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Submitted on April 24, 2006
Accepted on September 1, 2006
Wetland Sedimentation from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
R. Eugene Turner 1*, Joseph J. Baustian 1, Erick M. Swenson 1, Jennifer S. Spicer 2
1 Coastal Ecology Institute and Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA. 2 Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
R. Eugene Turner , E-mail: euturne{at}lsu.edu
More than 131 X 106 mt of inorganic sediments accumulated incoastal wetlands when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita crossed theLouisiana coast in 2005, and another 281 X 106 mt when proratedfor open water area. The annualized combined amount per hurricaneequals: i) 12% of the Mississippi River's suspended load, ii)5.5 times the inorganic load delivered by overbank floodingbefore flood protection levees were constructed, and, iii) 227times the amount introduced by a river diversion built for wetlandrestoration. The accumulation from hurricanes is sufficientto account for all the inorganic sediments in healthy salt marshwetlands.
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