstand a massive storm surge. Neighborhoods that sat below sea level, many of which housed the city’s poorest and most vulnerable people, were at great risk of
Only 26 miles long and not even 1 mile wide, Topsail Island offers a unique environment blending the Atlantic Ocean and the Intercostal Waterway. Although mostly peaceful and scenic, the vast beach that stretches the entire length of the island and the plethora of colorful summer homes that crowd the limited space are prone to obliteration. Extremely susceptible to hurricanes, Topsail survives off federal aid to rebuild and redevelop. There are more tourist traps and junk store littered about the island than grocery stores due to FEMA and the Federal government pouring millions of dollars into the salvaging the barrier island, attempting to rebuild the beaches and consequently boosting the economy and tourism. Though known to be a sinkhole for federal subsidies, the island sponsors numerous environmental projects protecting local wildlife and promoting sustainability. Following frequent destruction from hurricanes over the past two decades, Topsail Island has responded in an ironic manner by both rebuilding and developing while also expanding its growing concern with environmental protection.
This may be a common trend in every large city if more hurricanes strike. Urban development in almost all cities in America has made flooding worse than it should be. The creation of buildings, asphalt, concrete, and other things have eliminated much of the grass in the cities, which will cause less rainwater to be absorbed into the ground. Although most major cities have rain drainage channels, Houston may not have had enough of them, which caused them to fill up with water. The water had nowhere to go except on the streets. The city of Houston avoided floodplains. The floodplains that were present in Houston were often ignored by construction companies. These companies chose to build houses on the floodplains. This is discussed in this quote by Sean Breslin, “In the months following Hurricane Harvey, Houstonians face an important decision: respect the floodplain and stop building homes wherever, or continue to ignore the lessons taught by countless flood events and build more homes in the most vulnerable areas of town” (Breslin n. pag). I feel that if the civilians and building companies in Houston would have respected the floodplains years earlier, fewer lives would have been lost in this hurricane. Coral reefs provide excellent coastline protection which slows the hurricane just before landfall. The death of coral reefs also could have played a large role in why the hurricane was so
. Policy Problem Rising sea levels are becoming a prominent issue along with global warming and climate change for many regions near coastal areas, with Miami, Florida being one of the most detrimental areas. With a current population of 413,892 living just 6 feet above sea level, Miami is positioned as one of the first areas to experience some of the disastrous effects of climate change (Johnson). Within the next 100 years, rising sea levels have the ability to damage South Florida’s fragile barrier islands, the population that lives near coastal areas, and its appealing subtropical beaches (Madigan A12). Coastal areas, which provide the largest area for disaster, however, are not the only areas that will experience the effects of climate change.
Michener, William K. and Haeuber, Richard A., Bioscience. American Institute of Biological Science. Sep98. Vol. 48. Issue 9. p677.
Additionally, the majority of Puerto Rico’s critical infrastructure occupies the coast. Rising sea levels can affect infrastructure, freshwater resources, agriculture, ecosystems and the economy. In Rincón, a coastal town in Puerto Rico, the rising sea levels are eroding the coastline at a rate of about 3ft per year.3 Coastal erosion is damaging to the numerous buildings located on the island’s coastline, but even more concerning is that several of Puerto Rico’s historic sites (i.e. the Spanish forts in Old San Juan) are located on that coastline. The erosion could cause not just structural damage, but complete loss of these sites, as well as loss of beach area. In 2009, 3.5 million tourists spent $3.5 billion on the island.3 The picturesque beaches are an attraction for those visitors. Without the beaches, Puerto Rico could take a major hit to their tourism
Globally coastal wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate, the problem is most of society does not realize the value of these precious wetlands. Coastal wetlands provide an important role in the coastal ecosystem. “Coastal wetlands provide critical services such as absorbing energy from coastal storms, preserving shorelines, protecting human populations and infrastructure, supporting commercial seafood harvests, absorbing pollutants and serving as critical habitat for migratory bird populations”(Anonymous, 2011). Coastal wetlands are an economical asset as well as an environmental one.
Due to the potential dangers of dead zones to the environment and economy in the Gulf of Mexico, the American government needs to make dramatic and controversial efforts to stop the growth of this dead zone.
The concept behind this information is to guide the reader’s considerations towards the fact that warmer weather condition have something to do with the strength these hurricanes are gaining. If these facts do not get ones attention, let this project focus on the damages these hurricanes cause to the United States
Like in any other natural hazard, geographical factors had a strong influence on Hurricane Katrina. Making its first landing between the beaches of Hallandale and North Miami on 25 August (Graumann et al., 2006), Katrina travelled across South Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico, where the warm weather and the lack of strong winds resulted in a sharp increase in intensity from a category 1 to a category 5 storm, with winds travelling at up to 175mph. However, due to the natural phenomenon of ‘eyewall replacement’ (Travis, 2005, p.1656) the hurricane decreased to a high-end category 3 as it hit New Orleans, with wind speed up to 127mph (shown in Fig.1) (Graumann et ...