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Hi Everybody!!
Welcome to my Hometown!!

Sunday, November 11, 2012

IN MEMORY OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA (WHY LOUISIANA IS SINKING PHOTO BLOG)

Exacerbating the problem are other issues, such as the vast network of shipping channels – including the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, the Houma Navigational Canal and the Freshwater Bayou Canal. Thousands of miles of oil and gas canals have been dug to accommodate energy infrastructure and extraction. These channels and canals alter the natural hydrology and allow saltwater to penetrate deep into the wetlands, disrupting the salinity balance and killing the vegetation of freshwater wetlands, causing them to subside underwater. Additionally, The rise in sea level has caused increased erosion, as the fresh water vegetation that previously protected against erosion dies due to the influx of salt water. Subsidence has increased. The sum of these problems mean that the Mississippi River Delta is losing its wetlands. Scientists estimate that the Mississippi River Delta loses a football field of land an hour -- over 1,900 square miles since the 1930s, roughly the size of Delaware.
(Wikipedia Article continued below)
File:Mississippi Delta IR.jpg

Mississippi River Delta

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mississippi River Delta is the modern area of land (the river delta) built up byalluvium deposited by the Mississippi River as it slows down and enters the Gulf of Mexico. The deltaic process has, over the past 5,000 years, caused the coastline of south Louisiana to advance gulfward from 15 to 50 miles (24 to 80 km).
It is a biologically significant region, comprising 3 million acres (12,000 km²) ofcoastal wetlands and 40% of the salt marsh in the contiguous United States. It is also a commercially significant region, supporting the economy of New Orleanswith significant shipping traffic, providing 16 to 18% of the oil supply in the U.S., and providing 16% of the fisheries harvest in the U.S., including shrimp, crabs, andcrayfish.
The Mississippi River Delta is not to be confused with the Mississippi Delta region, an alluvial plain located some 300 miles (480 km) northward in western Mississippi along the river.


2001 Image of the active delta front before HurricanesKatrina and Rita destroyed much of the delta in 2005

Recent influences


The Mississippi River Delta, showing the sediment plumes from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers, 2001.
About every thousand years, the Mississippi River has changed course. Each Mississippi River deltaic cycle was initiated by a gradual capture of the Mississippi River by a distributary which offered a shorter and steeper route to the Gulf of Mexico. After abandonment of an older delta lobe, which would cut off the primary supply of fresh water and sediment, an area would undergo compaction,subsidence, and erosion. The old delta lobe would begin to retreat as the gulf advanced, forming bayous, lakes, bays, and sounds. The river has been diverting more of its flow to the Atchafalaya River, which branches off some 60 miles (95 km) northwest ofNew Orleans. In the mid-20th century, engineers observed that the Mississippi would soon abandon its current channel as the mainstream, and instead migrate to the Atchafalaya Basin.[1]
Because there is extensive economic development along the current path of the Mississippi, and because extensive flooding and evacuation would occur in the new area, Congress instructed the Army Corps of Engineers to maintain the then-present 70% / 30% distribution of water between the Lower Mississippi and the Atchafalaya River channels, respectively. They did so by building the Old River Control Structure, which consisted of massive floodgates that could be opened and closed as needed at the entrance to the Old River. While protecting from flooding and maintaining navigation interests, these controls have straitjacketed the Mississippi River within its banks. As a result, the sediment on which the delta complex depends is shunted out to sea -- the leading driver of the region's significance land loss rates.
Exacerbating the problem are other issues, such as the vast network of shipping channels – including the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, the Houma Navigational Canal and the Freshwater Bayou Canal. Thousands of miles of oil and gas canals have been dug to accommodate energy infrastructure and extraction. These channels and canals alter the natural hydrology and allow saltwater to penetrate deep into the wetlands, disrupting the salinity balance and killing the vegetation of freshwater wetlands, causing them to subside underwater. Additionally, The rise in sea level has caused increased erosion, as the fresh water vegetation that previously protected against erosion dies due to the influx of salt water. Subsidence has increased. The sum of these problems mean that the Mississippi River Delta is losing its wetlands. Scientists estimate that the Mississippi River Delta loses a football field of land an hour -- over 1,900 square miles since the 1930s, roughly the size of Delaware. [2]
The currently active lobe is called the Birdfoot (after its shape) or Balize Delta (after the first French settlement La Balize at the mouth of the river). It has been active for 600-800 years.

History

See also: La Balize, Louisiana

Mississippi Delta lobes

Coastal Change in South Eastern Louisiana
Build-up of the Gulf of Mexico shoreline due to the outflow of the Mississippi River has been occurring in a periodic fashion since the late Jurassic period. This same process is responsible for build up of the larger Mississippi embayment; however, the delta region is the most recent and ecologicallydistinct portion.
The latest cycle of delta movement can be traced to thePleistocene epoch, when a large amount of ocean water was tied up in glaciers. The sea level was 300-400 feet (~100m) below present level, and causing the mouth of the Mississippi to be located further out into the Gulf of Mexico. 10,000 years ago, the glaciers began to melt, and the sea level began to rise. 5,000 - 6,000 years ago, the sea level stabilized, and formation of recognizable modern deltas began.
Lake Pontchartrain was formed during the evolution of two separate delta lobes. 4000-3800 years ago, the Cocodrie lobe* expanded over the area where New Orleans presently resides, forming the lake's southern shore. 2800-2600 years ago, the St. Bernard lobe * pushed forward and completed the lake's eastern shoreline.[4] Lafourche delta lobe (shown in blue) was the youngest abandoned lobe. It reached just south of where Venice is today.[5] The active Birdfoot or Balize delta lobe is shown in cream on the image.
In 1699 the French built their first crude fort at La Balize, on the Southeast Pass in Pass á Loutre, to control passage on the Mississippi. By 1721 they had built the wooden lighthouse-type structure (la balise means seamark in French) that gave the settlement its name. Built in the marshes, the village was vulnerable to hurricane damage. In addition, ships had to deal with the shifting conditions of tides, currents and mudflats through the mouth of the delta. From 1700 to 1888, the main shipping channel was changed four times in response to shifting sandbars, mudflats and hurricanes.[6] La Balize was moved by 1853 to the Southwest Pass when that became the main shipping channel, then rebuilt at Pilottown about five miles (8 km) upriver above Head of Passes after being destroyed by a hurricane. The Southwest Pass is currently the main shipping channel, with secondary uses at the South Pass and Pass á Loutre.

Restoration

In recent decades, as land loss has grown more pronounced, government and NGOs have stepped up efforts to reverse marsh subsidence and land loss. May 2012 saw the passage of Louisiana's 2012 Coastal Master Plan, a comprehensive 50-year document that lays out a suite of projects designed to slow and ultimately reverse coastal land-loss. Projects included are sediment diversions, barrier island restoration, marsh creation and shoreline protection, among others. [7]
Additionally, the federal government has prioritized a series for projects to be carried out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and that are aimed at ecosystem restoration.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_River_Delta





http://www.americaswetlandresources.com/background_facts/detailedstory/MississippiFormed.html
Check out above link for good information)

Another good resource w/maps and pdfs:
Louisiana Coastal Area
http://www.lca.gov/Home.aspx
Program Description
Louisiana's abundant cypress swamps offer beautiful vistas and provide important habitat for many species of fish and wildlife including bald eagles. Similar to other marsh and swamp habitats in the Louisiana coastal zone, cypress forests are disappearing because of factors such as subsidence, hydrologic alteration, and development pressures such as road construction, flood protection and logging. Cypress trees are long-lived species that grow and regenerate very slowly. Some of the restoration efforts in the LCA Plan are focused on swamp health to improve the quantity and quality of these special wetland forests.
Learn more about the LCA Ecosystem Restoration Program 
http://www.lca.gov/Library/ProductList.aspx?ProdType=0&folder=0


Hi Everybody!!
I want to point out that one little sinkhole in Louisiana is not causing Louisiana to sink. Rather, it is Louisiana sinking causing the effects seen at the sinkhole. Louisiana will continue to sink regardless of anything else. No One can stop it. No One can fix it. No One can continue to live there anymore. We must all move or sink.

 Aside from the obvious drowning if you choose to go down with your house, there are (at least) 2 Urgent Problems:

 1) All the poisons injected in the ground by the Oil Companies (All of them, not just Texas Brine) will Kill You. Butane and other gases Could Blow Up at any time. Nuclear waste and other chemicals are hitting the air and the water/food supply.
As we learned above, the Oil Companies dug out all the canals, drilled all the wells and forever ALTERED the Eco-System of the Mississippi River Delta.
This is a Human Created Disaster that cannot be fixed.
2) The other major problem is the Methane Hydrate melting into Methane Gas and rising to the surface as the ground sinks. This Gas is Lethal. We must all get away from this event occurring now.

 (Above reflects my opinion only).

 For those of You not familiar with the area, I have selected great You Tube Videos to give You a visual tour of the area. You will see the beautiful birds and plants that once called the Delta Home. This is a terrible loss for the whole World. 
In spite of the well-intentioned programs to restore the Delta, they will fail  after the ice melt.

Restoring America's Delta - 

Abridged

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8c6npUJShk
Uploaded by  on Mar 11, 2011
To learn more about restoring the Mississippi River Delta, seehttp://conservation.audubon.org/louisiana-coastal-initiative
For the latest delta news from local and national conservation groups, subscribe to Delta Dispatches: http://www.deltadispatches.org/

Produced by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.


At Risk: 

Birds of the Gulf Coast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEKyDdrszmk
Uploaded by  on May 18, 2010
An incredible diversity of bird species are at risk as oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster continues to spill into the Gulf of Mexico. These images, generously contributed by members of the Flicker "Birdshare" group, represent only a small number of the species threatened by the spill.

Learn more about these and other birds at All About Birds:http://www.allaboutbirds.org

Follow news about the oil spill and its effects on wildlife at our blog:http://birdsredesign.wordpress.com/2010/04/30/bad-place-bad-timing-for-an-oil...

To find out how you can help visit http://www.birds.cornell.edu/HelpBirds

Category:

License:

Standard YouTube License




Jefferson Island Louisiana - 

Spring Nesting Activity - 

Roseate Spoonbills

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUhM7JYKWUE
Published on May 21, 2012 by 
Roseate Spoonbill, Little Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, Snowy Egret, Bard Owl, All nesting activity in the middle of a man made lake.
Trees in the lake support spring nesting activity of these birds.



Birds of the 

Mississippi River Delta

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjD_ElZDW3A
Uploaded by  on Mar 21, 2011
John Fitzpatrick, Director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, takes us on a bird-tour of the Mississippi River Delta. The Louisiana wetlands that they call home are fast disappearing.


...this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek. See You next time.
Love to All. Move away from the Coasts.

 Of Course, one more great performance:

Jefferson Island Rookery

 and Rip Van Winkle 

Gardens YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4cO9IG2oBw
Published on Mar 4, 2012 by 
No description available.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mississippi_Delta_IR.jpg
File:Mississippi Delta IR.jpg
This file is in the public domain because it was created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy)

Summary

Mississippi River Delta. False-color photograph with vegetation in red. Inset showing relative position to Louisiana state.

[edit]Original Description

These Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) images of the Mississippi delta were acquired on April 26, 2000.
The true color image displays the alluvial fan of the Mississippi delta where the river flows into the Gulf of Mexico. New Orleans is visible on the south bank of Lake Ponchartrain. The four-lane, 24-mile Lake Ponchartrain Causeway, the longest over-water bridge in the world, is discernible across the middle of Lake Ponchartrain. A smaller bridge that crosses to Slidell is visible at the east end of the lake. The city upstream is Baton Rouge.
Farther upstream are several oxbow lakes. As a river ages, it begins to meander when the current erodes outer edges and redeposits the resulting silt. Sometimes the river straightens and cuts off the meander loop, forming an oxbow lake.
The false color image uses the infrared, red, and green spectral bands to display areas of vegetation in red. The oxbow lakes are particularly visible in this image.

[edit]Licensing



http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&newwindow=1&sa=X&tbo=d&biw=1027&bih=660&tbm=isch&tbnid=nj8pNJ37GdgyKM:&imgrefurl=http://www.americaswetlandresources.com/background_facts/detailedstory/MississippiFormed.html&docid=ps3APGBqaA1vlM&imgurl=http://www.americaswetlandresources.com/background_facts/detailedstory/images/clip_image002_003.jpg&w=530&h=363&ei=m2KgUPX4Kc7uqAH2lYDIDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=359&vpy=294&dur=1180&hovh=186&hovw=271&tx=181&ty=131&sig=105036134252299360093&page=1&tbnh=143&tbnw=208&start=0&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0,i:123


For Anyone desiring more knowledge of the current situation at the sinkhole, here is an Update:

LA SINK HOLE

 "COMPLETE UPDATE" 

Truth or Lies?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyzqaMmFO9s

Published on Nov 11, 2012 by 


O+O
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