Louisiana Delta - Between Rising Seas, Sinking Land, Net Drop 1 Inch Every 3 Years
It's just a matter of time, and not much of that.
LEEVILLE, La. -- This is where the mainland ends in southern Louisiana -- at least for now. You get here by following an old road that abruptly ends at an expanse of marshy water, which is moving in on the land at one of the fastest clips in the world, according to scientists. Residents note that the road, known as LA-1, now leads in more directions than just north and south. It's also sinking.
Its two lanes reach into this part of the state, about two hours south of New Orleans, through treeless fields and spongy marshes that sit near sea level. With little height to spare, the combined effects of subsidence and rising oceans, measured at over an inch every three years, are obvious.
"The Gulf of Mexico has basically gotten closer to us," said Windell Curole, who manages the South Lafourche Levee District. He suspects that without a major government effort, this sprawling area could sink below the surface within two or three generations. "We can see the trend, and the trend is not good."
After a hurricane in 1893 slammed the coast with killing winds and waves, his great-grandparents retreated to higher ground 11 miles inland, he said. Their refuge was Leeville, which earlier this century hosted cotton fields and oak trees. Now it's open water dotted with grass tufts after the water rose 4 feet. Most of that, according to Curole, has resulted from a persistent sinking of the ground. In the past 50 years, the presence of marshy grasses has been receding, replaced by open water, which increasingly is submerging fence posts, oil wellheads and brick-built tombs of people that were once built safely above the water level. Clumps of grass used as landmarks by fishermen can disappear over the length of a season, or even within a few weeks. Meanwhile, canals are growing wider.
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