Life Sciences Commons^™

Mass Removal Efficiencies In Water And Consequences After A River Diversion Into Coastal Wetlands: Second Thoughts, R. Eugene Turner, Erik M. Swenson, James M. Lee, Charles S. Milan

Faculty Publications

Salinity control, nutrient additions, and sediment supply were directly or indirectly the rationale for a $220 million coastal wetland restoration project (Davis Pond River Diversion) that began in 2002. We sampled Mississippi River water going in and out of the receiving basin from 1999 to 2018 to understand why wetland loss increased after it began. There was a reduction in inorganic sediments, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) concentrations within the ponding area of 77%, 39% and 34%, respectively, which is similar to that in other wetlands. But the average sediment accumulation of 0.6 mm year(-1) inadequately balances the present-day 5.6 …