Tags : climate change, environment, flooding, Mississippi Delta
New report shows Mississippi Delta to lose 4,000 square miles
One of the biggest debate going on between global climate change believers and detractors is the rise of sea levels around the world. When it comes to the US a new study in the Nature Geoscience (subscription required) journal is suggesting that the changes in the Mississippi Delta area could be far worse that previously thought.
It is suggested that the area could see between 3,800-5,200 square miles of coastal land will be submerged.
The researchers say that retaining existing delta surface area would require 18-24 billion tons of sediment deposition, something made critically more difficult because the sediment load of the Mississippi has been reduced by 50% due to dam construction in the Mississippi River basin.
They conclude that "significant drowning is inevitable" and that land areas now below 1 meter in elevation will become open water or marsh.
Source: Treehugger :: 4,000 Square Miles of Mississippi Delta Inevitably Drowned Due to Sea Level Rise: New Estimate Shows
Why do I get the feeling that we will be arguing about this stuff right up to the point when we’re all wearing hip-waders just to go down to the corner store.
image courtesy of NASA
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