New Map Highlights Sinking Louisiana Coast

Typography

Researchers at Tulane University have developed a subsidence map of coastal Louisiana, putting the rate at which this region is sinking at just over one third of an inch per year.

Researchers at Tulane University have developed a subsidence map of coastal Louisiana, putting the rate at which this region is sinking at just over one third of an inch per year.

The map, published in GSA Today, has long been considered the "holy grail" by researchers and policy makers as they look for solutions to the coastal wetland loss crisis, the researchers said.

"The novel aspect of this study is that it provides a map that shows subsidence rates as observed at the land surface," said Torbjörn Törnqvist, professor of geology and chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Tulane University.

"This sets it apart from previous attempts to map subsidence rates."

Read more at Geological Society of America

Image: This is a Louisiana subsidence map; see body of the press release. (Credit: GSA Today, Nienhuis et al., see body of the press release)