Barrier island erosion and protection in Louisiana: a coastal geomorphological perspective
Louisiana has the highest rates of coastal erosion and land loss in the US. In Louisiana, rates of coastal land loss exceed 100 km/sup 2//year. Louisiana's barrier islands, whose presence creates and maintains an extensive estuarine system and protects the marshes from the wave energy of the open Gulf of Mexico, are rapidly vanishing, decreasing in area and migrating landward at rates up to 20 m/year. Between 1890 and 1979, Louisiana barriers decreased in area by 37%, shrinking from 92 to 58 km/sup 2/. The life expectancy of individual barrier island systems ranges between 50 years for the Isles Dernieres and 225 years for the Chandeleur Islands. Disappearance of the barrier islands will result in destruction of the barrier-built estuaries and accelerated marsh deterioration. Such destruction will severely impact the fishery and fur industries, valued at an estimated $1 billion per year, whose harvests depend on the habitat provided by these fragile coastal ecosystems.
- Research Organization:
- Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6127597
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-8810362-
- Journal Information:
- AAPG (Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol.) Bull.; (United States), Vol. 72:9; Conference: Gulf Coast Association of the Geological Society and Gulf Coast Section of SEPM meeting, New Orleans, LA, USA, 19 Oct 1988
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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