Current subsidence rates due to compaction of Holocene sediments in southern Louisiana

Meckel, Timothy A.; Brink, Uri S. ten; Williams, S. Jeffress

doi:10.1029/2006gl026300

Cited by 122 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Rates as high as 10.6 milli-meters per year were recorded by tide gauges in the Missis sippi delta where the Holocene deposits are the thickest. These authors attributed the sub sidence problem primarily to sediment com paction, a phenomenon that has been ana lyzed more rigorously by Meckel et al [2006]. However, tectonic subsidence due to sediment loading could, in principle, be a significant contributor to these high rates of RSL rise.…”

Section: The Subsidence Controversymentioning

confidence: 99%

Coastal Louisiana in crisis: Subsidence or sea level rise?

González¹,

Törnqvist²

2006

EoS Transactions

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The drowning of wetlands and barrier islands in coastal Louisiana has become a widely publicized environmental catastrophe in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The devastation caused by these storms has reenergized the debate about restoring the natural coastal‐defense system and building higher and sturdier levees, in anticipation of future storms. Understanding the contributions of land subsidence and eustatic (global) sea level rise to Louisiana's wetland loss is crucial to the success of any plan designed to protect coastal communities. It is argued here that accelerated sea level rise in the future may pose a larger threat than subsidence for considerable portions of coastal Louisiana.

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Section: The Subsidence Controversymentioning

confidence: 99%

Coastal Louisiana in crisis: Subsidence or sea level rise?

González¹,

Törnqvist²

2006

EoS Transactions

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“…Sediments deposited by flowing water or tide dynamics, as in a riverbed, flood plain or delta, are physically unstable. Ground subsidence geo-hazards have frequently occurred in cities situated on unconsolidated alluvial deposits or reclaimed regions resulting from creeping, compaction and infrastructure construction (Meckel et al, 2006;Raucoules et al, 2008;Kim et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ground subsidence geo-hazards induced by rapid urbanization: implications from InSAR observation and geological analysis

Chen

Lin

Zhang

et al. 2012

Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Due to the convenient transportation and construction, cities are prone to be situated in areas with flat terrain and unstable sediments, resulting in the concurrence of ground subsidence and urbanization. Here the interaction between geology, anthropogenic processes and ground subsidence geo-hazards were investigated in the Greater Pearl River Delta region of China. Geological evidences and 2006-2010 persistent scatterer data indicate that anthropogenic activities are dominant, although the distribution of river system and Quaternary sediments are also highly related to significant displacements (primarily at a rate of −15 to 15 mm a −1 ). The surface displacements derived by synthetic aperture radar interferometry suggest that the urbanization rhythm has to be routinely monitored. Considering analogous urbanization modes, particularly in developing countries, ground subsidence monitoring together with the analysis of its driving force are critical for geo-hazards early-warning, city planning as well as sustainable urbanization.

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“…Despite its contribution towards understanding coastal vertical change, TR50 has been criticized for over-estimating regional subsidence rates [52,53]. Because leveling surveys primarily occurred along transportation corridors, critics contend that the findings in TR50 fail to represent vertical change within the intermediate coastal prairie and wetlands.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating Land Subsidence Rates and Their Implications for Land Loss in the Lower Mississippi River Basin

Zou

Kent

Lam

et al. 2015

Water

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High subsidence rates, along with eustatic sea-level change, sediment accumulation and shoreline erosion have led to widespread land loss and the deterioration of ecosystem health around the Lower Mississippi River Basin (LMRB). A proper evaluation of the spatial pattern of subsidence rates in the LMRB is the key to understanding the mechanisms of the submergence, estimating its potential impacts on land loss and the long-term sustainability of the region. Based on the subsidence rate data derived from benchmark surveys from 1922 to 1995, this paper constructed a subsidence rate surface for the region through the empirical Bayesian kriging (EBK) interpolation method. The results show that the subsidence rates in the region ranged from 1.7 to 29 mm/year, with an average rate of 9.4 mm/year. Subsidence rates increased from north to south as the outcome of both regional geophysical conditions and anthropogenic activities. Four areas of high subsidence rates were found, and they are located in Orleans, Jefferson, Terrebonne and Plaquemines parishes. A projection of future landscape loss using the interpolated subsidence rates reveals that areas below zero elevation in the LMRB will increase from 3.86% in 2004 to 19.79% in 2030 and 30.88% in 2050. This translates to a growing increase of areas that are vulnerable to land loss from 44.3 km 2 /year to 240.7 km 2 /year from 2011 to 2050. Under the same scenario, Lafourche, Plaquemines and Terrebonne parishes will experience serious loss of wetlands, whereas Orleans and Jefferson parishes will lose significant developed land, and Lafourche parish will endure severe loss of agriculture land.

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Current subsidence rates due to compaction of Holocene sediments in southern Louisiana

Cited by 122 publications

References 13 publications

Coastal Louisiana in crisis: Subsidence or sea level rise?

Coastal Louisiana in crisis: Subsidence or sea level rise?

Ground subsidence geo-hazards induced by rapid urbanization: implications from InSAR observation and geological analysis

Evaluating Land Subsidence Rates and Their Implications for Land Loss in the Lower Mississippi River Basin

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