Erosion in the Gulf Blamed on Midwest

Scientists say part of the problem with erosion along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico begins in the Midwest. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tom Weber reports:

Transcript

Scientists say part of the problem with erosion along the coast of the
Gulf
of Mexico begins in the Midwest. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Tom Weber reports:


In a recent report… the U.S. Geological Survey says Louisiana’s
coastline
is disappearing faster than first thought. By the year 2050… one-third
of the state’s current coastline could be gone.


Restoration depends a lot on sediments. As they flow south… they’re
diverted to build new land along the coast. But the USGS’ Jimmy
Johnston
says the locks and dams along the Missouri… upper Mississippi… and
Ohio
Rivers trap much of that sediment…


“They have had numbers as high as 67% of the sediments that come
down the
river are being diverted or meeting these locks and dams. If you have
less
sediments there’ll be less sediments to build land.”


Johnston adds more study is needed to know just how much locks and
dams in
the Midwest affect Louisiana’s coast. For the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium, I’m Tom Weber.