ECSU

LOUISIANA COASTAL ZONE EROSION: 

LOUISIANA COASTAL ZONE EROSION 100+ YEARS OF LANDUSE AND LAND LOSS USING GIS AND REMOTE SENSING DATA Dr. Lionel D. Lyles and Dr. Fulbert Namwamba Southern University

GOALS: 

GOALS To establish a link between oil and gas well production and Louisiana wetlands land loss. To establish a link between freshwater deprivation and increasing land loss south of the Intracoastal Canal.

OBJECTIVES: 

OBJECTIVES To show the high concentration of oil and gas wells located throughout the Louisiana wetlands. To establish a connection between the oil and gas infrastructure-service and distribution-and freshwater deprivation and saltwater intrusion. To examine 100+ years of land loss in the Louisiana coastal wetlands.

STATUS OF OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION: 

STATUS OF OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION 160,000+ oil and gas wells located in the Louisiana wetlands. Account for 18% U.S. oil production with an annual value of $6.3 billion. Account for 24% of U.S. natural gas production with an annual value of $10.3 billion.

OIL/GAS INFRASTRUCTURE: 

OIL/GAS INFRASTRUCTURE Channeling: over the past 100 years, numerous channels and canals have been cut through the wetlands for transportation and oil exploration. Result: Creation of the movement of unnatural water patterns, ultimately increasing erosion and wetland demise. Result: Freshwater deprivation, vegetation decay, and increasing land loss.

Slide7: 

Channeling Diagram

100+ YEARS OF WETLANDS’ LAND LOSS: 

100+ YEARS OF WETLANDS’ LAND LOSS Past 50 years: Coastal LA has lost and average of 34 square miles of marsh, roughly 1,700 square miles. 1932 to 2000: Coastal LA has lost 1,900 square miles of land-roughly the size of Delaware. Next 50 years: Coastal LA could lose another 700 square miles of land-area the size of Washington, D.C./Baltimore.

CON’TD: 

CON’TD Coastal LA loses 1acre of land every 24 minutes, or roughly 70 acres per day; 490 acres per week; 25,400 acres per year.

PROPOSED SOLUTION: 

PROPOSED SOLUTION Develop an aqueduct system along the Intracoastal Canal to channel a steady flow of freshwater across the LA wetlands-annually- to stimulate the natural growth of freshwater vegetation landcover.

TEACHER REQUIREMENTS: 

TEACHER REQUIREMENTS Working knowledge of GIS 3.2a. Go to www.atlas.lsu.edu to obtain oil and gas well shapefile and Digital Orthorectified Quarter Quadrangle ( DOQQ ) data.