Wetland Sedimentation from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Turner, R. Eugene; Baustian, Joseph J.; Swenson, Erick M.; Spicer, Jennifer S.

doi:10.1126/science.1129116

Cited by 291 publications

(193 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The δ 13 C maximum at the same depth also indicates a more significant contribution for OC from C4 plants during the 1950's to early 1960's, coincident with the times of major hydrological changes both in the upper and lower reaches of the Mississippi River drainage basin. Most recently, hurricanes Rita and Katrina allowed a study of their effects on wetlands in Lousiana (Turner et al, 2006), which concluded that hurricanes nourish rather than erode wetlands. Recent sediments in our core contain younger (1560 years) and isotopically lighter OC (-21.96 ‰), suggesting a lesser influence of wetland carbon deposits, in accordance with the increased channelization of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in recent times.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon isotopes and iodine concentrations in a Mississippi River delta core recording land use, sediment transport, and dam building in the river’s drainage basin

Santschi

Oktay

Cifuentes

2007

Marine Environmental Research

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon isotopes and iodine concentrations in a Mississippi River delta core recording land use, sediment transport, and dam building in the river’s drainage basin

Santschi

Oktay

Cifuentes

2007

Marine Environmental Research

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“…Accretion of over 3 cm was measured throughout the southern Louisiana coast from recent hurricanes Katrina and Rita [38]. Sediment deposition from hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike totaled 68, 49, 21, and 33 million metric tons, leading to maximum accretion rates of 21, 20, 7, and 17 g/cm 2 , respectively [19].…”

Section: The Role Of Hurricanes As "Land-builders" For Coastal Louisianamentioning

confidence: 99%

Wetland Accretion Rates Along Coastal Louisiana: Spatial and Temporal Variability in Light of Hurricane Isaac’s Impacts

Bianchette

Liu

Qiang

et al. 2015

Water

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Abstract:The wetlands of the southern Louisiana coast are disappearing due to a host of environmental stressors. Thus, it is imperative to analyze the spatial and temporal variability of wetland vertical accretion rates. A key question in accretion concerns the role of landfalling hurricanes as a land-building agent, due to their propensity to deposit significant volumes of inorganic sediments. Since 1996, thousands of accretion measurements have been made at 390 sites across coastal Louisiana as a result of a regional monitoring network, called the Coastal Reference Monitoring System (CRMS).We utilized this dataset to analyze the spatial and temporal patterns of accretion by mapping rates during time periods before, around, and after the landfall of Hurricane Isaac (2012). This analysis is vital for quantifying the role of hurricanes as a land-building agent and for understanding the main mechanism causing heightened wetland accretion. The results show that accretion rates averaged about 2.89 cm/year from stations sampled before Isaac, 4.04 cm/year during the period encompassing Isaac, and 2.38 cm/year from sites established and sampled after Isaac. Accretion rates attributable to Isaac's effects were therefore 40% and 70% greater than before and after the event, respectively, indicating the event's importance toward coastal land-building. Accretion associated with Isaac was highest at sites located 70 kilometers from the storm track, particularly those near the Mississippi River and its adjacent distributaries and lakes. This spatial pattern of elevated accretion rates indicates that freshwater flooding from fluvial channels, rather than storm surge from the sea per se, is the main mechanism responsible for increased wetland accretion. This significance of riverine flooding has implications toward future coastal restoration policies and practices.

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“…Tidal energy appeared to be driving the magnitude of the flux within the tidal channels in these salt marshes. In other marshes, storm-driven surge has accounted for a large percent of sediment fluxes over time (Cahoon et al 1996;Turner et al 2006;Fagherazzi et al 2013b). However, not all of our sites responded to tidal energy; the discrepancy is likely a result of the lower range of velocities observed in Seal Beach2.…”

Section: Discussion Atmospheric and Tidal Controls On Sediment Transportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Balanced Sediment Fluxes in Southern California’s Mediterranean-Climate Zone Salt Marshes

Rosencranz

Ganju

Ambrose

et al. 2015

Estuaries and Coasts

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Salt marsh elevation and geomorphic stability depends on mineral sedimentation. Many Mediterraneanclimate salt marshes along southern California, USA coast import sediment during El Niño storm events, but sediment fluxes and mechanisms during dry weather are potentially important for marsh stability. We calculated tidal creek sediment fluxes within a highly modified, sediment-starved, 1.5-km 2 salt marsh (Seal Beach) and a less modified 1-km 2 marsh (Mugu) with fluvial sediment supply. We measured salt marsh plain suspended sediment concentration and vertical accretion using single stage samplers and marker horizons. At Seal Beach, a 2014 storm yielded 39 and 28 g/s mean sediment fluxes and imported 12,000 and 8800 kg in a western and eastern channel. Western channel storm imports offset 8700 kg exported during 2 months of dry weather, while eastern channel storm imports augmented 9200 kg imported during dry weather. During the storm at Mugu, suspended sediment concentrations on the marsh plain increased by a factor of four; accretion was 1-2 mm near creek levees. An exceptionally high tide sequence yielded 4.4 g/s mean sediment flux, importing 1700 kg: 20 % of Mugu's dry weather fluxes. Overall, low sediment fluxes were observed, suggesting that these salt marshes are geomorphically stable during dry weather conditions. Results suggest storms and high lunar tides may play large roles, importing sediment and maintaining dry weather sediment flux balances for southern California salt marshes. However, under future climate change and sea level rise scenarios, results suggest that balanced sediment fluxes lead to marsh elevational instability based on estimated mineral sediment deficits.

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Wetland Sedimentation from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Cited by 291 publications

References 7 publications

Carbon isotopes and iodine concentrations in a Mississippi River delta core recording land use, sediment transport, and dam building in the river’s drainage basin

Carbon isotopes and iodine concentrations in a Mississippi River delta core recording land use, sediment transport, and dam building in the river’s drainage basin

Wetland Accretion Rates Along Coastal Louisiana: Spatial and Temporal Variability in Light of Hurricane Isaac’s Impacts

Balanced Sediment Fluxes in Southern California’s Mediterranean-Climate Zone Salt Marshes

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