Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Salt Marsh Elevation Limit Determined After Subsidence From Hydrologic Change And Hydrocarbon Extraction, R. Eugene Turner, Yu Mo

Faculty Publications

Levee construction aboveground and hydrocarbon removal from belowground in coastal wetlands can create hydrologic changes that increase plant stress through flooding. But the significance of the subsidence they cause individually or in combination is contested. This study untangled them to demonstrate elevational limits of salt marshes by studying dredged and natural waterways in two salt marshes in Louisiana, USA. The areas had a homogenous plant cover before drilling for oil and gas extraction peaked in the 1960s, and now are a mixed network of natural waterways and dredged canals used to drill wells with an average drill date of 1965.8 …