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Originally published in Science Express on 21 September 2006
Science 20 October 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5798, pp. 449 - 452
DOI: 10.1126/science.1129116
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Reports

Wetland Sedimentation from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

R. Eugene Turner,1,2* Joseph J. Baustian,1,2 Erick M. Swenson,1,2 Jennifer S. Spicer2

More than 131 x 106 metric tons (MT) of inorganic sediments accumulated in coastal wetlands when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita crossed the Louisiana coast in 2005, plus another 281 x 106 MT when accumulation was prorated for open water area. The annualized combined amount of inorganic sediments per hurricane equals (i) 12% of the Mississippi River's suspended load, (ii) 5.5 times the inorganic load delivered by overbank flooding before flood protection levees were constructed, and (iii) 227 times the amount introduced by a river diversion built for wetland restoration. The accumulation from hurricanes is sufficient to account for all the inorganic sediments in healthy saltmarsh wetlands.

1 Coastal Ecology Institute, 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. E-mail: euturne{at}lsu.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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Comment on "Wetland Sedimentation from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita".
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