The co-evolution of wetland loss and flood risk in the Mississippi River Delta is tested by contrasting the response of storm surge in coastal basins with varying historical riverine sediment inputs. A previously deve...
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The co-evolution of wetland loss and flood risk in the Mississippi River Delta is tested by contrasting the response of storm surge in coastal basins with varying historical riverine sediment inputs. A previously developed method to construct hydrodynamic storm surge models is employed to quantify historical changes in coastal storm surge. Simplified historical landscapes facilitate comparability while storm surge model meshes developed from historical data are incomparable due to the only recent (post-2000) extensive use of lidar for topographic mapping. Storm surge model meshes circa 1930, 1970 and 2010 are constructed via application of land to water (L:W) isopleths, lines that indicate areas of constant land to water ratio across coastal Louisiana. The ADvanced CIRCulation (ADCIRC) code, coupled with the Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) wave model, is used to compute water surface elevations, time of inundation, depth-averaged currents and wave statistics from a suite of 14 hurricane wind and pressure fields for each mesh year. Maximum water surface elevation and inundation time differences correspond with coastal basins featuring historically negligible riverine sediment inputs and wetland loss as well as a coastal basin with historically substantial riverine inputs and wetland gain. The major finding of this analysis is maximum water surface elevations differences from 1970 to 2010 are 0.247 m and 0.282 m within sediment-starved Terrebonne and Barataria coastal basins, respectively. This difference is only 0.096 m across the adjacent sediment-abundant Atchafalaya-Vermilion coastal basin. Hurricane Rita inundation time results from 1970 to 2010 demonstrate an increase of approximately one day across Terrebonne and Barataria while little change occurs across Atchafalaya-Vermilion. The connection between storm surge characteristics and changes in riverine sediment inputs is also demonstrated via a sensitivity analysis which identifies changes in sediment inputs
Storm surge models are constructed to represent the Louisiana coastal landscape circa 1850, 1890, 1930, 1970, 1990, 2010, 2030, 2050, 2070, 2090, and 2110. Historical maps are utilized to develop models with past land...
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Storm surge models are constructed to represent the Louisiana coastal landscape circa 1850, 1890, 1930, 1970, 1990, 2010, 2030, 2050, 2070, 2090, and 2110. Historical maps are utilized to develop models with past landscapes while a continuation of recent landscape trends is assumed for future models. The same suite of meteorological wind and pressure fields is simulated with each storm surge model. Simulation results for 1850 and 1890 demonstrate minimal change in storm surge characteristics along the Louisiana coast. A mean maximum storm surge height increase of 0.26 m from 1930 to 2010 is quantified within the sediment-abundant Atchafalaya-Vermilion coastal basin, while increases of 0.34 m and 0.41 m are quantified within sediment-starved Terrebonne and Barataria, respectively. Future mean maximum storm surge heights increase across these three coastal basins by 0.67 m, 0.55 m, and 0.75 m, indicating negligible differences from 2010 to 2110, regardless of sediment availability. Results indicate that past changes in the Louisiana coastal landscape and storm surge were a consequence of local land and river management decisions while future changes are dominated by relative (subsidence and eustatic) sea level rise. Projecting landscape and surge changes beyond 50 years could aide policy makers as they work to enhance resilience across coastal Louisiana. Similar analyses could be conducted for other deltas across the world, such as the Ganges, that are experiencing challenges comparable to those of the Mississippi River Delta.
The Mississippi River Delta ranks the seventh largest delta in the world. It provides a habitat for the Louisiana seafood industry, navigation canals and rivers that support five of the 15 largest cargo ports by volum...
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The Mississippi River Delta ranks the seventh largest delta in the world. It provides a habitat for the Louisiana seafood industry, navigation canals and rivers that support five of the 15 largest cargo ports by volume in the united States, and hurricane storm surge protection for coastal cities and oil and gas industry infrastructure that facilitates 90% of the outer continental oil and gas extraction. Due to substantial coastal wetland loss since 1900, the risk of damage to these industries and infrastructure has increased through time. The goal of this research is to develop a methodology to analyze the historical and future evolution of coastal hazards, such as hurricane storm surge, across a complex, low-lying coastal landscape. To accomplish this task, the change in coastal hazards is analyzed through historical changes in coastal wetlands. Specifically, isopleths, defined as lines on a map indicating a constant value of a given variable, are developed to describe areas of constant values of the ratio of land to water (L:W) across coastal Louisiana. In this analysis, a methodology is developed that utilizes land to water (L: W) isopleths to simplify the modern day Louisiana coastal landscape as represented in a state-of-the-art high resolution storm surge model. L:W isopleths are derived for the year 2010 and used to construct 36 storm surge models, each featuring variations of three distinct coastal zones: "High" (i.e. high wetland), "Intermediate" (i.e. wetland), and "Submersed" (i.e. region between open water and wetland). The ADvanced CIRCulation (ADCIRC) code is used to compute water surface elevations and depth-averaged currents forced by hurricane wind and pressures from Hurricanes Rita, Gustav, and Katrina for each model. Peak water levels and volume of inundation are quantified within hydrologic unit code watersheds (HUC12) in order to compare storm surge models featuring high resolution and simplified coastal landscapes. A L:W isopleth permutation of
BackgroundEstimated residential exposures of adults to roadway density and several metrics of resource extraction, including coal mining and oil and gas drilling, were hypothesized to contribute to the prevalence of r...
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BackgroundEstimated residential exposures of adults to roadway density and several metrics of resource extraction, including coal mining and oil and gas drilling, were hypothesized to contribute to the prevalence of respiratory disease in rural *** how small-area geographic variation in residential environmental exposures impacts measures of pulmonary function among adults in a community-based *** examined associations between residential environmental respiratory exposures and pulmonary function among 827 adult participants of the "The Mountain Air Project", a community-based, cross-sectional study in Southeastern Kentucky during 2016-2018. Exposures characterized the density of roadways, oil/gas wells, or current/past surface and underground coal mining at the level of 14-digit hydrologic unit code (HUC), or valley "hollow" where participants resided. Each participant completed an in-person interview to obtain extensive background data on risk factors, health history, and occupational and environmental exposures, as well as a spirometry test administered by experienced study staff at their place of residence. Multivariable linear regression was used to model the adjusted association between each environmental exposure and percent predicted forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1PP) and forced vital capacity (FVCPP).ResultsAdjusted regression models indicate persons living in HUCs with the highest level of roadway density experienced a reduction in both FEV1PP (-4.3: 95% CI: -7.44 -1.15;) and FVCPP (-3.8: 95% CI: -6.38, -1.21) versus persons in HUCs with the lowest roadway density. No associations were detected between the metrics associated with mining and oil and gas operations and individual pulmonary *** statementOur work demonstrates the potential adverse impact of roadway-related exposures on the respiratory health of rural Appalachia residents. We employed a novel method of small-area exposure classifica
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