Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Brief History of Delta Formation and Deterioration

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Mississippi Delta Restoration

Part of the book series: Estuaries of the World ((EOTW))

Abstract

The Mississippi River (MR) delta formed over the last several 1000 years as a series of overlapping deltaic lobes in various stages of progradation and deterioration that were sustained by overbank flooding and crevasses of the Mississippi River and active distributaries. To the west of the delta complex stretches the smooth shoreline of the Chenier Plain, which was created by the intermittent westward drift of sediments from the MR forming a series of beach ridges and mud flats. Beginning in the eighteenth century and greatly accelerating throughout the twentieth century, the delta has been impacted by a variety of human activities, most importantly by the separation of the Mississippi River from its deltaic plain, which has caused massive wetland loss during the last century. Other factors exacerbating wetland loss includes altered hydrology due to the proliferation of dredged canals and deep-well fluid withdrawal associated with the oil and gas industry, intentional impoundment for waterfowl management, and herbivory by nutria. The only place where wetland loss has not been high is at the Atchafalaya and Wax Lake delta complex, which are part of the beginning stages of a major new deltaic lobe development fed by the Atchafalaya River distributary that carries about a third of the combined lower MR discharge. One of the greatest threats to MR delta wetlands is accelerating sea-level rise due to a combination of subsidence and eustatic sea-level rise (ESLR), which ranges from 2–17 mm year−1 in the delta.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alber M, Swenson EM, Adamowicz SC, Mendelssohn IA (2008) Salt marsh dieback: an overview of recent events in the US. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 80:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alleman LK, Hester MW (2011a) Refinement of the fundamental niche of black mangrove (Avicennia Germinans) seedlings in Louisiana: applications for restoration. Wetl Ecol Manag 19:47–60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen JA, Pezeshiki SR, Chamberss JL (1996) Interaction of flooding and salinity stress on baldcypress (Taxodium Distichum). Tree Physiol 16:307–313

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allison MA, Meselhe EA (2010) The use of large water and sediment diversions in the lower Mississippi River (Louisiana) for coastal restoration. J Hydrol 387:346–360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barras JA, Beville S, Britsch D, Hartley S, Hawes S, Johnston J, Kemp P, Kinler Q, Martucci A, Porthouse J, Reed D, Roy K, Sapkota S, Suhayda J (2003) Historical and projected coastal Louisiana land changes: 1978–2050. USGS open file report 03–334, 39 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Barras JA, Bernier JC, Morton RA (2008) Land area change in coastal Louisiana – a multidecadal perspective (from 1956 to 2006). U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3019, scale 1:250,000, 14 p. pamphlet

    Google Scholar 

  • Blahnik T, Day JW (2000) The effects of varied hydraulic and nutrient loading rates on water quality and hydrologic distributions in a natural forested treatment wetland. Wetlands 20:48–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blum MD, Roberts HH (2009) Drowning of the Mississippi Delta due to insufficient sediment supply and global sea-level rise. Nat Geosci 2:488–491

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blum MD, Roberts HH (2012) The Mississippi delta region: past, present, and future. Annu Rev Earth Planet Sci 40:655–683

    Google Scholar 

  • Boesch DF (1996) Science and management in four U.S. coastal ecosystems dominated by land-ocean interactions. J Coast Conserv 2:103–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boesch DF, Josselyn MN, Mehta AJ, Morris JT, Nuttle WK, Simenstad CA, Swift DJP (1994) Scientific assessment of coastal wetland loss, restoration, and management in Louisiana. J Coast Res, Special Issue Number 20

    Google Scholar 

  • Boumans RM, Day JW (1994) Effects of two Louisiana marsh management plans on water and materials flux and short-term sedimentation. Wetlands 14:247–261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Broussard W, Turner RE (2009) A century of changing land-use and water-quality relationships in the continental US. Front Ecol Environ. https://doi.org/10.1890/080085

  • Bryant JC, Chabreck RH (1998) Effects of impoundment on vertical accretion of coastal marsh. Estuaries 21:416–422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cahoon DR, Turner RE (1989) Accretion and canal impacts in a rapidly subsiding wetland. Feldspar marker horizon technique. Estuaries 12:260–268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cahoon DR, Perez BC, Segura BD, Lynch JC (2011) Elevation trends and shrinkeswell response of wetland soils to flooding and drying. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 91:463–474

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chan AW, Zoback MD (2007) The role of hydrocarbon production on land subsidence and fault reactivation in the Louisiana coastal zone. J Coast Res 23:771–786

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Church JA, White NJ (2011) Sea-level rise from the late 19th to the early 21st century. Surv Geophys 32(4–5):585–602

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cloern JE (2001) Our evolving conceptual model of the coastal eutrophication problem. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 210:223–253

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Comeaux RS, Allison MA, Bianchi TS (2012) Mangrove expansion in the Gulf of Mexico with climate change: implications for wetland health and resistance to rising sea levels. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 96:81–95

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Condrey RE, Hoffman PE, Evers DE (2014) The last naturally active delta complexes of the Mississippi River (LNDM): discovery and implications. In: Day JW, Kemp GP, Freemen AM, Muth DP (eds) Perspectives on the restoration of the Mississippi Delta. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 33–50

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Conner WH, Duberstein JA, Day JW, Hutchinson S (2014) Impacts of changing hydrology and hurricanes on forest structure and growth along a flooding/elevation gradient in a south Louisiana forested wetland from 1986 to 2009. Wetlands XX:1–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Couvillion BR, Barras JA, Steyer GD, Sleavin W, Fischer M, Beck H, Trahan N, Griffin B, Heckman D (2011) Land area change in coastal Louisiana from 1932 to 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3164, scale 1:265,000, 12 p. pamphlet

    Google Scholar 

  • Danielsen F, Sørensen MK, Olwig MF, Selvam V, Parish F, Burgess ND, Hiraishi T, Karunagaran VM, Rasmussen MS, Hansen LB, Quarto A, Suryadiputra N (2005) The Asian tsunami: a protective role for coastal vegetation. Science 310:643

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davis DW (1993) Crevasses on the lower course of the Mississippi River. Coastal Zone’93, Proceedings of the eighth symposium on coastal and ocean management. American Society of Civil Engineers, pp 360–378

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis DW (2000) Historical perspective on crevasses, levees, and the Mississippi River. In: Colten CE (ed) Transforming New Orleans and its environs. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, pp 84–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Day JW Jr, Martin JF, Cardoch L, Templet PH (1997) System functioning as a basis for sustainable management of deltaic ecosystems. Coast Manag 25:115–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day JW Jr, Britsch LD, Hawes SR, Shaffer GP, Reed DJ, Cahoon D (2000) Pattern and process of land loss in the Mississippi Delta: a spatial and temporal analysis of wetland habitat change. Estuaries 23:425–438

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day JW, Boesch DF, Clairain EJ, Kemp GP, Laska SB, Mitsch WJ, Orth K, Mashriqui H, Reed DJ, Shabman L, Simenstad CA, Streever BJ, Twilley RR, Watson CC, Wells JT, Whigham DF (2007) Restoration of the Mississippi delta: lessons from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Science 315:1679–1684

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Day JW, Kemp GP, Reed DJ, Cahoon DR, Boumans RM, Suhayda JM, Gambrell R (2011) Vegetation death and rapid loss of surface elevation in two contrasting Mississippi delta salt marshes: the role of sedimentation, autocompaction and sea-level rise. Ecol Eng 37:229–240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2010.11.021

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day J, Hunter R, Keim RF, DeLaune R, Shaffer G, Evers E, Reed D, Brantley C, Kemp P, Day J, Hunter M (2012) Ecological response of forested wetlands with and without large-scale Mississippi River input: implications for management. Ecol Eng 46:57–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day JW, Cable JE, Lane RR, Kemp GP (2016a) Sediment deposition at the Caernarvon crevasse during the great Mississippi flood of 1927: implications for coastal restoration. Water 3(38):1–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Day JW, Lane RR, D’Elia CF, Wiegman AR, Rutherford JS, Shaffer GP, Brantley CG, Kemp GP (2016b) Large infrequently operated river diversions for Mississippi delta restoration. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 183:292–303

    Google Scholar 

  • DeConto RM, Pollard D (2016) Contribution of Antarctica to past and future sea-level rise. Nature 531:591–597

    Google Scholar 

  • DeLaune RD, Kongchum M, White JR, Jugsujinda A (2013) Freshwater diversions as an ecosystem management tool for maintaining soil organic matter accretion in coastal marshes. Catena 107:139–144

    Google Scholar 

  • DeLaune RD, Sasser CE, Evers-Hebert E, White JR, Roberts HH (2016) Influence of the Wax Lake Delta sediment diversion on aboveground plant productivity and carbon storage in deltaic island and mainland coastal marshes. Estuarine Coast Shelf Sci 177:83–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Evers DE, Sasser CE, Gosselink JG, Fuller DA, Visser JM (1998) The impact of vertebrate herbivores on wetland vegetation in Atchafalaya Bay, Louisiana. Estuaries 21:1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FitzGerald DM, Fenster MS, Argow BA, Buynevich IV (2008) Coastal impacts due to sea-level rise. Annu Rev Earth Planet Sci 36:601–647

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Giri C, Long J, Tiezen L (2011) Mapping and monitoring Louisiana’s mangroves in the aftermath of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. J Coast Res 27:1059–1064

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hensel PF, Day JW, Pont D (1999) Wetland vertical accretion and soil elevation change in the Rhone River delta, France: the importance of riverine flooding. J Coast Res 15:668–681

    Google Scholar 

  • Horton BP, Rahmstorf S, Engelhart SE, Kemp AC (2014) Expert assessment of sea-level rise by AD 2100 and AD 2300. Quat Sci Rev 84:1–6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Houck M, Neill R (2009) Plant fact sheet for black mangrove (Avicennia germinans (L.) L.). USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Louisiana Plant Materials Center, Galliano, Louisiana 70354

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) (2007) Climate change 2007: the physical science basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, Chen Z, Marquis M, Averyt KB, Tignor M, Miller HL (eds) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge/New York

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) (2013) Climate change 2013: the physical science basis. Contribution of Working Group 1 to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Stocker TF, Qin D, Plattner GK, Tignor M, Allen SK, Boschung J, Nauels A, Xia Y, Bex V, Midgley PM (eds) Cambridge/New York, 1535 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Justic D, Rabalais NN, Turner RE (1995) Stoichiometric nutrient balance and origin of coastal eutrophication. Mar Pollut Bull 30:41–46

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Keddy PA, Campbell D, McFalls T, Shaffer GP, Moreau R, Dranguet C, Heleniak R (2007) The wetlands of lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas: past, present and future. Environ Rev 15:43–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kemp GP, Wells JT (1987) Observations of shallow-water waves over a fluid mud bottom: implications to sediment transport. In: Kraus NC (ed) Coastal sediments ’87 Proc Spec Conf Adv. In Understanding coastal sediment processes, New Orleans, 12–14 May, 1987. Am Soc Civil Eng 1:363–378

    Google Scholar 

  • Kemp GP, Willson CS, Rogers JD, Westphal KA (2014) Adapting to change in the lowermost Mississippi River: implications for navigation, flood control and restoration of the Delta ecosystem. In: Day JW Jr, Kemp GP, Freeman AM, Muth DP (eds) Perspectives on the restoration of the Mississippi Delta: the once and Future Delta. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 51–84

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kesel RH (1988) The decline in the suspended load of the lower Mississippi River and its influence on adjacent wetlands. Environ Geol Water Sci 11:271–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kesel RH (1989) The role of the lower Mississippi River in wetland loss in southeastern Louisiana, USA. Environ Geol Water Sci 13:183–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kesel RH, Yodis E, McCraw D (1992) An approximation of the sediment budget of the lower Mississippi river prior to major human modification. Earth Surf Process Landf 17:711–722

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuecher GJ, Roberts HH, Thompson MD, Matthews I (2001) Evidence for active growth faulting in the Terrebonne delta plain, south Louisiana: implications for wetland loss and the vertical migration of petroleum. Environ Geosci 8:77–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lane RR, Day JW, Shaffer GP, Hunter RG, Day JN, Wood WB, Settoon P (2015a) Hydrology and water budget analysis of the East Joyce wetlands: past history and prospects for the future. Ecol Eng 87:34–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lane RR, Huang H, Day JW, Justic D, DeLaune RD (2015b) Water quality of a coastal Louisiana swamp and how dredging is undermining restoration efforts. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 152:23–32

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • LDNR (Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. Baton Rouge) (1998) Coast 2050: Toward a Sustainable Coastal Louisiana. Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force and the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Authority. 161 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindstedt DM, Swenson EM (2006) The case of the dying marsh grass. Report submitted to Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Baton Rouge

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, James J (2009) Reflections on: our planet and its life, origins, and futures. Science 326:1646–1655

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McKee KL, Mendelssohn IA, Materne MD (2004) Acute salt marsh dieback in the Mississippi River deltaic plain: a drought-induced phenomenon? Glob Ecol Biogeogr 13(1):65–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meade RH, Moody JA (2010) Causes for the decline of suspended-sediment discharge in the Mississippi River system, 1940–2007. Hydrol Process 24:35–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Meehl GA, Tebaldi C, Walton G, Easterling D, McDaniel L (2009) Relative increase of record high maximum temperatures compared to record low minimum temperatures in the US. Geophys Res Lett 36(23):L23701

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mendelssohn IA, Morris JT (2000) Eco-physiological controls on the productivity of Spartina Alterniflora loisel. In: Weinstein MP, Kreeger DA (eds) Concepts and controversies in tidal marsh ecology. Kuwer Acedemic Publishers, Boston, pp 59–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Mendelssohn IA, McKee KL, Patrick WH (1981) Oxygen deficiency in Spartina Alterniflora roots: metabolic adaption to anoxia. Science 214:439–441

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mitsch WJ, Gosselink JG (2015) Wetlands. Wiley, Hoboken

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitsch WJ, Day JW, Zhang L, Lane RR (2005) Nitrate-nitrogen retention in wetlands in the Mississippi River basin. Ecol Eng 24(4):267–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morton RA, Purcell NA (2001) Wetland subsidence, fault reactivation, and hydrocarbon production in the U.S. Gulf Coast Region. USGS publication FS-091-01. pp 1–4

    Google Scholar 

  • Morton RA, Bster NA, Krohn MD (2002) Subsurface controls on historical subsidence rates and associated wetland loss in southcentral Louisiana. Gulf Coast Assoc Geol Soc Trans 52:767–778

    Google Scholar 

  • Morton RA, Tiling G, Ferina NF (2003) Causes of hot-spot wetland loss in the Mississippi delta plain. Environ Geosci 10:71–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morton RA, Bernier JC, Barras JA, Ferina NF (2005) Historical subsidence and wetland loss in the Mississippi Delta plain. Gulf Coast Assoc Geol Soc Trans 55:555–571

    Google Scholar 

  • Mossa J (1996) Sediment dynamics in the lowermost Mississippi River. Eng Geol 45:457–479

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nittrouer JA, Best JL, Brantley C, Cash RW, Czapiga M, Kumar P, Parker G (2012) Mitigating land loss in coastal Louisiana by controlled diversion of Mississippi River sand. Nat Geosci 5:534–537

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Officer CB, Ryther JH (1980) The possible importance of silicon in marine eutrophication. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 3(1):83–91

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Olea RA, Coleman JL (2014) A synoptic examination of causes of land loss in southern Louisiana as they relate to the exploitation of subsurface geologic resources. J Coast Res 30:1025–1044

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patterson S, McKee KL, Mendelssohn IA (1997) Effects of tidal inundation and predation on Avicennia Germinans seedling establishment and survival in a sub-tropical mangal/salt marsh community. Mangrove Salt Marshes 1:103–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Penfound WT, Hathaway ES (1938) Plant communities in the marshlands of southeastern Louisiana. Ecol Monogr 8(1):1–56

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Perry CL, Mendelssohn IA (2009) Ecosystem effects of expanding populations of Avicennia Germinans in a Louisiana salt marsh. Wetlands 29(1):396–406

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson SN (2014) Failed agricultural impoundments: an interdisciplinary assessment of community structure and social resilience. M.S. thesis, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA. 69 pages

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfeffer WT, Harper JT, O’Neel S (2008) Kinematic constraints on glacier contributions to 21st-century sea-level rise. Science 321:1340–1343

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raabe EA, Roy LC, McIvor CC (2012) Tampa Bay coastal wetlands: nineteenth to twentieth century tidal marsh-to-mangrove conversion. Estuar Coast 35:1–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabalais NN, Turner RE, Justic D, Dortch Q, Wiseman WJ, Sen Gupta BK (1996) Nutrient changes in the Mississippi River and system responses on the adjacent continental shelf. Estuaries 17:850–861

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabalais NN, Turner RE (2001) Hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico: description, causes and change. In: Rabalais NN, Turner RE (eds) Coastal hypoxia: consequences for living resources and ecosystems. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, pp 1–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Rahmstorf S (2007) A semi-empirical approach to projecting future sea-level rise. Science 315:368–370

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reed DJ, Luca ND, Foote AL (1997) Effect of hydrologic management on marsh surface sediment deposition in coastal Louisiana. Estuaries 20:301–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson CJ (2005) Highway construction and mitigation: on the road to increasing wetland function? Natl Wetl Newsl 27:17–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts HH (1997) Dynamic changes of the holocene Mississippi river delta plain: the delta cycle. J Coast Res 13:605–627

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts HH, Coleman JM, Bentley SJ, Walker N (2003) An embryonic major delta lobe: a new generation of delta studies in the Atchafalaya-wax Lake delta system. GCAGS/GCSSEPM Trans 53:690–703

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts HH, DeLaune RD, White JR, Li C, Sasser CE, Braud D, Weeks E, Khalil S (2015) Floods and cold front passages: impacts on coastal marshes in a river diversion setting (wax Lake Delta area, Louisiana). J Coast Res 31:1057–1068

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosen T, Jun Xu Y (2013) Recent decadal growth of the Atchafalaya River Delta complex: effects of variable riverine sediment input and vegetation succession. Geomorphology 194:108–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saintilan N, Williams RJ (1999) Mangrove transgression into saltmarsh environments in south-east Australia. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 8(2):117–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saucier RT (1963) Recent geomorphic history of the Pontchartrain basin. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaffer GP, Sasser CE, Gosselink JG, Rejmanek M (1992) Vegetation dynamics in the emerging Atchafalaya Delta, Louisiana. USA J Ecol 80:677–687

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaffer GP, Wood WB, Hoeppner SS, Perkins TE, Zoller JA, Kandalepas D (2009a) Degradation of Baldcypress – water tupelo swamp to marsh and open water in Southeastern Louisiana, USA: an irreversible trajectory? J Coast Res Spec Issue 54:152–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaffer GP, Wood WB, Hoeppner SS, Perkins TE, Zoller J, Kandalepas D (2009b) Degradation of Baldcypress-water tupelo swamp to marsh and open water in southeastern Louisiana, USA: an irreversible trajectory? J Coast Res 54:152–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaffer GP, Day JW, Kandalepas D, Wood WB, Hunter RG, Lane RR, Hillman ER (2016) Decline of the Maurepas swamp, Pontchartrain basin, Louisiana, and approaches to restoration. Water 8:1–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen Z, Törnqvist TE, Mauz B, Chamberlain EL, Nijhuis AG, Sandoval L (2015) Episodic overbank deposition as a dominant mechanism of floodplain and delta-plain aggradation. Geology 43:875–878

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shinkle KD, Dokka RK (2004) Rates of vertical displacement at benchmarks in the lower Mississippi valley and the northern gulf coast. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Technical Report NOS/NGS 50:135p

    Google Scholar 

  • Southwick LM, Grigg BC, Kornecki TS, Fouss JL (2002) Potential influence of sugarcane cultivation on estuarine water quality of Louisiana’s Gulf Coast. Agric Food Chem 50:4393–4399

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stanley DJ, Warne AG (1997) Holocene sea level change and early human utilization of deltas. GSA Today 7:1–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Swenson EM, Turner RE (1987) Spoil banks: effects on a coastal marsh water-level regime. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 24:599–609

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Syvitski JPM, Kettner AJ, Overeem I, Hutton EWH, Hannon MT, Brankenridge GR, Day J, Vorosmarty C, Saito Y, Giosan L, Nicholls RJ (2009) Sinking deltas due to human activities. Nat Geosci 2:682–686

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tornqvist TE, Wallace DJ, Storms JA, Wallinga J, van Dam RL, Blaauw M, Derksen MS, Klerks CJW, Meijneken C, Snijders EMA (2008) Mississippi delta subsidence primarily caused by compaction of Holocene strata. Nat Geosci 1:173–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner RE (1997) Wetland loss in the northern Gulf of Mexico: multiple working hypotheses. Estuaries 20:1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner RE, Rabalais NN (1991) Changes in Mississippi River water quality this century. Bioscience 41:140–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner RE, Rao YS (1990) Relationships between wetland fragmentation and recent hydrologic changes in a deltaic coast. Estuaries 13:272–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner RE, Swenson EM, Lee JM (1994) A rationale for coastal wetland restoration through spoil bank management in Louisiana, USA. Environ Manag 18:271–282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Twilley RR, Rivera-Monroy V (2009) Sediment and nutrient tradeoffs in restoring Mississippi river delta: restoration vs. eutrophication. Contemp Water Res Educ 141:39–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Twilley RR, Bentley SJ, Chen Q, Edmonds DA, Hagen SC, Lam NS-N, Willson CS, Xu K, Braud D, Peele RH, McCall A (2016) Co-evolution of wetland landscapes, flooding, and human settlement in the Mississippi River Delta Plain. Sustain Sci 11:711–731

    Google Scholar 

  • Vermeer M, Rahmstorf S (2009) Global sea level linked to global temperature. Proc Natl Acad Sci 106:21527–21532

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Visser JM, Sasser CE, Chabreck RH, Linscombe RG (1998) Marsh vegetation types of the Mississippi River deltaic plain. Estuaries 21:818–828

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vörösmarty C, Syvitski J, Day J, Sherbinin A, Giosan L, Paola C (2009) Battling to save the world’s river deltas. Bull At Sci 65:31–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang LZ, Lyons J, Kanehl P, Bannerman R (2001) Impacts of urbanization on stream habitat and fish across multiple spatial scales. Environ Manag 28:255–266

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Welder FA (1959) Processes of deltaic sedimentation in the lower Mississippi River. Louisiana State University, Coastal Studies Institute Technical Report 12:1–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu K, Bentley SJ, Robichaux P, Sha X, Yang H (2016) Implications of texture and erodibility for sediment retention in receiving basins of coastal Louisiana diversions. Water 8:26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu K, DeLaune RD, Tao R, Beine RL (2008) Nonpoint source of nutrients and herbicides associated with sugarcane production and its impact on Louisiana coastal water quality. Environmental Quality 37:2275–2283

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA

    Robert R. Lane, G. Paul Kemp & John W. Day

Authors
  1. Robert R. Lane
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. G. Paul Kemp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. John W. Day
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert R. Lane .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

    John W. Day

  2. School of Architecture, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

    Jori A. Erdman

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Lane, R.R., Paul Kemp, G., Day, J.W. (2018). A Brief History of Delta Formation and Deterioration. In: Day, J., Erdman, J. (eds) Mississippi Delta Restoration. Estuaries of the World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65663-2_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation