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Vulnerability of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands to present-day rates of relative sea-level rise

Author

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  • Krista L. Jankowski

    (Tulane University)

  • Torbjörn E Törnqvist

    (Tulane University)

  • Anjali M Fernandes

    (Tulane University
    Present address: The Center for Integrative Geosciences, The University of Connecticut at Storrs, 354 Mansfield Road, Beach Hall, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, USA)

Abstract

Coastal Louisiana has lost about 5,000 km2 of wetlands over the past century and concern exists whether remaining wetlands will persist while facing some of the world’s highest rates of relative sea-level rise (RSLR). Here we analyse an unprecedented data set derived from 274 rod surface-elevation table-marker horizon stations, to determine present-day surface-elevation change, vertical accretion and shallow subsidence rates. Comparison of vertical accretion rates with RSLR rates at the land surface (present-day RSLR rates are 12±8 mm per year) shows that 65% of wetlands in the Mississippi Delta (SE Louisiana) may keep pace with RSLR, whereas 58% of the sites in the Chenier Plain (SW Louisiana) do not, rendering much of this area highly vulnerable to RLSR. At least 60% of the total subsidence rate occurs within the uppermost 5–10 m, which may account for the higher vulnerability of coastal Louisiana wetlands compared to their counterparts elsewhere.

Suggested Citation

  • Krista L. Jankowski & Torbjörn E Törnqvist & Anjali M Fernandes, 2017. "Vulnerability of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands to present-day rates of relative sea-level rise," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-7, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms14792
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14792
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    Cited by:

    1. Yuan Xu & Christopher R. Esposito & Maricel Beltrán-Burgos & Heidi M. Nepf, 2022. "Competing effects of vegetation density on sedimentation in deltaic marshes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Leonard O. Ohenhen & Manoochehr Shirzaei & Chandrakanta Ojha & Matthew L. Kirwan, 2023. "Hidden vulnerability of US Atlantic coast to sea-level rise due to vertical land motion," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Sadaf Mahmoudi & Hamed Moftakhari & David F. Muñoz & William Sweet & Hamid Moradkhani, 2024. "Establishing flood thresholds for sea level rise impact communication," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    4. Tracy Elsey-Quirk & Austin Lynn & Michael Derek Jacobs & Rodrigo Diaz & James T. Cronin & Lixia Wang & Haosheng Huang & Dubravko Justic, 2024. "Vegetation dieback in the Mississippi River Delta triggered by acute drought and chronic relative sea-level rise," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    5. Guandong Li & Torbjörn E. Törnqvist & Sönke Dangendorf, 2024. "Real-world time-travel experiment shows ecosystem collapse due to anthropogenic climate change," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.

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