Influence of Key Environmental Drivers on the Performance of Sediment Diversions

A Delft3D morphodynamic model for Barataria Bay, Louisiana, USA is used to quantify a plausible range of land change in response to a proposed sediment diversion under a range of environmental drivers. To examine the influence of environmental drivers, such as Mississippi River water hydrographs, mineral and organic sediment loading, sea level rise rates, subsidence, and a projected implementation (or operation) date, 240 multi-decadal (2020–2100) numerical experiments were used. The diversion was assumed to begin operation in 2025, 2030, or 2035. The experiments revealed persistent benefits of the sediment diversion through 2100. Start data of 2025 result in a median net positive land change of 32 km2 by 2100; whereas the 90th, and 10th percentiles are 69 and 10 km2. A delay in the operation date of the diversion to 2030 or 2035 would reduce the net positive land change by approximately 15–20% and 20–30%, respectively.

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Flooded with Error: Handling Uncertainty in SRTM for the Assessment of Sea Level Rise in the Mississippi River Delta

The Professional Geographer ◽

10.1080/00330124.2021.1898992 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Ameen A. Kadhim ◽

Ashton M. Shortridge

Keyword(s):

Sea Level Rise ◽

Sea Level ◽

Mississippi River ◽

River Delta ◽

Mississippi River Delta ◽

Error Handling

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The Manganese Content of the Mississippi River Water at Fairport, Iowa

Science ◽

10.1126/science.71.1835.248.a ◽

1930 ◽

Vol 71 (1835) ◽

pp. 248-248

Author(s):

A. H. Wiebe

Keyword(s):

River Water ◽

Mississippi River ◽

Manganese Content ◽

Mississippi River Water

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Sediment starvation destroys New York City marshes’ resistance to sea level rise

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1715392115 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 115 (41) ◽

pp. 10281-10286 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Dorothy M. Peteet ◽

Jonathan Nichols ◽

Timothy Kenna ◽

Clara Chang ◽

James Browne ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

New York City ◽

Sea Level Rise ◽

Sea Level ◽

York City ◽

Organic Sediment ◽

Jamaica Bay ◽

Structural Weakness ◽

Global Sea Level ◽

Matter Flux

New York City (NYC) is representative of many vulnerable coastal urban populations, infrastructures, and economies threatened by global sea level rise. The steady loss of marshes in NYC’s Jamaica Bay is typical of many urban estuaries worldwide. Essential to the restoration and preservation of these key wetlands is an understanding of their sedimentation. Here we present a reconstruction of the history of mineral and organic sediment fluxes in Jamaica Bay marshes over three centuries, using a combination of density measurements and a detailed accretion model. Accretion rate is calculated using historical land use and pollution markers, through a wide variety of sediment core analyses including geochemical, isotopic, and paleobotanical analyses. We find that, since 1800 CE, urban development dramatically reduced the input of marsh-stabilizing mineral sediment. However, as mineral flux decreased, organic matter flux increased. While this organic accumulation increase allowed vertical accumulation to outpace sea level, reduced mineral content causes structural weakness and edge failure. Marsh integrity now requires mineral sediment addition to both marshes and subsurface channels and borrow pits, a solution applicable to drowning estuaries worldwide. Integration of marsh mineral/organic accretion history with modeling provides parameters for marsh preservation at specific locales with sea level rise.

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