Environmental Impact of wetlands surrounding New Orleans
History |
The wetlands surrounding New Orleans were built up over thousands of years. They have been formed by the deposition of sediments, which wash down the Mississippi river. Human intervention has caused significant reduction of the sediment that build these wetlands, and the wetlands are shrinking drastically. In the areas surrounding New Orleans, damming has caused the sediment to drop out of the river up stream at dam sites where the water slows down, instead at the mouth of the river, where the wetlands are found. After passing all the dams, the Mississippi river has been diverted and channeled to prevent cyclical flooding that could negatively impact New Orleans and the surrounding communities. This diversion causes the water to speed up and shoot any remaining sediment out into the ocean instead of dropping it into the wetlands and building them up. These wetlands have historically protected the coastline from storm surge during storm events by acting as a buffer for the waves kicked up by the storms. Hurricane Katrina drew national attention to the New Orleans region, as storm surge toppled dikes, levees and flood walls and the city was inundated with flood waters. Degraded wetlands and the major reduction of their storm buffering potential was a major cause for this flooding. This storm exposed the vulnerability of cities on coastlines surrounded by withering wetlands. Rebuilding degraded wetlands, thus increasing the storm buffering effect, is a essential way to protect cities like New Orleans from future hurricanes and flooding. |
Chinampas and
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Chinampas are an agro-ecological model for balancing the human use of of wetlands with their preservation and restoration. The beauty of the chinampas system is the flexibility of design. There are two ways chinampas would improve the wetlands surrounding New Orleans. 1. Using them to reconstruct decayed brackish water wetland ecosystems. This could be accomplished by using the historical construction but planting them with indigenous plant life, instead of harvestable crops. 2. In freshwater estuary systems, lakes or rivers, traditional use of chinampas would create new quasi-wetland areas and provide a sustainable agricultural system, growing crops used for food. Either application would increase landmass capable of supporting vegetation, which is essential for a reconstruction and protection from storm surges during severe storm events such as those experience during Hurricane Katrina. |
Michelle Packer
Site maintained by Michelle Packer
Contact email: [email protected]
Sustainability and Collapse: Can the Past Inform the Future?
University of Texas, Arlington
2013
Site maintained by Michelle Packer
Contact email: [email protected]
Sustainability and Collapse: Can the Past Inform the Future?
University of Texas, Arlington
2013